It’s one of the toughest questions in business: Who should you be working with? Several years ago, when I was CEO of Thomas Nelson, I had one of those moments of clarity that has broad application for organizations. The “aha!” moment came when I was thinking about our professional relationships with authors and agents. Some […]

When I wrote recently about firing monster clients who eat up disproportionate time and resources, one reader replied, “Great idea. Do you have a guide for how exactly we should do that?” It was a good question. A guide like that would have been useful to me earlier in my career. I have had to […]

Most Americans think of George Washington as a great leader and the father of our country, but I bet few of us think of overdue library books. When Washington was president, he borrowed two books from a New York library and forgot to return them. According to a humorous but true story the fines for […]

People have way more potential than we often think they do. They can change, but unless we find the courage to speak up, they may not have the opportunity. Here are three truths to remember when you are faced with having a difficult conversation.

There comes a point in every story when you are ready to quit. It could be a relationship, a project, or your job. Regardless, you’ve had enough, and you are ready to “throw in the towel.”

If you’ve ever had the benefit of a great coach, you know just how powerful coaching can be. But leaders know it can sometimes be difficult to coach the people on your own team. It’s one of the main reasons people are reluctant to delegate work in their Drudgery and Disinterest Zones. It takes so […]

I don’t mean to sound unkind, but there are just some people you are not called to serve. You can spend all your time caught up in the drama of their demands and accusations, or you can move on. The sooner you cut the cord, the more productive—and happy—you’ll be.

No sleep.” “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.” “Sleep is for the weak.” I often see motivational statements like these hashtagged on social media. The idea is to spur high-achievers on to work harder for better results. But what if that’s exactly backwards? What if our willingness to shortchange our sleep is actually sabotaging our success?

As a leader, you have an effect on people. When you leave the room, people ether feel taller or smaller. This is an almost superhero power, but, unfortunately, leaders are often unconscious of it.

How many of your work hours are wasted on distractions? Probably more than you think. Financial management service Think Money researched the question, and their findings are eye-opening. According to their 2015 report, distractions annually eat up 759 hours per worker. That’s just one hour shy of twenty complete 40-hour workweeks every year! Now flip […]

If we are going to create wow experiences, we must become courageous. This is a personal, psychological bridge we need to cross. What we want—that wow experience—is on the other side of the ravine. There’s no other way to get there from here.

As leaders, we must remain humble. If we don’t, we risk large-scale, public failures that will have a catastrophic, negative impact on the people we are trying to lead.

On a recent Catalyst Podcast , Andy Stanley said, “The best thing a leader can bring to his team is his energy” (quoting Bill Hybels). … The good news is that you can be a more energetic leader by becoming more aware and intentional about developing it.

If you are a leader, you are going to attract critics. It is inevitable. In fact, if you are’t attracting critics, you should be wondering why. Criticism is normal.

Leaders frequently tell me they have a hard time recruiting great people to join their organizations. When I ask about their hiring process, I often find one missing element: sales. Recruiting great people is similar to any kind of sales process. Your company is the product. Prospective employees are your customers. The recruiting process is […]

I am not the first person to make this observation, but it is worth repeating. Too often, I meet young leaders are frustrated because they can’t control every aspect of the process. If only the sales department reported to me, I could improve my results.“

We’re used to hearing about people getting sick at the office. Someone brings in the cold or the flu, and it spreads. But that’s not the only thing that goes viral in the workplace. For a couple of decades now, researchers have been studying something called emotional contagion. It’s important for leaders to understand because […]

Ask leaders about the most efficient way to be inefficient, and I bet most will say “bad meetings.” But the hard truth is that meetings are not only inevitable, they’re also essential. Why? If our teams are going to achieve major goals, we need to be able to plan, coordinate, and tackle problems together. The […]

I’m already seeing a lot of Christmas images on Instagram, and I expect to see a flood in the next few days. The company just announced it surpassed 600 million users. Instagram launched in 2010. I joined a year later, but I only became a heavy user a couple of years ago. The company’s growth […]

Sometimes leading a business can feel like running a marathon. That’s especially true when our goals seem ambitious, daunting, and a long way off. What could the sport of running teach us about reaching the finish line? I’ve been a fan of Dean Karnazes ever since I read his book, Ultramarathon Man several years ago. […]

When I asked successful business and thought leaders how they prepared to reach their goals in the upcoming year, several said gratitude gave them an edge. Some mentioned setting aside special time to reflect and express gratitude for all the positive they experienced. This close to Thanksgiving, that seems perfect this time of year. But […]

This week my team met for strategic planning. We set aside several days so the leadership team could review our values, goals, and budget. We’re just finishing up today, actually. But Day 1 was dedicated not just to leaders, but to the full team. Why? I prioritize my team. Customers are important for a business. […]

I’m not much of a baseball fan. I played in high school, but I lost interest after breaking my elbow. So while most of my friends were deep into game seven of the World Series, I went to bed. Then they woke me up. Several of us were staying in a vacation home for a […]

When I was the CEO at Thomas Nelson, one of our authors was frustrated. In response to a disappointing sales report, he fired off a blistering email to one of our divisional leaders. He complained about poor results. He criticized the sales strategy and our failure to execute. Worse, he challenged the leader’s intelligence, competence, […]