Podcast | GROW GREAT: Recent Episodes
Randy Cantrell
If something feels too hard to start, it just means the first step isn’t small enough. Beginnings are important, but finishing matters more. Don’t get stuck in the starting blocks. Be well. Do good. Grow great! Check out the Hosts page for our profiles. Connect With Lisa On Linkedin • Connect With Randy On Linkedin […]
The post Just Start. Then Ask, “Now What?” appeared first on GROW GREAT.
Too many leaders and employees treat one-on-one meetings as little more than status reports: What got done? What’s next? What’s on fire? In this episode of Grow Great, Lisa Norris and Randy Cantrell challenge that mindset. The best one-on-ones aren’t about reporting upward—they’re about thinking together. They’re opportunities to build trust, coach and be […]
The post Your One-on-Ones Are Too Small appeared first on GROW GREAT.
Leadership is not about surrounding yourself with people who always agree with you. It’s about creating an environment where truth can be spoken, heard, and acted upon. In this episode of Grow Great, Lisa Norris and I explore why courageous leadership requires more than making difficult decisions – it requires a willingness to hear […]
The post The Courage to Tell the Truth appeared first on GROW GREAT.
Leadership is often portrayed as a straight path toward a clear destination. In reality, it rarely works that way. Every city manager, department director, supervisor, and frontline employee eventually encounters obstacles that seem to block progress. Budgets get cut. Projects stall. Relationships become strained. Plans that looked certain suddenly unravel. In this episode of […]
The post The Obstacle Is the Way: Leadership Through Resistance appeared first on GROW GREAT.
Just start. If it’s 85% good enough – the difference between 85% and anything higher can very costly. Be well. Do good. Grow great! Check out the Hosts page for our profiles. Connect With Lisa On Linkedin • Connect With Randy On Linkedin We encourage you to contact us. Feedback, suggestions, criticisms, insights, and experiences are […]
The post Just Start. Why It’s Urgent To Begin, Then Finish appeared first on GROW GREAT.
Be well. Do good. Grow great! Check out the Hosts page for our profiles. Connect With Lisa On Linkedin • Connect With Randy On Linkedin We encourage you to contact us. Feedback, suggestions, criticisms, insights, and experiences are welcome. Thank you for watching and listening!
The post Just Be Happy? Why That Advice Fails Leaders appeared first on GROW GREAT.
Thank you for watching or listening to our show. We wish you and your family (and your team at work) the happiest Thanksgiving Holiday ever! Be well. Do good. Grow great! Check out the Hosts page for our profiles. Connect With Lisa On Linkedin • Connect With Randy On Linkedin We encourage you to contact us. […]
The post Happy Thanksgiving 2025 appeared first on GROW GREAT.
Leadership is: a. Influence b. A focus on others c. Doing for others what they can’t do for themselves It’s the belief in the power of one person to make a difference. For somebody. Be well. Do good. Grow great! Check out the Hosts page for our profiles. Connect With Lisa On Linkedin • Connect […]
The post Making A Difference For Somebody appeared first on GROW GREAT.
We must all suffer one of two things: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret or disappointment. -Jim Rohn Be well. Do good. Grow great! Check out the Hosts page for our profiles. Connect With Lisa On Linkedin • Connect With Randy On Linkedin We encourage you to contact us. Feedback, suggestions, criticisms, insights, […]
The post Pick Your Pain: Discipline or Regret? appeared first on GROW GREAT.
Robert Hiett is the Executive Director of the Upper Coastal Plain Council of Governments. He’s also an expert at helping municipalities leverage A.I. Email: rhiett@ucpcog.org https://substack.com/@roberthiett https://www.linkedin.com/in/roberthiett Be well. Do good. Grow great! Check out the Hosts page for our profiles. Connect With Lisa On Linkedin • Connect With Randy On Linkedin We encourage you […]
The post Artificial Intelligence In City Government appeared first on GROW GREAT.
Your normal day is someone’s dream…so be thankful every day! Gratitude is always the path forward. Ships That Don’t Come In is a song Lisa mentions in today’s show. Be well. Do good. Grow great! Check out the Hosts page for our profiles. Connect With Lisa On Linkedin • Connect With Randy On Linkedin We […]
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Micah Gaudet is the Deputy City Manager for the City of Maricopa, Arizona. He’s also an expert in the use of AI for municipal government. He joins us today to deepen our understanding of the potential of artificial intelligence in our daily work. Find Micah in Linkedin here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/micahgaudet/ Here are the links to […]
The post Micah Gaudet: Levering Artificial Intelligence appeared first on GROW GREAT.
High performers tend to take on more and more…because they have a high degree of willingness, they want more responsibility and we know they’ll get it done. Leaders must be mindful of over-burdening star players simply because we know they’ll “get it done.” Great leaders are highly aware of what their team members are […]
The post Mindful Leadership: Don’t Over-Burden Your High-Performers appeared first on GROW GREAT.
Legacy. What will yours be? Every great leader quickly recognizes people who make a difference in their lives. Maybe it was a school teacher. Or a sports coach. It may have been a parent or grandparent. Each of us is standing on the shoulders of somebody who came before us. Who will stand on […]
The post The Legacy of Great Leadership: Who Will Stand On Your Shoulders? appeared first on GROW GREAT.
Author Brad Meltzer said… “Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.” Today, we’re pulling back the curtain to demonstrate Meltzer’s quote is correct. The point? Compassion. “A focus on others.” Be well. Do good. Grow great! Check out the Hosts page for our profiles. Connect With Lisa […]
The post Everyone You Meet Is Fighting A Battle appeared first on GROW GREAT.
You’ll either find a way…or an excuse. Lisa and I were discussing understanding. Mostly, we were considering this quote from an unknown author… If only we fought just as hard to understand as we do to disagree. It morphed into a conversation about the difference between high and low performers. Not that there’s only […]
The post No Excuses Leadership appeared first on GROW GREAT.
From childhood until this present moment…I suffer from high empathy. When recently describing my empathy I reiterated how the depth of my empathy wasn’t some universal brush used to paint everybody or every situation. I’m discriminating. Selective. Because I know I’m a finite resource with only so much to give, only so much time […]
The post Great Leaders Don’t Misplace Their Empathy appeared first on GROW GREAT.
Be scared and do it anyway. Be under-qualified, and get in the room anyway. Be messy, imperfect, and unsure and show up anyway. Comfort is the enemy of growth. Get uncomfortable. Growth requires learning. Learning requires us to attempt things we’ve not tried before. Along the way, there will be missteps, mistakes, and failures. […]
The post Get Uncomfortable, Grow Great appeared first on GROW GREAT.
You don’t always have to tell your side of the story because time will. Leaders can be honest without being completely open with all the details. Sometimes we must deliver a deeper service by protecting others. It’s part of the loneliness of leadership – the knowledge we have that would serve no useful purpose […]
The post Time Will Often Tell The Stories You Can’t appeared first on GROW GREAT.
Cowardice takes a toll on effective leadership. It robs us of opportunities to perform better, to serve well and to make a positive difference. It’s hard, but necessary at times if we’re going to do the “right” thing. Join us today as we discuss courage, cowardice, competence and credibility. See if you can apply […]
The post Are You Courageous Enough To Stand Alone? appeared first on GROW GREAT.
Two recent physical ailments provoked me to think about how I might improve a third problem. Honestly, had it not been for the first two I may have avoided getting too serious about figuring out the other one. Join me and Lisa today as we talk about self-awareness and self-improvement in our leadership and […]
The post Self-Improvement For City Government Leaders appeared first on GROW GREAT.
Shiny object syndrome. Dogs (or cats) chasing laser pointers. Running around like squirrels. Chasing our tails. We use all kinds of language to describe being distracted. It’s increasingly easy to be distracted. Electronically. Physically. Emotionally. Mentally. What if we could discipline ourselves to limit the distractions? What if we were in better tune with […]
The post Don’t Let Distractions Kill Your Leadership appeared first on GROW GREAT.
Being present is becoming more challenging. Our meeting culture of jumping from one meeting to another contributes to the challenge. So does the Internet, social media and the iPhone. All of our lives are filled with distractions that beckon for our attention. Simon Sinek and many others have talked about how phones are negatively […]
The post Focus: Be Present appeared first on GROW GREAT.
Do you have behaviors that drive you crazy? Of course. We all do. Join me and Lisa as we discuss overcoming the things about ourselves that drives us crazy (and probably drives others crazy, too). Be well. Do good. Grow great! Check out the Hosts page for our profiles. Connect With Lisa On Linkedin • […]
The post Wrestling With Ourselves appeared first on GROW GREAT.
High performers are the most coachable people on the planet. They’re driven to get better. Always improving. High performers want to shoulder high expectations. They crave the responsibility and accountability. They remain curious – wondering how they might get better. It never crosses their mind to stop learning because all of life is an […]
The post Is Your Best Skill Being Coachable? appeared first on GROW GREAT.
Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall. Lisa and I both agree that our leadership failures have always had one thing in common: pride. After almost 15 years of coaching executives I’ve discovered that we’re not alone. Every leader I know confesses their own failures stemmed from moments […]
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May 7, 1957. My birthday. I was officially old years ago. Now I’m really old. Lisa and I talk about our age, being married, being empty nesters and more. Thank you for being part of our lives. We hope we’re having a positive impact on your leadership journey. Be well. Do good. Grow great! […]
The post Randy Is Circling The Drain appeared first on GROW GREAT.
They’re always down and out. They complain incessantly. They’re adept at seeing the dark side of every challenge. Or opportunity. You don’t dare ask them how they’re doing because they’ll tell you. Complaining is their main source of vibrancy. Eeyore wasn’t a leader. That behavior won’t help us become leaders either. Be well. Do […]
The post Don’t Be Like Eeyore appeared first on GROW GREAT.
“It shouldn’t be this hard,” said the young bride speaking about her first year of married life. “What makes you think so?” I asked. “Because we’re in love.” Whether it’s love, life or work…many people are confused about how much work is required to achieve greatness. It’s hard, but it’s worth it. Be well. […]
The post Great Leaders Know It’s Hard, But Worth It appeared first on GROW GREAT.
“You get what you inspect.” – a trite management maxim “You get what you expect.” – a slightly less trite maxim “You see where you focus.” – the topic of today’s show Ask yourself these questions: a. What am I constantly looking at? b. What am I constantly looking for? c. Why? Optimism pays […]
The post Where’s Your Focus? appeared first on GROW GREAT.
People love to use business or industry jargon. And many of us enjoy hearing ourselves. Is it helpful in stating and solving problems? Does it help us seize opportunities better? Simplify Your Way To Better Solutions – putting in the work to be succinct in stating a problem clearly in the simplest terms to […]
The post Great Leaders Can Make It Simple appeared first on GROW GREAT.
Lisa texted me the following anonymous quote: No matter what knocks you down in life, get back up and keep going. Never give up. Great blessings are a result of great perservance. I was born in Oklahoma, historically Indian territory. I can’t remember when I first heard the story of how buffalo react to […]
The post I May Quit, But Not Today appeared first on GROW GREAT.
I’m a lifelong insomniac who doesn’t require much sleep. Occasionally I go on spurts of sleeping even less (which normally results in sleeping 12 hours at some point in the future). Lisa knows this about me, recently prompting her to ask, “Have you been getting sleep?” I responded sarcastically with the title used for […]
The post We’ll Sleep When We’re Dead appeared first on GROW GREAT.
Today we discuss the damage done by bosses who throw their own team members under the bus. The Holy Grail of leadership is a person’s ability (and willingness) to assemble a team, train a team, grow and develop a team to high performance standards consistently. That requires trust. Which requires self-sacrifice and a commitment […]
The post Leaders Go First By Putting Themselves Last appeared first on GROW GREAT.
Since the disruption of the Pandemic organizations have wrestled with redefining what work looks like. Hybrid work is partly in-person work and partly remote work. For some organizations it’s completely remote except for a few team building in-person events. Hybrid work is not one-size-fits-all. Join us today as we discuss how we can figure
The post Figuring Out Hybrid Work – Part 1 appeared first on GROW GREAT.
Today we wrap up our 3-part series on leading through the churn. We’ve discussed the need to figure out better ways to lead and manage through the churn, and how to assemble a team capable of effectively working through any churn issues. Now we’re going to close the series by talking about how we
The post Leading Through The Churn (Part 3) appeared first on GROW GREAT.
Lisa and I continue part 2 of our 3-part series on leading through the personnel churn. If you didn’t yet watch or listen to part 1, do that before you progress to this one. The context of part 1 will help you with the rest of the series. Today we focus on building your
The post Leading Through The Churn (Part 2) appeared first on GROW GREAT.
Today we begin a 3-part series on leading through the churn. We make a distinction between “churn” and “turnover.” Be sure to watch or listen to all 3 parts of this series. We hope you find it helpful. Be well. Do good. Grow great! Check out the Hosts page for our profiles. Connect With
The post Leading Through The Churn (Part 1) appeared first on GROW GREAT.
How can we improve ourselves and achieve greater success? One major contributor is our willingness and ability to focus on others…and how we can help them. Today we hope to provoke you to think about how you can step up your game and develop into a more impactful person in the lives of others.
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You, the leader, must have a clear purpose and mission. You have to know why you’re in it and what IT is. High performing teams aren’t constructed based on pure logic or reason. They need an emotional oomp – a genuine reason for existing. Something big to take a collective aim at. I’ve been
The post 3 Things You Must Do To Build A High Performing Team appeared first on GROW GREAT.
Older folks admonished me, “Grow where you’re planted.” The wisest of old folks who surrounded me influenced me to be careful where I was willing to plant myself. They knew the soil of my life would matter. It would determine how strong I’d be able to grow. Today, join me and Lisa as we
The post You Can’t Grow If You’re Planted In The Wrong Place appeared first on GROW GREAT.
Busy, busy, busy! It’s the battle cry in every city. The flow of work that must be done is often overwhelming. Managers lament, “I don’t have time to grow my people. We’ve got too much work to do.” It’s an excuse. And a flimsy one. It may even be delusional for managers who choose
The post I Don’t Have Time To Grow My People appeared first on GROW GREAT.
Everything in your life is a reflection of a choice you have made. If you want a different result, make a different choice. – Unknown Regularly I challenge my coaching clients with this question, “What would happen if you made up your mind to own it? All of it?” Everybody responds with a
The post Own It: Individual Responsibility For The Outcome appeared first on GROW GREAT.
As consumer we’ve all experienced that awful time when people don’t do what they say. It’s frustrating. Sometimes infuriating. Because we’re on the receiving end of that experience. Truth is, we’re all capable of being on the other end, too. We can tell others we’ll do something, but then drop the ball leaving it
The post Leadership Is Doing What You Say You’ll Do appeared first on GROW GREAT.
Many of us value popularity over influence. Some degree of fame over impact. I ran across a statement that I had to write down in my little notebook… Others will attempt to get you to lower your standards, to compromise performance and lower your expectations because that’s where you’ll find the crowd. Today, we
The post How Do You Measure Leadership Success? appeared first on GROW GREAT.
Our show today began with seeing this quote after the NBA championship series was won by the Denver Nuggets. This quote provoked us to think about the power of resilience in personal, professional and leadership growth. If you want to be successful…you need to be bad, then you need to be good. Then when
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“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” – Albert Einstein I heard Herminia Ibarra, a Yale-educated Ph.D. in organizational behavior, talk about the value of saying it out loud. Or saying it to somebody who you’re not that close to. She meant that by having to explain it
The post The High Value Of Saying It Out Loud appeared first on GROW GREAT.
If I hear the trite phrase, “comfort zone,” my eyes roll up into the back of my head. But my eyes do that when I hear any number of trite phrases. Besides, I rather enjoy being comfortable. Like now that summer has arrived, here in Texas, it means you can go outside and sweat
The post The Value Of Being Uncomfortable appeared first on GROW GREAT.
In recent weeks Lisa and I have been reminded of how rare leadership development is in organizations. While speaking at a recent conference Lisa, Lauren Safranek (Director of Human Resources, City of Frisco, Texas) and I asked the audience about formal coaching and mentoring. Only a few attendees admitted they had any experience with …
What Can I Do If Leadership Doesn’t Seem Interested? Read More »
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Talent is often seen as the top priority when hiring others and when we examine our own lives. But is talent THE determining factor in success and high performance? Or are there other characteristics that may matter more? Talent is merely an entry point. Without it, we don’t get to join the team and …
Talent Is Overrated Read More »
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Lisa texted me this quote, which prompted today’s show. Sir Ken Robinson wrote a book a few years ago entitled, The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything. He defined “the element” as the intersection where our natural aptitude and what we love meet. This is one of – if not THE …
Don’t Just Find A Job. Find A Purpose. Read More »
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Ask just about any leader or boss, “Is your team or organization high performing?” and they’ll likely remark, “Yes.” Follow that up with a question, “Can you prove it?” and that’s when the conversation can get astonishingly quiet. How can we know we’re high performing individually and collectively? When we hear so much about …
How Do You Know If Your Performance Is High? Read More »
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Growth. Improvement. Significance. Happiness. Contentment. These are just a few of the basic things we’re all interested in if we’re aiming to be our best. Nobody listening to this podcast is interested in complacency. We want to keep moving forward. Sometimes we’re faced with situations where we wonder if it’s time for us to …
How Do You Know When It’s Time For A Change? Read More »
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Let’s talk about how we can better handle fears, angst and worry – especially when those are caused by a transition in our organization, or our career. Be well. Do good. Grow great! Check out the Hosts page for our profiles. Connect With Lisa On Linkedin • Connect With Randy On Linkedin We encourage you …
How Can You Better Handle Transitions? Read More »
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A member of your team commits an error – an honest mistake. It negatively impacts somebody in your organization. Lisa and I discuss what she calls mistakes of the heart versus mistakes of the mind. How should we react? What impact might our reaction have on our leadership? Be well. Do good. Grow great! …
How Do You React To Your Team’s Mistakes? Read More »
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Why do we want what we want? Why do we think some solution is the best? Why isn’t merely a great question to suss out purpose, but it helps us better understand ourselves – and others. By taking the time to ask “WHY?” and then (more importantly) taking the time to listen to the …
Answering Why Helps Us Understand Ourselves & Others Read More »
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Everything is hard until it’s easy. Everything is slow until it’s fast. You have dreams and ambitions. You also have pain, suffering and sorrow. Hopefully you have a few Instagram moments every now and again, but mostly your life is likely routine filled with a fair amount of tears, angst and trepidation coupled with …
Leaders Are Human Read More »
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Randy’s computer died. So we’re going to take a break since we really have no other choice…as we await the arrival of his new machine. We’ll be back in April. Catch up on episodes you may have missed and we’ll be back before you know it. Thanks for watching and listening. Be well. Do good. …
Wait A Minute, What? Read More »
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Growing up I was always entertained when a plate spinner would appear on a variety TV show. Today was the absolute worst day ever And don’t try to convince me that There’s something good in every day Because, when you take a closer look, This world is a pretty evil place. Even if Some …
Is Today Really The Worst Day Ever? Read More »
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Chief James Brandon of Southlake, Texas joins us today. James and Ashleigh Casey, Assistant Chief, lead an extremely high-performing team of officers and civilian support staff. Southlake, Texas is a thriving community in the northeast area of Tarrant County, with portions in Denton County. Since 2005 Southlake has enjoyed the leadership of City Manager …
James Brandon Chief Of Police Southlake, Texas Read More »
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Jason Little is our guest today. Jason is the City Manager for Melissa, Texas, a growing smaller community in the DFW Metroplex. Jason has been leading a high-performing culture in Melissa for over 16 years. He shares his leadership journey and explains how his high-achieving organization serves a community that is experiencing increased growth. …
Jason Little: City Manager Melissa, Texas Read More »
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My partner here at Grow Great, Lisa Norris, is currently navigating some challenges. Personal challenges. But not to worry. She’s doing well and holding up nicely even though these are weighty days for her. As we grow older life presents new and different challenges. Our families change. Kids enter the picture. They grow up. …
Personal Challenges In Professional Leadership Read More »
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Courtney Runnels is a Crisis Support Supervisor for the City of Grand Prairie, Texas. She’s also our guest today to discuss how she continues to grow her impact to help her employer, and other cities, provide mental health services for employees and the community. Here are some useful links referred to in today’s show: …
Courtney Runnels Leading A Charge For Improved Mental Health Read More »
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Grand Prairie, Texas – where Lisa is the Director of HR – is a high-performing culture. Under the leadership of City Manager Steve Dye, Grand Prairie has continued to invest in developing and growing both existing and emerging leaders. Deputy City Manager Cheryl De Leon spearheads an initiative to develop high-performing leaders in the …
Investing In Leadership Development & Growth Read More »
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Ben Thatcher, City Manager for Boerne, Texas joins us today to discuss leadership and change management. Boerne (pronounced bur-nee) is a gem of the Texas hill country located about 25 miles northwest of San Antonio. Under Ben’s leadership, the city has established a mission, vision, and values statement. These foundational principles serve city leadership’s …
Ben Thatcher, City Manager – Boerne, Texas Read More »
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What do you do with a team leader or team member who is undermining the work and the culture? While you’re working hard to set sail for fast smooth, waters they’re behind your back (usually) drilling holes in the hull of the boat. Today’s show was largely sparked by two quotes. “Make sure everybody …
Dealing With Saboteurs Read More »
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Today we’re joined by Grand Prairie Chief of Police Daniel Scesney. Daniel (he prefers to not be called ‘Chief’) has an extensive background in police work and leadership. A former Marine, Daniel spent years in police investigative work, including major crimes. He was promoted from being a police sergeant to assistant chief, something his …
Grand Prairie Police Chief Daniel Scesney on Influence Read More »
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Lisa texted this quote… A positive attitude brings much gratitude. Think positive, be positive, speak positive. Do it every day, make it a HABIT.” This isn’t some touchy, feely kind of a thing. It’s more intentional, purposeful, tactical and strategic. As we enter a brand new year – another year of uncertainty – it’s …
Facing The Uncertainty of a New Year With Optimism Read More »
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Lisa texted me the image below and asked, “What do you think about this quote as a show topic?” I read it quickly, then I read it more carefully. There is a purpose for everyone you meet. Some people come into your life to test you, some to teach you, some to use you, …
There Is A Purpose For Everyone You Meet Read More »
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Today’s discussion isn’t about telling the world to shove off (or something even less polite). It’s about leaning into becoming the best version of YOU. Comparing ourselves to others is a fool’s game, but wildly popular. Wishing we were like somebody else or wishing we were somebody different isn’t the ideal path forward. Instead, …
Lean Into Being Yourself Read More »
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Don Norris is Lisa’s husband and a natural, empathetic leader. He’s our guest today sharing his experience, insights, and wisdom. People. Connections. Relationships. They continue to be the theme of growing great as a leader. If you want to have a positive impact on others and build a high-performing culture, listen to Don’s insights. …
Don Norris, Empathy In Leadership Read More »
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It begins with you, the leader. The spark to build a high-performing team, and a high-performing culture…hinges on having a leader willing to be a spark plug. Today, we have an in-depth conversation about what it is to accept responsibility to be that spark plug that every effective team needs (and craves), and how …
Be A Spark Plug Read More »
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You’re in a quandary. You’re privy to some information but you’re just not sure if you should share the information. There are so secrets or formulas. Every person and situation is unique and has to be figured out on its own terms. Join us today as we discuss some things we’ve learned in our …
To Share Or Not To Share, That Is The Question Read More »
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It’s our first Thanksgiving Day week here at Grow Great and we’re thankful to share it with you. Lisa and I have been honored to have your time and attention. As our audience has grown we’ve been overwhelmed with positive feedback. We appreciate each one of you. Today, we have a brief but important …
Happy Thanksgiving 2022 Read More »
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It all started after I texted this image (and quote) to Lisa. We chuckled and then had a serious chat about recording today’s conversation. “You can’t keep getting mad at people for sucking the life out of you if you keep giving them the straw.” -Unknown Much of our work in helping others revolves …
Stop Giving Them The Straw Read More »
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Weeks ago Lisa came across this social media post by Steven Bartlett, a UK-based entrepreneur/podcaster. We decided to do an episode about each one. Mostly, it provoked us to think about what sentences we would write – things we wish we had known sooner. Jokingly, I told Lisa that my list would be much …
7 Sentences You May Wish You Had Read Sooner Read More »
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As a Director of HR Lisa Norris, my co-host, regularly encounters professionals searching for insights about how they might reinvent themselves professionally. It can be daunting trying to figure out what skills, insights, and experiences you have that may be highly valuable if you could only figure out ways to translate them into a …
How Do You Reinvent Yourself? Read More »
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Last week we discusses the power of your story – and how a chapter doesn’t fully define your story. Today, we’re going to focus on your leadership, specifically your job to provide a story for your team so they can understand where they fit and how they can make a positive difference. Years ago, …
Giving Your Team A Story (Individually & Collectively) Read More »
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“Just because someone came in on this chapter of your life doesn’t mean they know your whole story.” Today we have a conversation – a personal, intimate conversation – about Lisa’s difficult chapter. It was during this chapter I was first introduced to her. As you’ll discover, it was just a chapter – maybe …
A Chapter Doesn’t Tell Your Whole Story Read More »
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Some weeks ago Lisa texted me this quote… When you can’t control what’s happening, challenge yourself to control the way you respond to what’s happening. That’s where your power is. We’ve been noodling on that quote behind the scenes for a bit. Today we felt it was time to have a deeper conversation about …
You Can Control The Way You Respond Read More »
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Leonard Martin enjoyed a 42-year career in city government. Well, he enjoyed much of it. 😉 His career began with a paid internship in his hometown of Wichita Falls, Texas. Along the way, he worked at Malvern (Arkansas), Rollo (Missouri), Joplin (Missouri), and Edmond (Oklahoma). Leonard finished his career as the City Manager of …
Retired City Manager Leonard Martin On Hiring Tall Read More »
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Watching a grandson play in a junior high football game can teach many lessons, including whether or not you’re as good as you think. In all fairness, he had been warning me all week that his team likely going to be killed. Turns out, he was right. Leaders can sometimes suffer delusions thinking we’re better…or …
Leadership: How Can You Know If You’re Good? Read More »
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Bum Phillips was a quotable NFL coach, a good ‘ol boy from Texas. We’re fans of this quote Bum uttered about failure. It speaks to the excuse-making that is so easy to do, and shows how blaming others (or anything really) isn’t the path toward growing great. “You fail all the time, but you …
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This quote serves as today’s conversation starter. “Great leaders are not the best at everything. They find people who are best at different things and get them all on the same team!” Keep in mind that Lisa and I define leadership in a few simple terms: • A focus on others • Doing for …
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We’re thinking of that scene in Meet The Fockers where Jack (played by Robert De Niro) looks at the wall of fame Greg’s parents have erected and says, “I didn’t know they made 9th place ribbons.” To which Greg’s dad (played by Dustin Hoffman) remarks, “Oh Jack, they got ’em all the way up …
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He drives to work calculating all the things on his to-do list. It’s a never-ending stream of activities. His calendar is packed making him wonder when he’s going to get any actual work done. “It is what it is,” he thinks to himself. Coffee in hand, he enters the building and heads straight to …
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Lisa and I discuss this quote by Theodore Roosevelt. I start with the premise that the function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers. – Theodore Roosevelt Do you agree with it? How do you see leadership, specifically your own? Our leadership is dramatically impacted by how we see ourselves …
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Leadership challenges persist, but they’re not all created equally. Google the phrase and you’ll get more results than you’ll have time to investigate. Recently, prompted by a client conversation I went snooping around online. For my purposes, I was curious about what Indeed.com – the jobs marketplace – might have to say about the …
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Sometimes we urge people to “own it,” meaning “accept responsibility for it.” What do you think of when you hear that? Some think about blame and guilt, declaring, “I didn’t cause it. It’s not my fault.” But today we don’t use that phrase to assign blame. Responsibility and accountability aren’t about finger-pointing, but rather …
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Connections are most easily made with people we can relate to. Trust only follows connection. That’s why displays of humanity prove some of the most fruitful leadership work. Today, we talk about how our own experiences of showing our humanity paid off in building high-performing teams. Speaking of connections…be sure to connect with me …
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Procrastination. Hesitation. Dread. Fear. They’re all employed whenever managers don’t want to have the difficult – we’re calling them – crucial conversations. Hiding is tempting. Sometimes we surrender to it, opting to avoid doing what we know needs to be done. Today, we challenge you – and ourselves – to behave more like buffalo …
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Do you know what a poor relationship looks like? I can tell you. They don’t want to help. They don’t care. They are uninterested in what you are trying to achieve. That alone should tell you why relationships, and fostering them, are crucial. poor relationship management = poor customer/team experience = poor culture It’s …
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Cheryl De Leon serves as Deputy City Manager over Airport, Audit Services, Budget, Communications and Marketing, Downtown, Community Services, Finance/ Human Resources, Information Technology, Library, Parks Arts and Recreation. She joins us today to discuss the art of mentoring, a topic she’s passionate about to help grow leaders in city government in Grand Prairie, …
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A lack of trust is very evident. Nothing serves as a more solid footing for effective leadership. What does it mean to trust? In a word, “confidence.” It’s an assurance we feel about somebody’s character, integrity, competence (ability), and honesty (truth). Why don’t we trust? Because people, including us, sometimes prove we’re not what …
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Compassion is the high point in our leadership recipe. Simply put, compassion is a focus on others. That’s congruent with our definition of leadership… A focus on others, influence and doing for others what they’re not able to do for themselves This podcast – every episode – is our endeavor to add to the …
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A lack of understanding is never an advantage. Now armed with facts, figures, and other forms of knowledge, leaders need to use that knowledge in making wise decisions. That’s impossible if we don’t understand. Understanding answers many questions, most importantly, “Why?” Today, Lisa and I talk about the power of understanding with stories from …
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The 3rd leadership ingredient is knowledge. Leaders today face unprecedented challenges with knowledge. We’re smothered with data, numbers, intel and other forms of “knowledge.” But we’re also challenged with reality and truth. Welcome to the world of deep fakes – some intentional and much of it likely unintentional. We see data and connect dots. …
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Steve Dye is the City Manager of Grand Prairie, Texas, the 15th most populated city in Texas. Today, he joins us to discuss his experiences, insights, and wisdom in city government leadership. We also talk about the power of putting up tables and chairs! Click the image below for a FREE downloadable PDF of …
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Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it built the extraordinary leader. The quality of our questions determines the quality of our leadership – and most other positive things, too! Curiosity may be the most fun and contagious ingredient of all. Asking questions and questioning answers is energizing. Exhilarating even! Avoid jumping into TELL …
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Humility is the first and most essential leadership ingredient. Without it, everything else fails. Bosses and leaders may be one and the same, but they may not be. Every boss is a leader (they’ve got influence; it may not always be positive though), but not every leader is a boss (somebody with a title, …
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Today Lisa and I introduce to you the five (5) leadership recipe ingredients. Admittedly, these five things started out as what I called “the progression of leadership,” back in the 1980s. When I taught them to Lisa she improved on the language because she considered them ingredients. They belong in a specific order to …
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One of our favorite topics This can truly and critically impact success as a leader Quote: “Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in your absence.” All of us have had really good and really bad leaders. Think about them. The bad ones? …
#2205 – Why A Focus On Others Is Great…For You! Read More »
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There’s a specific place where each of us can find our greatest growth. It’s the corner. The corner is a metaphor for a place we all must go in order to move forward. It represents a place where we’re no longer relying on excuses. Once we paint ourselves into the corner we suck all …
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We lead people. We manage the work. Leadership is a focus on others. It’s about influence and doing for others what they can’t do for themselves. Managing is about getting the to-do list accomplished. It’s about output. Leadership doesn’t depend on a title, position or authority – but it helps. Leadership with authority speeds …
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Today we’ll share a bit more about who we are and why you may want to listen to our leadership podcast. A podcast about city government leadership. Rather than act like we’ve got all the answers, we’re mostly interested in helping you explore the path forward in your own leadership journey. We share a …
#2202 – Getting To Know More About Lisa & Randy Read More »
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It’s been months in the works…a reboot of the Grow Great podcast. Let me introduce you to Lisa Norris. Lisa is currently the Director of Human Resources / Civil Services for the City of Grand Prairie, Texas. She’s going to be my co-host. Leadership continues to be the focus of this podcast. Now, we’re …
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Thank you for clicking play on the Grow Great podcast. Warning – some sports analogies ahead! 😉 I’m an OU Sooner football fan, the hazards of being born in Oklahoma. Sooner fans were shocked over a month ago when head coach, Lincoln Riley, resigned to take his talents to USC. Within weeks a new head …
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That’s right. Returning to my roots and a simpler way to go. After all, the short way here to the website is GrowGreat.com. It’s a terrific URL because it’s short, simple and easy to remember. During the Holiday season, I engaged in a few conversations with friends about how I was craving a simpler life. …
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NOTE: As of February 1, 2022 I’ve made an adjustment based on feedback from prospective clients. “I’m interested in starting this program, but a March start is better for me. Can I apply?” Go here for an update to this post and my pivot. Matt owned and operated a small manufacturing company (annual revenue $45M+). …
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My work continues all the way deep into Christmas week. I guess it’s the hazards of operating retail companies for so many years. I struggle to wind things down and do my best to serve clients up to and for as long as they need my help. The week between Christmas and New Year’s – …
Thank You, Happy Holidays & Good-Bye 2021 Read More »
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What if? It was the foundational question behind spreadsheet analysis when LOTUS and other tools were around before Microsoft brought us the defacto standard, Excel. The name Excel is a dead giveaway of the power of asking and answering “What if?” questions. It’s what we all hope to accomplish. Many years ago I was heavily …
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Those of us in the helping business – as our friends in the UK refer to it – are defined by our clients. That’s why we seek out high-performing clients who demand our best. They want us to push and challenge them to get better – which means we have to get better ourselves. Birds …
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Business owners hit some point early in the process of building their business where they lament being unable to replicate themselves. This is even more so when the business owner has some innate skill that helped propel the business forward. Executives hit the same point, many because they struggle to control their control freakishness. “Give …
If It Is To Be…It’s Up To Me (doing the hard work of improving yourself) Read More »
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The question assumes you were once there – wherever there may be. I’m a hockey fan. Through the years I’ve watched countless NHL players battle injuries to get back into the lineup. Each year after one team lifts the Stanley Cup you then hear about all the off-season surgeries. Players sometimes play in every game …
How Do You Find Your Way Back? Read More »
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It doesn’t’ happen often. In fact, I’ve gone on record that in all my years of serving leaders I’ve only encountered one client who was utterly disagreeable to be helped. But that doesn’t mean all of us don’t encounter times – perhaps just moments – where we’re resistant to asking for, or accepting help even …
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Every night while sitting in the front of the TV I’d open a large accordion file where I kept manufacturers’ literature on high-fidelity stereo gear. The file was alphabetized with a slot for every letter. Advent speaker literature went into the A. Thorens turntables into the T slot. I started this habit while in junior …
Bula Business Builders: Helping Small Business Owners Hit The Trifecta Read More »
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Now that the 30-Day Micro Leadership Course is complete I’m going to keep my word and step away for a bit. As I prepare to shut things down for a while I’ve been thinking about rest, rejuvenation, revival, recreation, and all the various things we can do to help ourselves improve. Last week I was …
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Session 30. We’re completing this short 30-Day Micro Leadership Course. My goal when we began was to provoke thoughts, beliefs, and actions. Mostly, I wanted to help you challenge yourself and your enterprise to higher human performance! My role isn’t to tell you what to do, or how to do it. My role is to …
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Session 29 in our 30-Day Micro Leadership Course. Let’s keep the ideas flowing about being excellent – not just in our leadership but for our team, group, or organization. Let’s talk about it context of connection, collaboration, and communication. These three C’s are crucial for high-performance and your leadership. By now you’ve figured out how …
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Day 28 of our 30-Day Micro Leadership Course. Let’s continue our conversation about keeping score, measurements. About 15 years ago I decided to get more intentional about my physical health and fitness so I signed up at a gym. From the get-go I went five days a week for about 45 minutes to an hour. …
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Day 27. Four more sessions including today and then we’re have completed our 30-Day Micro Leadership Course, a series of about 5 hours of real-world leadership coaching. You’re doing the work. I’m only here to help spur you on to do the work by showing you a few things you may not have considered, by …
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Session 26. These are the last five sessions. But don’t zone out because these are going to be important lessons for your leadership journey. Back on day 15, we talked about writing your story. Let’s circle back around to that today with a context you may not have considered. To keep things simple, let’s consider …
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Day 25. The countdown begins as we’re winding our way down in this 30-Day Micro Leadership Course, but we’re going to finish strong with some pivotal lessons. The vertical pressures every leader must manage are “boots in the dirt” versus “eye in the sky.” Now we’re going to consider the horizontal pressures, “YOU” versus “a …
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Day 24. There are four distinct pressures I always cover in my leadership coaching. These are in contrast to the trite subject of “balance.” Somebody may have figured out balance, that perfect mixture of business and personal. Work-life and personal life. It’s an impossible feat as far as I know. Instead, there are priorities…which are …
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Day 23 of our 30-Day Micro Leadership Course. Difficult conversations. How do you handle these? How does your culture deal with them? Hiding is pretty common. Maybe not physically, but sometimes it could be. Avoiding is hiding. Does that describe how you react to tough conversations? It’s a common way of handling things. Ignore it …
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September 22, 2021. Day 22 of our 30-Day Micro Leadership Course. Daily communication. Yesterday we focused on the DNA kind of message – the communication that tells everybody why we’re here together, what we’re doing and how we’re doing it. In my experience, conciseness and candor pay. Bigtime. Before we go further about any kind …
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Ten more days until we’re done with this short 30-Day Micro Leadership Course. The course is micro, but not your leadership. 😉 Let’s get busy concentrating on creating and sustaining a high-performance culture. I likely could have devoted every session of this course to one topic: communication. Communication is the easy scapegoat for all that …
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Day 20. Monday, September 20, 2021. Pride. And I’m not talking about the pride we take in doing great work. I’m talking about pride as in our ego. Our quest and desire to have power and authority. Every leadership failure you experience will occur or be worsened because of your pride. We can lose our …
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Day 19. September 19, 2021. While most of the things contained in this 30-Day Micro Leadership Course are timeless, there is a current disruption that may last for years – the great resignation. Google it and you’ll be overwhelmed with search results. There are millions of people who, thanks to the Pandemic and other reasons, …
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Happy Saturday. It’s day 18 of our 30-Day Micro Leadership Course. We’re now leaning heavily toward a discussion about elevating our leadership in order to establish a high-performance culture inside our organizations. Before we dive more deeply into that I think we need to make a distinction between management and leadership. We lead people. We …
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Day 17. September 17, 2021. Employment has been disrupted more in the past 18 months than at any other time in my lifetime. The Pandemic, government economic incentives (or whatever else you’d like to call them), and people migrating from one place to another – it’s all led to major problems for employers all over …
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Since 2007 I’ve successfully coached a variety of clients from business owners, CEOs, COOs, CFOs, CTOs, Directors, City Managers, Deputy or Assistant City Managers, HR Directors, attorneys, and entrepreneurs. So far I’ve only had one – that’s right, one single exception – where the client experience (and my own) wasn’t as fruitful as it should …
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Day 16. September 16, 2021. Writing your story means architecting your life. Living the life you most want to live. Hopefully, that means being as good as you can be. Today, we’re thinking about telling our story. We want to pursue our ideal outcome and give high effort to growing and improving. We also want …
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Here we are at the halfway point in our 30 Day Micro Leadership Course. Day 15, September 15, 2021. Writing Your Story View your life like a book comprised of many chapters. Your name is on the cover. You alone are writing the story. There may be many characters who are part of your story, …
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Welcome to day 14 of our 30 Day Micro Leadership Course. We’ve covered an awful lot of ground and I hope you’re finding the course helpful so far. Just remember, there’s a vast difference between knowing and doing. Make sure you put things into practice. We want this information to benefit you in real life. …
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Day 13. September 13, 2021. Welcome back to our 30-Day Micro Leadership Course. “A change will do you good,” sings Sheryl Crow. She’s right. ? That doesn’t make it popular or easy. Transforming ourselves is arduous work. I suspect many people rather enjoy being stuck because it’s comfortable. “The devil you know” and all that. …
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Day 12. Sunday, September 12, 2021. Today we’re talking about creating! Specifically, I’m talking about you creating your own ideas, philosophies, beliefs, and courses of action rather than relying on experts, thought leaders, authors, or even podcasters. 😉 Research has shown the powerful impact teaching or coaching can have on the person doing the teaching …
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Twenty years ago today. It was a Tuesday morning. We had the NBC Today Show on the TV as we were getting ready. Sometime after 7:30 am Central the news hit. Something horrific was happening in NYC at the World Trade Center towers. It was – and still is – surreal. And the phrase, Nine-Eleven, …
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Day 10. After today we’re one-third of the way through this micro leadership course. I hope you’ve been ruminating on your leadership and working to figure out how to improve. Today, let’s talk about decluttering, consuming, and creating. Decluttering is ridiculously powerful. Hard, but powerful. No, I’m not talking about going through your office and …
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Happy 70th birthday to my sister! Hard to believe we’ve both grown old, but here we are. Her name is Lexie. So I’m giving her a shout out today. We’re on day 9 of our 30 day micro course and today we’re going to talk about potential. What could be so we avoid what might …
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Day 8. Session 8 of our 30-Day Micro Leadership Course. Yesterday I mentioned management theory X and Y. These are important because how you choose to see the world and your place in it matters greatly to your leadership potential. Theory X basically puts forth that people will not do work – much less good …
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Influence. Doing for others what they’re unable to do for themselves. That’s leadership. It’s not power. Or authority. Or being in charge. It’s not about being the boss. We’re so fixated on titles, positions, and power that we often overlook or discount leadership. We think authority is the key to it all. But it’s not. …
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Welcome to days 5 and 6 of our 30-Day Micro Leadership Course…for Sunday, September 5th and 6th. Labor Day Weekend and out-of-town company, coupled with just too much stuff going on derailed my continuity briefly. Hey, it happens. So we adapt, right? So today let’s compress two days into a single episode. We’re going to …
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Day 4. September 4, 2021. Let’s continue where we left off yesterday with our next ingredient or component, knowledge. Some folks think this should go first, but I’ve intentionally placed humility and curiosity in front of it because without those knowledge acquisition is impossible. Just log onto any social media platform and find a post …
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Day 3. September 3rd, 2021. Welcome to the 30 Day Micro Leadership Course. Yesterday we began talking about the leadership recipes – the components that makeup what I’ve long called the “leadership progression.” Humility is the foundation. Until we make sure we’re on the firm footing of humility, nothing else can be built. So let’s …
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Let’s single out the component of the progression of leadership. First, let’s discuss how it’s not just a progression, but it’s more of an ongoing recipe. If we think of these components as check-the-box things, we’ll miss the point. Like a recipe, sometimes we may need to lean more on one of them more heavily. …
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Wednesday, September 1, 2021. Today is the first micro session in this leadership course designed to provide bite-sized nuggets of wisdom you can use beginning right now! Leadership is a) influence and b) the ability to do for others what they can’t do for themselves. It doesn’t have anything to do with a title or …
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Transcript of today’s special episode where I pull back the curtain on my coaching process. Welcome to high-impact influence the podcast. The website is Grow Great dot com, you can also get there by going to High Impact Influence dot com, but Grow Great dot com is just easier to remember. I’m your host Randy …
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How do you elevate your performance so you can add value to your team? How do you make a bigger difference? It’s not about you, but it begins with you because we’ve already defined leadership as influence. Namely, your influence! But how? There are six components of effective leadership influence. Don’t look at these as …
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Perspective matters. How we see the world and our place in it largely determines our behavior. Take some time today and think about that more deeply. Here are some questions that can help get you started. Why am I doing what I’m doing? How would you describe what you do? If you were one of …
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To say yes, first we have to say no. No to the other things that would require our time and attention. Yes to the things we want to pursue. This podcast has morphed as my life and career have morphed. It’s never been a drastic change, but over time a change in just a few …
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? Greg Jones is currently the owner of the Beehive Neighborhood Hangout, Xplore family of restaurants, and Co-Owner of Artfully Baked and Brewed in Hot Springs Village, Arkansas. But his roots are in hi-tech. Armed with a computer science degree from Georgia Tech, Greg entered the real world by way of startups. Eventually, he found …
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Do more of what works. Do less of what doesn’t. But that sounds easy. Empty even. Kind of like urging people who want to be rich with an admonition, “Get a million dollars!” Great advice. But how? Today’s show is going to be full of vulnerability. Not whining or complaining, but explaining. Experience and insight …
Traction & Momentum: Pursuing The Things That Work After Killing The Things That Don’t Read More »
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First, a definition. Psychological Safety. That’s the common label for the kind of safety we’re speaking of today. Of course, physical safety is equally paramount. Even in the brutal training of military special forces, safety during the training is stressed. Participants may feel as though they’re going to die as they push to never-before-experienced extremes. …
The Role of Safety In High-Performance Cultures (Season 2021, Episode 13) Read More »
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Persistence is defined as: • continuing firmly or obstinately in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition • continuing to exist or endure over a prolonged period Learning is defined as: the acquisition of knowledge or skills through experience, study, or by being taught High-performing organizations have a superior commitment to persistent …
Persistent Learning (Season 2021, Episode 12) Read More »
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Tom Hart has served as Grand Prairie City Manager since 1999. Prior to that, Hart was Assistant City Manager and later City Manager in Euless for 16 years. He was one of the youngest city managers in the history of Texas when he served as City Manager in The Colony from 1978-1981. Known for his …
43 Years Of City Leadership: Tom Hart, City Manager of Grand Prairie, Texas (Season 2021, Episode 11) Read More »
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Today, I’m rejoining Dr. David Childs, Ph.D. for a conversation about what Jim Collins referred to in his books as Level 5 Leadership. David is highly qualified in high-performance leadership. In 2015 he published a book, The Organization Whisperer: 12 Core Actions That Ripple Excellence Through Your Organization. I encourage you to connect with him …
Dr. David Childs On Level 5 Leadership Traits – Part 1 (Season 2021, Episode 10) Read More »
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This photograph was taken sometime in 1982. Today’s episode is from the now unpublished archives. It was recorded on Friday, May 11, 2012. I resurrected it because recent client work went where it always seems to go sooner than later. Personal. Struggles. Sorrows. Challenges. Opportunities. It made me think about how we’re human, all of …
Where Are Your Guaranteed Lifetime Benefits? (Season 2021, Episode 9) Read More »
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? Camille Neyhouser is the Owner and Founder of Repassionate Your Organization (RYO). Camille helps organizations revolutionize their vision, employee motivation & engagement, productivity, and income. She helps leaders build/rebuild their organizations with passion, purpose & inner power. Prior to founding her own company, Camille had a 14-year career with the most reputable international development …
Camille Neyhouser: Repassionate Your Organization (Season 2021, Episode 8) Read More »
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? Joining me today via Zoom is Sheri Chaney Jones. She is an expert on public sector evaluation and applied organizational research. Sheri is the President and Founder of Measurement Resources, a consulting company dedicated to helping the social sector with performance management, evaluation, and organizational behavior. She is also the author of Impact & …
Sheri Chaney Jones: Measuring High-Performance Impact In The Public Sector (Season 2021, Episode 7) Read More »
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Last Tuesday was February 2nd, 2021 – Groundhog Day. AMC played the movie staring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell on constant repeat all day that day. I know ’cause I watched it twice. Rotten Tomatoes gives the movie a 96% on the Tomatometer. Here’s how they summarize the movie, for you slackards who have never …
Lessons In Time Management As Taught By The Movie, Groundhog Day (Season 2021, Episode 6) Read More »
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Tommy Gonzalez is an impressively high performing leader with a vast and varied experience that includes a 22-year career in military service where he was a Lt. Colonel in the U.S. Army. In 2014 he was appointed the City Manager of El Paso, Texas, the 21st largest city in America with an annual budget of …
A Conversation With High-Performing Leader Tommy Gonzalez, El Paso’s City Manager (Season 2021, Episode 5) Read More »
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Being adaptive is innate in all of us. Human beings have power no other animal has – the ability to adapt quickly! Because of our brainpower, we can adjust and adapt fast! Faster than any creatures on the planet. Humans have the ability to project and consider various outcomes. We’re able to think about what …
This May Be The Key To Being More Adaptive (Season 2021, Episode 4) Read More »
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I’m a solopreneur. In 1994 I read my first book (I think) about being a one-person business. It was a book by Terri Lonier entitled, Working Solo. I’m not even sure why I bought the book because I was leading a fairly sized company at the time. Working solo wasn’t even on my radar. At …
Are These 7 Things As Effective As I Think? (Season 2021, Episode 03) Read More »
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Yesterday’s Know-How May Not Answer Today’s Challenges. That was my original title for today’s show but I changed it. I have the following quote on my About page… Do not assume I’m going to take issue with the late, great Peter Drucker because I’m not. I believe he was right. However, I’m not terribly anxious …
This Is Always The Path To Improvement (Season 2021, Episode 02) Read More »
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During the early stages of morphing yourself into a high-performing culture, you can embrace a new level of creativity (aka innovation) when you commit to taking a harder look at what you’re doing. That means you individually and you collectively. Being too close to things is problematic because it robs us of the ability to …
Two Important Questions Every Leader Must Ask & Answer (Season 2021, Episode 01) Read More »
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Van is a manager. Experienced. Being a boss is important to Van. He enjoys having people answer to him. Beth is a manager. Inexperienced. She never thinks about being “the boss.” She’s busy helping her direct reports do better. Based only on this information, which one do you think is making a difference – a …
Grow Yourself, Grow Others & Make A Difference – Season 2020, Episode 40 Read More »
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Serendipity happened. I was traveling. Part business, part pleasure. I walked into a place to get some information and came face to face with a man who had spent decades in Texas. The fact was, he lived in the DFW area for many years – the place I had driven from for this trip. He …
A Conversation With The Organization Whisperer, David Childs, PhD – Season 2020, Episode 39 Read More »
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The Peer Advantage by Bula Network is a new initiative that I’ve been working on this year. Like most things, I’ve gotten it wrong until I could figure out how to get it right. And I have a client to thank for helping me figure it out. NOTE: If you want to dig through my …
Anticipate & Pursue The Ideal Outcome (Creating High-Performing Cultures) – Season 2020, Episode 38 Read More »
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The air is clear but cool. It’s about 40 degrees. I’m staring at some woods, watching chipmunks, squirrels and all kinds of birds flitter around. Chilling out means exhaling. Inhaling, too. Slowly. Deliberately. But naturally. The kind of breathing that helps melt away whatever may be vexing a person’s emotions or thoughts. And I’m thankful. …
Giving Thanks, Greeting Winter & Making Plans – Season 2020, Episode 37 Read More »
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We’re approaching Thanksgiving Day here in America. One week away. Our personal growth is significantly impacted by other people. Within the past few weeks, I’ve conducted a few leadership workshops. I regularly illustrate our ability to help each other by telling stories of people – particularly older men – who influenced me. These were men …
Finding & Forging Safe, Profitable Relationships – Season 2020, Episode 36 Read More »
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Sometimes we do. Sometimes we don’t. He’s had some problems and he knows something isn’t right, but he’s scared to find out. Eventually, he goes to the doctor. Tests are run. Then he waits. Anxious, fearful, but working hard to convince himself that it’s not going to be anything serious he’s contacted by the doctor’s …
Multiple Opinions: Using The Insight Of Others To Reach Our Ideal Outcome – Season 2020, Episode 35 Read More »
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I won’t bury the lead. I’m going back to the long-used podcast show title, Grow Great with Randy Cantrell because it’s always been and will always be about leadership. And true leadership starts with us, our determination to lead our lives in ways where we have the most positive impact on others. It still involves …
Grow Great with Randy Cantrell (Returning To My Roots To Fuel Greater Growth) – Season 2020, Episode 34 Read More »
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I don’t know anybody who relishes getting up in the morning to attack the day in hopes of achieving a mediocre outcome. But that happens in the lives of too many people. They lumber out of bed, prepare for the day with a quick stop by their favorite coffee joint in a mindless routine of …
Investing In Yourself, Training Yourself – Season 2020, Episode 33 Read More »
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Douglas McGregor was a founding faculty member of MIT’s Sloan School of Management. In 1960 he published, “The Human Side Of Enterprise.” The book is most noted for introducing the world to Theory X and Y. Simply put, Theory X assumes workers are lazy and unambitious while Theory Y assumes workers are internally motivated, want …
The Human Side Of Enterprise, Douglas McGregor and The Quest For The Ideal Outcome – Season 2020, Episode 32 Read More »
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I first met Leo Bottary via an email I sent him. A cold email. He had no clue who or what I was. I had read his first book (co-authored with Leon Shapiro, CEO of Vistage) – THE POWER OF PEERS. I wanted to see if Leo had any interest in starting a podcast. I …
A Conversation With Leo Bottary, Author of PEERNOVATION – Season 2020, Episode 31 Read More »
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I’m like Picasso. No, I’m not great at art, but I’m not great at math, either. Neither was he evidently. During his early school years when the teacher asked him to write the number 4 on the board, he’d see it as a nose, then proceed to draw the rest of the face. The other …
Changing Your Point-Of-View – Season 2020, Episode 30 Read More »
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Perfectionism seems to be a thing that people enjoy claiming. Others enjoy pointing out the futility of it and how it can provoke procrastination. We’ve talked in the past about how if you’re going to do something, it’s worth putting in the effort to do it well. Today’s show smacks of a similar theme – …
Anticipating The Desired Outcome: Why It’s Fun To Aim For The Ideal – Season 2020, Episode 29 Read More »
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When it comes to understanding people and situations I’ve not found anything more powerful than curiosity. Curiosity drives understanding. When our curiosity is low, our quest to understand is low, too. How do we know? We stop asking questions. Mostly because we either lack curiosity, we don’t care or we think we know enough already. …
I’m Not The Sharpest Knife In The Drawer, But I Am A Knife (The Power Of Curiosity) – Season 2020, Episode 28 Read More »
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Business folks know the old maxim, “If you don’t have time to do it right, then when will you have time to do it over?” Experience has proven how true it is. Still, it’s often harder to figure out how to do it right the first time. Sometimes we don’t know how to do it …
If It’s Worth Doing, It’s Worth Doing It Well – Season 2020, Episode 27 Read More »
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Today’s show is about two areas where we exercise our point of view and four questions that can make all the difference in our lives and our leadership. First off, you should know I don’t fancy myself as a thought leader. I abhor that title, especially when people ascribe it to themselves. Even on my …
The Questions That Make All The Difference In Your Leadership (and your life) – Season 2020, Episode 26 Read More »
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Robert woke up around 5:30 in the morning, more tired than when he went to bed. Back in mid-March, his company was outpacing their projections so significantly his team was wondering how they had failed to more accurately project revenues and profits. At the time, back in the fall of 2019, Robert’s team was skittish …
Triage & Post-Mortem Your Actions – Season 2020, Episode 25 Read More »
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Admittedly, humility is a trite topic when we’re talking about leadership. It gets lots of lip service, but less practice. Humility sounds wonderful as a characteristic, but many people disbelieve it has real power. And real power is largely what folks clamor to obtain. Those who have it can be desperate to hang onto it. …
Humility Is The Path Forward – Season 2020, Episode 24 Read More »
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Since I wasn’t alive during the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918, this is my first pandemic experience. But I have experienced disruption. My working life really began during major disruption in the 1970s because of the oil crisis. Thankfully, I was a teen and didn’t know any better (or different). From then until now I’ve …
The Destructive Power Of Restlessness – Season 2020, Episode 23 Read More »
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Two extremes. One is our tendency to notice things just like the things we own. If you drive Limerock Edition of a BMW M3 you’ll quickly notice anybody else driving the same car. That flashy orange is easy to spot. But you don’t have to drive something quite so exotic. You’ll notice every car on …
What Do We Have In Common? – Season 2020, Episode 22 Read More »
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Is the ideal really full compliance and cooperation? I suppose it depends on the situation. What’s the context of the group or team? What’s the purpose of their coming together? Lots of factors might influence how we approach things…and will influence our expectations, too. First, we ought to define what we mean by compliance and …
Profitable Disagreement – Season 2020, Episode 21 Read More »
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Technically, a litmus test is used to test the acidity or alkaline content of something, but we often use it more generically to mean a decisively indicative test. Some means of determining the validity of something. Eight or nine weeks into this global pandemic have shown us the best of us and the worst of …
The Litmus Test Questions – Season 2020, Episode 20 Read More »
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During the past seven weeks as we’ve mostly been sequestered to stay-at-home due to the Covid19 pandemic, my conversations have organically focused on one big question. Where are the opportunities? As I’ve worked with business owners and other executives who are part of larger leadership teams, it was understandable that everybody – including me – …
Opportunities In Leadership – Season 2020, Episode 19 Read More »
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The trifecta of business building that I consistently talk about culminates in the third leg of “not going crazy in the process.” Get new customers Serve existing customers better Don’t go crazy in the process I’m not a mental health professional, nor do I claim any expertise in the area. However, I’m very accomplished in …
Create Smart Rooms – Emotional Health: A Leadership Necessity – Season 2020, Episode 18 Read More »
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Here in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, we began to be safe at home five weeks ago. Many Americans didn’t think March would ever end. Now it seems like April won’t either. Just today Dallas County’s city council voted to keep the stay at home order in place until May 15th. This global coronavirus pandemic has …
Overcoming The Shock Of Global Disruption – Season 2020, Episode 17 Read More »
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Last week I made the decision to open up The Peer Advantage by Bula Network to SMB owners without any financial cost to members. I also decided to open it up globally to English speaking SMB owners. Those major changes were made due to the current coronavirus pandemic. I want to be a valuable resource …
Bula! Doing My Small Part To Help Small Business Owners – Season 2020, Episode 16 Read More »
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Bula! No, I don’t have a coronavirus. Or any other physical malady. Just an urge. To be quiet for a bit. Which includes being more careful about what I consume. Catching up on some much-needed reading, polishing some workshops I’ve been working on, writing and avoiding the panic-driven hysteria as much as possible. I’ll be …
Quiet Time & And A Big Announcement – Season 2020, Episode 15 Read More »
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Mike Ehrmantraut, the cleanup guy in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, asks soon-to-be-known as Saul Goodman attorney, Jimmy McGill… “Are you still morally flexible?” I’m not including the word “still” because I’m going to assume the best. That you’re morally inflexible, unwilling to do just anything for a buck. Jimmy became Saul Goodman because …
Are You Morally Flexible? – Season 2020, Episode 14 Read More »
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I officially entered the workforce when I was 16. Unofficially I had been working summers for at least 3 years prior. I’d hear managers and business owners complain about how hard it was to find “good people.” Initially, I understood “good people” to mean people who were reliable. That was about it. Would they show …
Attracting & Hiring Willing People – Season 2020, Episode 13 Read More »
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“A good speech should be like a woman’s skirt; long enough to cover the subject and short enough to create interest.” – Winston S. Churchill Sir Winston had a way with words. That’s for sure. Many bosses and leaders regularly address their team. Most of the time, these presentations or speeches are delivered during rather …
Speaking To Your Team For Higher Performance – Season 2020, Episode 12 Read More »
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“When a resolute young fellow steps up to the great bully, the world, and takes him boldly by the beard, he is often surprised to find it comes off in his hand, and that it was only tied on to scare away the timid adventurers.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson Age and experience have taught me …
Your Fears Don’t Care – Season 2020, Episode 11 Read More »
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Earlier in the week, I had a conversation with somebody and I recorded my side of it because it felt like the conversation was going in a direction where I thought you could benefit. I edited it into some material that I hope encourages and inspires you. Enjoy this special Friday episode of the podcast. …
True Confessions: A Conversation With Me – Season 2020, Episode 10 Read More »
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As much as I love the anonymous quote — “Everything is hard until it’s easy” — there’s a powerful way to move forward toward an accomplishment. Make it so easy you can’t avoid doing it. There’s lots of ancient wisdom about tackling a task by breaking it down into smaller tasks. Hence the idea expressed …
Make It So Easy You Can’t Avoid Doing It – Season 2020, Episode 9 Read More »
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Look around. At your friends. At the people who surround you. The people with whom you interact the most. These people who influence your life. These people with whom you spend much or most of your time. Echoing the law of averages, motivational speaker Jim Rohn said that we’re the average of our 5 closest …
Make Friends Of People Who Want Your Best (And People For Whom You Want What’s Best) – Season 2020, Episode 8 Read More »
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Happy Valentine’s Day. I know. An odd thing for business. But not really. All business is comprised of both head and heart. Well, to be fair and accurate — it’s all head stuff. Brain stuff. That’s where all the heart stuff happens. We tend to think of it in more simplistic terms though. Head is …
Valentine’s Day: Heart Stuff Isn’t Just For Romance – Season 2020, Episode 7 Read More »
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“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” – Aesop The return we get – let’s start out thinking about ourselves because that’s what we tend to do anyway (put ourselves first) – from kindness is immeasurable. Never mind the benefit we can provide to others. Then why is compassion so rare? …
Compassion: The Missing Link – Season 2020, Episode 6 Read More »
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High-performing groups and teams are fixated on one big thing – understanding! The key to understanding is one simple, but not always easy activity – asking questions. Being high-performing isn’t easy. Ever. It takes hard work, dedication and know-how. It also requires discipline to engage in continuous activities that will foster high-performance. Most teams or …
Questions: The Key To Improved Group (and individual) Understanding – Season 2020, Episode 5 Read More »
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The power of others is most evident when we get into trouble. The trouble that we create through our own foolishness, negligence or stupidity. I know you don’t want to admit it, but we’ve all experienced it. Nobody is immune. All of us have written awful chapters in our lives. Hopefully, we didn’t make them …
One Chapter Does Not Tell Your Whole Story – Season 2020, Episode 4 Read More »
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Last week I read yet another article about the dangers of executive coaching. One of the dangers listed was the morphing of the relationship into a friendship where the coach is no longer pushing or challenging the client. Over time they’ve become friends and now things are different. It prompted me to go back and …
The High Value Of Caring Challenges – Season 2020, Episode 3 Read More »
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Making decisions. Solving problems. It’s THE job of top-level executives and business owners. The higher up the food chain, the more critical the decisions and solutions. Lower level or mid-level decisions have an impact, but they’re not as high risk as those made in the C-suite. Even so, it’s important for an organization to help …
Leverage Others To Be More Creative In Solving Problems – Season 2020, Episode 2 Read More »
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2020 is getting a lot of appropriate buzz as a year for clearer vision. It remains to be seen if we can leverage it the way we hope. According to U.S. News & World Report, 80% of New Year’s resolutions fail by mid-January. Other surveys report that well over 90% of all resolutions fail somewhere …
Introducing The Power Of Others Podcast – Season 2020, Episode 1 Read More »
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Cue Tom Petty’s classic hit song from his fabulous Wildflowers’ album, Time To Move On. ? Tom’s singing about divorce, but if I were singing the song it’d be about my long-last professional shift. Today, I hope you get some value as I rehearse with you the general angst and execution (or lack) of the …
Happy Friday The 13th: Good-Bye! (352) Read More »
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Dig out that SWOT analysis. It’ll come in handy. Part of figuring out your best moves to ratchet up your branding is to figure out what customers really want, what you’re really good at and what weaknesses exist in the competition. There’s no magic to it. It’s a basic formula to help you create the …
Customer Attraction: What’s Your One Big Brand Advantage? (351) Read More »
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What do your sales conversations sound like? What do they look and feel like? You may think that brand building isn’t even a third cousin to sales conversations. Positioning your brand has much to do with the sales conversation. “Everybody knows our brand. We’ve spent millions through the years getting our name out there.” There …
Customer Attraction: Building A Brand (350) Read More »
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Let’s get something out of the way. If you’re genuinely a jerk, then this won’t work well. 😉 Genuine means you’re real, not hypocritical. It means you’re YOU. Whatever that is. I can explain using myself (as always, it’s easier to pick on myself than to pick on somebody else). Here are a few bullet-point …
Customer Attraction: Be Genuine (349) Read More »
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After today I’ll be away the rest of the week because I lost another WHO in my life. Who you surround yourself with matters! I’ve surrounded myself with some important WHOs. Over the weekend I lost one of them, a very close family friend I’ve known all my life. His son, Stanley, was my lifelong …
Losing A Who (348) Read More »
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“We would worry less if we praised more. Thanksgiving is the enemy of discontent and dissatisfaction.” – Harry A. Ironside Harry was a preacher in Chicago. Anybody familiar with the Bible has to have an awareness of gratitude and being thankful. Mostly to God, but also for each other and whatever we’ve …
Thanksgiving Is The Enemy Of Discontent And Dissatisfaction (347) Read More »
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We wrap up this week’s series on Marketing In The Moment with some thoughts about multiplying our marketing. One obvious way to do that is with money, but writing checks isn’t my point today. If you can write bigger checks and effectively drive business growth, then by all means…write the checks. Most of us don’t …
Marketing In The Moment: Multiply Your Marketing (346) Read More »
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A UK business guy produced a brilliant little video about how 1 in 8 men in the UK have NO FRIENDS. Entrepreneurship is lonely. Extremely so. The Peer Advantage by Bula Network doesn’t promise to provide you lifelong friends, but the value proposition does include removing the loneliness of owning and operating your business. It’s …
Marketing In The Moment: Measure Your Marketing (345) Read More »
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Marketing In The Moment – A 3-Part Series This week I plan to briefly discuss marketing. Today we start things off with monitoring your marketing. Wednesday we’ll talk about measuring your marketing and on Friday we’ll discuss multiplying your marketing. By monitoring I mean you take a good, hard look at your marketing. So many …
Marketing In The Moment: Monitor Your Marketing (344) Read More »
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This week the focus has been on details and seemingly small things. Because they can make all the difference. Let’s end this week with a focus on speed. Especially the speed with which we can make small adjustments. I wish I were a guitar player, but I’m not. I’ve just dreamed about it since I …
The Speed Of Small Adjustments (343) Read More »
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I grew up in retailing, which is closely related to the hospitality business. Little things matter. “The devil is in the details.” This is why small percentages of improvement can garner big differences in performance. It’s the 80/20 rule or maybe better yet the 95/5 rule. There seems to be statistical evidence behind the 80/20 …
Details Make The Difference (And Make Your Business Better) (342) Read More »
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Be different. We mean, “Be different in a good way.” One of the very first marketing and advertising lessons I learned was the power of zigging when everybody else was zagging. The point was simple, but not easy. You have to stand out from the crowd. Separating yourself from the competition may be easier in …
Make Being Different Better (341) Read More »
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I watch just enough baseball to be dangerous. When Pudge Rodriguez was catching for the Texas Rangers I remember going to a few games. His arm at throwing out runners attempting to steal a base was spectacular. Much more so in person than on TV. Since I was young I was probably more fascinated at …
Gotta Learn To Hit The Curveball (340) Read More »
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“Failure is not an option.” Another platitude that sounds good, but is colossally wrong. Failure is possible in everything. And probable, too. That’s just the truth. Fact. Does that mean you should fear it? Not necessarily. More importantly, you should likely prepare for it. Not by bracing for it, but by planning worst-case-scenario. So often …
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Oklahoma Sooner’s head football coach Lincoln Riley has a reputation as a quarterback whisperer. His two previous QB’s are Heisman Trophy winners. Part of his claim to fame is the ability to simplify the position. He installs game plans and plays that QB’s can more easily execute. It’s what he should do as a head …
Making Your Systems Employee & Customer Friendly (338) Read More »
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“The central economic imperative of the network economy is to amplify relationships.” That’s what Kevin Kelly wrote in New Rules For The New Economy. Self-awareness is hard. VERY hard. Schools don’t help. I know better than to do what I did, but I did it anyway. Because sometimes I’m a ninnie. My 12-year-old grandson is …
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No, it’s not a secret. There are no secrets to success. It requires hard work, preparation, skill, talent, timing, serendipity, and good luck. I’m probably leaving something out, but you get the idea. I live in Tornado Alley. Tornado activity is highest in the Spring, but within the last month, we had extensive damage from …
Creating Conditions For Success (336) Read More »
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Small business owners often struggle to recruit, hire, train and retain people. For good reason, most don’t have a formal HR department headed with a professional equipped to navigate the modern personnel landscape. There are a few things every small business owner can do to make the interview part of the process more impactful. Many …
How To Interview Job Candidates (335) Read More »
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A few years ago I stumbled onto a group – a non-profit based in Cincinnati, Ohio. It wasn’t because I qualified to join their ranks. But it was because I read some heartbreaking story of a father whose daughter was murdered. His pain was obvious and he mentioned how people disappeared on him in his …
They Know How To Listen (334) Read More »
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Earlier this year I lost a lifelong mentor. He had battled health problems for a number of years, but his death came quite unexpectedly. Last week I was speaking with a buddy about mentors and surrounding yourself with people who can ideally serve you. Mostly we were talking about how rare and important it is …
Should You Tell Them, Or Ask Them? (333) Read More »
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“What’s important?” The answer can vary from hour to hour. Sometimes, minute to minute. But that’s business. And while it can consume our life, it’s not our life. Not really. I missed recording a show Monday because life got in the way. It happens. It’s happened to you. It happens to everybody. Matt Kearney is …
The Answer To “What’s Important?” Is The Name Of Somebody You Love (332) Read More »
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Feeling all alone is a serious ailment. It’s not fatal. Not necessarily. But it can be if you don’t get unstuck from it. Leaders too often get stuck in loneliness because the team isn’t a team any more. Maybe they never were. Not as much as they should be. They may have once been but …
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Dog chases car. Dog catches car. Dog has no idea what to do with car. Success can be like that. We spend so much time pursuing it that once we achieve it, we’re not sure what to do next. Yeah, I know – it’s a great problem to have. But it seems that no sooner …
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It’s ancient advice for earning wealth. And I use the term “wealth” very loosely. Financial gain. It’s effective advice for accomplishing most things. Just about anything. A definite plan. A burning desire. “Anybody can wish for riches, and most people do, but only a few know that a definite plan, plus a burning desire for …
A Definite Plan, A Burning Desire (329) Read More »
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No, it’s not passion. No, it’s not some willy-nilly dream. No, it’s not some mythical north star. It’s who and what you are. It’s the essence of YOU. Lately one of the most common conversations I have is about what Donald O. Clifton, the father of the StrengthsFinder movement, called “soaring with your strengths.” Simply …
Once You Find It, Follow It (328) Read More »
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Curiosity and common ground. Those are two ingredients for helping prospects break their autopilot behavior. How? Storytelling. Help them imagine what your product or service will do for them. You put them into the story and have them experience it. We’re all able to project ourselves into some future circumstance. As we imagine it, we …
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Salespeople tend to think features will make a difference. If only their product or service included something it doesn’t yet have…then their sales success would be possible. “Customers want _________ (they’ll talk about something specific that’s missing from their current offer).” Disruption is the order of the day. It’s not new and it’s here to …
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In 1945 Gene Autry released a recording of the song that hit #4 on the charts. By then the song was about 10 years old. Through the years it’s been covered by lots of people from Harry Connick, Jr. to The Killers to Willie Nelson. It’s a country and western song that depicts the yearning …
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Genius gets more freely thrown around than hero. Both are grossly overused. But I’m still going to use genius when it comes to today’s topic of boldness. Bold has some terrific synonyms. Daring Fearlessness Bravery Courage Audacity Confidence Enterprise Grit Guts Moxie I rather like them all. Now you can better understand why I’m going …
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Metcalfe’s Law was originally about telecommunications networks. The value of a network grows in proportion to the square of the number of users, which means once a network reaches a certain size, it becomes somewhat irresistibly attractive. Tim Sanders in his classic book, LOVE IS THE KILLER APP, wrote this: “Someday this will be true …
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Some famous people are famously impolite. Coach Bob Knight. Billy Bob Thorton. Justin Bieber. But to be fair these people have a disadvantage. Fame. Fortune. People clamoring to be close to them. What’s your excuse? 😉 Some leaders are miserable human beings. They’re unpleasant, impolite and rude much of the time. I know that’s not …
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Today I want to share with you an irresistible offer for entrepreneurs craving to grow their business, their leadership, and their life. The aim is to hit two business building trifectas: Getting new customers Serving existing customers better Not going crazy in the process That’s the first trifecta that we all hope to hit. But …
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Conversations have bound humans since the beginning. Yes, the VERY beginning. Talking with one another. Talking with God. Conversations are about expressions of our heart. Quite literally, conversations answer the question, “What’s on your mind?” Society stopped listening. I’m not sure when it happened, but the Internet isn’t the culprit. Digital technology may have contributed …
Conversations: They’re About Heart & Meaning (321) Read More »
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Back in episode 318 we talked about the first basic ingredient of leadership according to famed leadership expert Warren Bennis – GUIDING VISION. Let’s kick this week off with a brief discussion on the other ingredients Mr. Bennis found foundational to effective leadership. Guiding Vision (see episode 318) Passion – Bennis felt this was next …
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True confession: I’m not a baseball fan. I only watch it when the league championship finals begin. But I recently heard a radio interview with the manager of the Texas Rangers, Chris “Woody” Woodward. While answering a question about what being a first-year major league manager he uttered that quote. You have to understand why …
You Have To Understand Why You’re Winning And Why You’re Losing (319) Read More »
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Warren Bennis, the brilliant, but reluctant expert on leadership believed a guiding vision was the first ingredient of leadership. Leaders need to have a clear vision of what they want to do. They also have to possess the determination and resolve to persist through setbacks, even failures. Where are you going? Personally and professionally? It …
Guiding Vision: The First Basic Ingredient Of Leadership (318) Read More »
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Transformative change. It’s been a popular business phrase for a very long time. Transformative means… causing a marked change in someone or something I guess folks mean something substantial. Something that sticks and has a big impact. One reason this podcast is entitled Grow Great is that I view growth as the goal. Maybe it …
Create A Movement: The Best Way To Implement Change (317) Read More »
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NFL pundits claim this year’s Dallas Cowboys’ roster is Super Bowl quality. Time will tell. They’ve got to play the games. They’re certainly throwing big dollars around. Time will tell. I can’t remember the last time I passed an entire week without talking with a business owner or CEO about constructing a better team. The …
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One of my first big technology projects involved custom programming for a point-of-sale (POS – and you thought it stood for something else 😉 ) system. Programmers were on site almost round the clock for months and the cost was out of control. Nightmare doesn’t begin to describe it. Disaster doesn’t either. It was a …
Technology, Future-Proofing & Efficiency (315) Read More »
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Today in America we’re heading into a holiday weekend, Labor Day. Monday will be a holiday for many folks, providing a 3-day weekend. This is typically considered the last holiday of the summer or the first holiday of autumn. After this weekend we’ll hit a dry spell until THE holiday season with Thanksgiving in late …
The Three Holiday R’s – Rest, Recovery, Rejuvenation (314) Read More »
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One of the more memorable books in my library was published in the summer of 1987. It was written by the Jan Carlzon, CEO of SAS Group, owner of the airlines Scandinavian Airlines and Scandinavian Airlines Ireland. I had been reading of him in the business press so I was anxious to read the book …
Are You In Touch With Your Business’s Touchpoints? (313) Read More »
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If you were King Arthur you’d have knights to gather at the roundtable. But you’re not a king. Much less King Arthur. But you spend nights around the table. Likely fretting about decisions. Trying to figure out what to do. Searching for the best answers to your perplexing questions. Leadership is hard. It taxes the …
Nights Spent Around The Table (312) Read More »
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The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin was first published in 1793. In the 1916 edition editor, Frank Woodworth Pine wrote this in the introduction… Franklin is a good type of our American manhood. Although not the wealthiest or the most powerful, he is undoubtedly, in the versatility of his genius and achievements, the greatest of our …
13 Weeks To Change Your Life (311) Read More »
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“In a minute,” maybe a teenager’s favorite phrase when asked to do something by their parents. As parents, we understand that if we don’t continue to insist, the proverbial minute will never arrive. Our kids will never get around to taking out the trash, or whatever other chores we’re asking them to do. Yet is …
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This is going to help you because I’m going to pull the curtain back and walk you through why I changed the name and strategy of the podcast not that long ago…and why I’m now changing it again. First, let me tell you about my experience in completely changing – and I mean COMPLETELY CHANGING …
You Know What You Need To Do, Then Why Don’t You Do It? (309) Read More »
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Everything good is sales. Everything bad is lack of sales. Go ahead. Argue against it. Push back. But I know what I’m talking about. I’ve experienced dreadful lease negotiations. I’ve participated in tense and uncomfortable vendor negotiations. I’ve experienced fires and break-ins. I know what it is to lose a good key employee. I know …
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Getting your vehicle stuck in a rut ain’t fun. And it can be difficult to get yourself out. Which is why sometimes we have to get somebody to pull or tow us out of a rut. In life, our ruts are just our habits. Sometimes we call them what they truly are, but more polite …
Ruts Are Habits With More Polite Labels (307) Read More »
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For the past few years, I’ve worked with and alongside Leo Bottary. We do a podcast together – WHAT ANYONE CAN DO PODCAST (the title is taken after Leo’s latest book). On Wednesday we recorded an episode centering around an article Leo wrote for CEO WORLD Magazine entitled, How Great CEOs Maximize Peer Relationships. Today …
How CEOs Can Better Leverage The Power Of Others (306) Read More »
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It was one of the first business books I ever read. I can’t be sure, but I think my grandfather (my mother’s father) had a copy. The book was published in 1949. It’s the classic book on selling by Frank Bettger, “How I Raised Myself From A Failure To Success In Selling.” There’s been a …
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I’m an introvert who can often appear like an extrovert. I follow a few social media accounts dealing with introversion. Just because. I chuckled over the weekend when I saw an Instagram post by IntrovertDear. Dentist: Open up, please. Me: Sometimes I get sad. (Oh, you meant my mouth) There seem to be three basic …
Strength To Open Up: The 18th Rare Element (304) Read More »
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Was Magic Johnson pushed by the likes of Larry Bird and Isiah Thomas? Were they benefited by competing against him? Did Phil Mickelson push Tiger Woods? And vice versa? People playing the same sport, but competing. Peers, but competitors. Each likely benefiting from the sheer presence of the other, knowing if they didn’t do their …
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A group of business owners is gathered. They’re from different industries and different markets. But they’re all safe with one another because they share a common existence. They’re business owners. Each well acquainted with the strains, struggles, and joys of running their own enterprise. This isn’t some good ‘ol boys network club. Fact is, almost …
Hypotheticals To Help Us Improve Our Business Realities (302) Read More »
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Safety and encouragement. They’re vital to our ability to grow, overcome adversity and battle whatever life is tossing our way. Here’s a worthwhile daily admonishment… Help somebody feel safe today. The topic had a genesis over at my hobby podcast, LeaningTowardWisdom.com, which I’ve dubbed #CravingEncouragement. The idea took form out of the professional conversations I …
Safety & The Right Kind Of Emotional Energy (301) Read More »
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Let’s start with a press release that came out on Tuesday, July 16, 2019. It could be found at Yahoo! Finance, among other places. Since this is a podcast permit me to share it with you. It’s not terribly long. Leo Bottary Announces the Launch of Peernovation July 16, 2019 New company will help business …
Helping People Find Smarter Rooms: The Power Of Peers (300) Read More »
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When I was about 27 I uttered a statement one afternoon while my team was wrestling with some customer service challenges. “The quality of our questions determines the quality of our business.” The statement was provoked by our company’s inability to consistently deliver the experience I wanted. Dumb problems were frustrating me. Problems I felt …
Asking & Answering Tough Questions – Grow Great Daily Brief #241 – July 8, 2019 Read More »
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Small business owners. CEOs. Executives. Leaders. Whether you’re a #1 or a #2 or a team leader…surrounding yourself with others who are like you is one of THE most powerful learning, understanding and growing tools you can find. Business people in every role, up and down the authority chain, benefit from being around others who …
Why You Should Join A Peer Advantage Group (But Not Mine) – Grow Great Daily Brief #240 – July 2, 2019 Read More »
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Today I want to provoke you to take a quantum leap forward. It may be uncomfortable. Maybe it’ll be exciting. Let’s just give it our best to make it profitable. Learning. Understanding. Growing. Let’s start with a word. An important word. One that should remain at the forefront for you the rest of this year …
Happy Birthday, Second Half Of 2019 – Grow Great Daily Brief #239 – July 1, 2019 Read More »
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Increasingly I’m convinced there is one factor that is far superior to all others in determining our success. Some of my favorite terms are… Tenacity Resilience Ferocity They speak to a person’s refusal to quit. And I’m not talking about quitting things that aren’t working. Or quitting things that we discover we don’t want to …
Making Failure Temporary – Grow Great Daily Brief #238 – June 28, 2019 Read More »
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Almost 30 years ago I had a conversation with an owner of a small business who was lamenting the smallness of his business (which wasn’t so small really since he was generating multi-millions in annual revenue). “I’m not a neighborhood store, ” he complained. “They want to make me a neighborhood store.” I reminded him …
Small Business Is A Description, Not A Condition – Grow Great Daily Brief #237 – June 27, 2019 Read More »
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Growing up in the era where business was considered a zero-sum game – meaning, I win at your expense or you win at my expense – competition was fostered. Prized. You wanted to dominate and ruin the competition. The object, which never happened in my experience, was to have the market all to yourself. In …
I Hate To Lose, But I Hate Not Playing More – Grow Great Daily Brief #236 – June 26, 2019 Read More »
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“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” —Viktor Frankl Speed is a crucial component when it comes to making meaningful change. The sooner we begin the …
7X7 Fast Start Small Business Coaching – Grow Great Daily Brief #235 – June 25, 2019 Read More »
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The Peer Advantage by Bula Network is now enrolling charter members. Today’s show is a brief outline of why you may want to consider applying today. This is a paid, professional peer advantage group (a mastermind group, if you please) where we collectively work to help each other grow our business, our leadership and our …
Who You Surround Yourself With Matters – Grow Great Daily Brief #234 – June 24, 2019 Read More »
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Stewardship is the last of the 3 leadership shortages I’ve focused on this week. There are so many more, but it can be like grabbing a porcupine. You just don’t know where to start so you may as well start somewhere. Service was the first one. It’s a focus on doing what’s right by your …
Three Leadership Shortages: Stewardship – Grow Great Daily Brief #233 – June 21, 2019 Read More »
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We continue our conversation about the 3 leadership shortages I see regularly. Today’s topic will seem identical to yesterday’s. SERVITUDE. the state of being a slave or completely subject to someone more powerful Yesterday we focused on serving your people. It’s about putting the needs of your people ahead of your own. Today it’s about …
Three Leadership Shortages: Servitude – Grow Great Daily Brief #232 – June 20, 2019 Read More »
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Starting today we’re going to get our toes in the water on the three shortages I regularly see in leadership: service, servitude, and stewardship. Honestly, there are MANY leadership shortages. I’m just looking at these 3 over the next three days. You should know my bias. Leadership isn’t about position. It’s about service. Let’s frame …
Three Leadership Shortages: Service – Grow Great Daily Brief #231 – June 19, 2019 Read More »
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Touchy feely fru fru alert! Forgiveness is a quality of the highest character. Something we should all aspire to incorporate into our lives, something we should elevate and increase as much as possible. I know revenge and getting even is deemed more fulfilling, but that’s a lie. They’re not. They damage us more deeply. Forgiveness …
Forgiveness: It’s Good For Business (and your employees) – Grow Great Daily Brief #230 – June 18, 2019 Read More »
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All of us learned the proverbial truth that what you reward gets done. And that what gets measured can be improved. The tougher lesson learned – and one I talked about a bit in the previous show – is that we sometimes get the rewards wrong. Which means we get the wrong outcomes. Who among …
Rewards & Consequences: Getting The Performance You Need From Employees – Grow Great Daily Brief #229 – June 17, 2019 Read More »
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It’s comically effective. Very much so. “Is there anything you’ve tried that has worked better than anything else you’ve tried?” They answer, “Yes.” I respond with, “Then do more of that and stop doing all that other stuff.” At which point I’ll smile and say, “Good night, everybody!” If it goes well (and it always …
Let’s Solve The Problem By Stop Making It Worse (Listening Matters) – Grow Great Daily Brief #228 – June 14, 2019 Read More »
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Listening is learning. Choosing to learn is superior to choosing to be the smartest person in every room you enter. It’s born of our curiosity. How curious are you? To learn and understand things you don’t yet know…or understand? Have you ever stumbled down a rabbit hole to learn something that suddenly jumped onto your …
The Value Of People Who Know Something You Don’t – Grow Great Daily Brief #227 – June 13, 2019 Read More »
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We can be a miserable lot. Humans. History has proven our capacity to treat one another poorly. The first children ever born demonstrate it. Cain killed his brother Abel. According to the FBI, 24.8% of homicides are committed by family members. Just imagine how horrific we can behave toward people we don’t even care about. …
People Who Want What’s Best For You – Grow Great Daily Brief #226 – June 12, 2019 Read More »
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Recently I’ve been leveraging the power of character strengths to help leaders and business owners figure out improved team alignment. It begins with leaders having an enlightened awareness of their own character. This isn’t a talent or skill based strength. Rather, it’s character. It’s much more geared toward the essences of who you are at …
People Aiming Higher vs. People Aiming Lower – Grow Great Daily Brief #225 – June 11, 2019 Read More »
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Happy Monday! I’m picking on today’s topic because today is my wife’s birthday. And she’s living proof – at least to me – of the power of others. We began dating as teenagers and have been married for over 41 years. To imagine going through this life without her power is beyond what I’m able …
Why You Should Ignore The Power Of Others – Grow Great Daily Brief #224 – June 10, 2019 Read More »
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I’m a practical person. And rather proud of it. But the strength can be a weakness when it’s deployed too much. Or in the wrong way. For instance, it can prevent me from thinking big enough. But it never prevents me from idealism – so I can be a walking contradiction much of the time. …
Let’s Pursue The Impractical (And Be Unreasonable) – Grow Great Daily Brief #223 – June 7, 2019 Read More »
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“That’s not how I see it.” We’ve all used that sentence. Some more than others. Question: how open are you to understand another perspective? About anything. But let’s keep this business related. In the past few weeks, my work has revolved heavily around helping CEOs deal with roster issues. In some cases, the CEO doesn’t …
How I See It: The Value Of Outside Perspectives – Grow Great Daily Brief #222 – June 6, 2019 Read More »
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That line is part of the first page of Og Mandino’s book, The Greatest Salesman In The World. I will persist until I succeed. That’s another line from the same passage. Both lines address something other than a positive affirmation of the desire to achieve something, but they speak to one of our greatest challenges …
The Slaughterhouse Of Failure Is Not My Destiny – Grow Great Daily Brief #221 – June 5, 2019 Read More »
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It’s true in our lives and in our businesses. We make adjustments – changes and improvements – when something isn’t working very well. Usually, when things aren’t working at all or when something is truly broken. Within an hour of arriving at the office, Jeff has Katherine sitting across from him. She’s been his executive …
Why Wait For Something Bad To Happen Before We Change? – Grow Great Daily Brief #220 – June 4, 2019 Read More »
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Last week I watched an interview with Dr. Jordan Peterson. The conversation turned toward alcohol. Particularly, getting off of it – breaking the addiction to it. Said Peterson, “Alcohol is a really good drug. It’s effective. But you need something better.” He went on to extol the virtues of finding things more productive, valuable and …
You Need Something Better – Grow Great Daily Brief #219 – June 3, 2019 Read More »
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We’ll wrap up this week’s freedom theme with some thoughts about the freedom to decide the people who we’ll allow to impact our lives. It’s the idea Leo Bottary and I concentrate on in our podcast, WHAT ANYONE CAN DO. Who you surround yourself with matters! YourLifeCounts.org is the website for a suicide prevention organization. …
Freedom To Decide Who Impacts Us – Grow Great Daily Brief #218 – May 31, 2019 Read More »
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Let’s put the G on the end of LUG – learn, understand, grow. Today we continue this series on freedom since Monday was Memorial Day here in the United States. The freedom to grow! Growth has pains. But that doesn’t make it bad. When I was young I had leg aches. My dad would come …
Freedom To Grow – Grow Great Daily Brief #217 – May 30, 2019 Read More »
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LUG = learning, understanding, growing Today’s let think about appreciating and taking advantage of our freedom to understand. Life is about leadership if only in the sense that every one of us is responsible for leading our own lives. As business owners, executives and entrepreneurs we’re also responsible for leading our organizations. The spectacular thing …
Freedom To Understand – Grow Great Daily Brief #216 – May 29, 2019 Read More »
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Yesterday was Memorial Day here in America. That makes it a fitting week to focus on freedom. Today let’s consider our freedom to learn. As entrepreneurs, business owners, executives, and leaders we should be on the frontline of learning. Daily in our organizations, we’re challenging people to improve so it only makes sense that we …
Freedom To Learn – Grow Great Daily Brief #215 – May 28, 2019 Read More »
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Today is a national holiday here in the States. It’s Memorial Day. It’s a day for remembering and honoring people who have died while serving in the military. I’m not thankful for wars or the politics and emotions that foster them. But I am thankful to have been born in a free country. American citizenship …
I’m Thankful To Live In A Free Country – Grow Great Daily Brief #214 – May 27, 2019 Read More »
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Let’s wrap up this week’s theme on customer happiness with some discussion on creating a culture that is intent on delivering it. It’s not overly complicated, but making the decision can be. I’ll jump right in and tell you why a fanatical customer happiness culture is hard. Math. That’s right. Math gets in the way. …
Creating A Culture Intent On Delivering Customer Happiness – Grow Great Daily Brief #213 – May 24, 2019 Read More »
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I’m a big fan of this customer happiness strategy. My wiring is such that I look for opportunities to do it. But I love terms like dazzle and remarkable. Better yet I love to deliver those kinds of experiences. Let me illustrate what it looks like. I once had a customer of a retailing company …
Do For One What You’d Like To Do For The Many – Grow Great Daily Brief #212 – May 23, 2019 Read More »
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How old is your business? It’s only relative to how bloated your systems may be. But maybe not. I’ve seen start-ups with bloated systems, too. Over time things tend to get more complex, not simpler. We have to be very intentional to keep things simple, clean and straight-forward. I once took leadership of a company …
Flush The Systems: It’s Time To Make Things Simpler – Grow Great Daily Brief #211 – May 22, 2019 Read More »
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New information is invigorating. Especially if you’re curious. You ARE curious, aren’t you? Curious enough to figure out what you may not know? Or to figure out something a bit better that you thought you may have already figured out? The other day I was discussing books with a friend. We were challenging each other …
The Peer Advantage: Intentionally Leveraging The Power Of Others (Special May 21, 2019 Episode) Read More »
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How do you measure up as a business owner? How do you measure up as a leader? How does your business stack up? People mostly gauge such things by looking externally, not internally. We look around at other people and other businesses. Then we mentally (mostly emotionally) compare ourselves and our business. We don’t feel …
Stop Looking At The Competition – Grow Great Daily Brief #210 – May 21, 2019 Read More »
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This week’s theme is the customer experience. Namely, customer happiness! Today let’s focus on the user interface of your business. The easy way to think of this is touchpoints. Sit down and make a note of every touchpoint your business has with a prospect or customer. Over the past few weeks, you’ve heard me talk …
How’s The User Interface Of Your Business? – Grow Great Daily Brief #209 – May 20, 2019 Read More »
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Yesterday we talked about figuring out what you want to change about yourself. Today let’s focus on where you want to go. I’m not assuming that where you are currently isn’t where you want to be, but I will assume it’s not where you want to stay. I’m not advocating feeling dissatisfied, discontented or unhappy …
Figuring Out Where You Want To Go – Grow Great Daily Brief #208 – May 17, 2019 Read More »
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Today’s show is brought to you by The Peer Advantage by Bula Network, a professional paid peer advisory group – a mastermind group – for small business owners from around the United States. Find out all the details at ThePeerAdvantage.com. Today we’re continuing our series on self-awareness by focusing on accepting responsibility for ourselves. All …
Figuring Out How To Own Your Stuff – Grow Great Daily Brief #207 – May 16, 2019 Read More »
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This week’s theme is self-awareness. I landed on this theme due to the many people I encounter who spend way too much time comparing themselves. It’s why I intentionally built the foundation last week focused on your mental health. Now we’re going to work at getting very real with ourselves. It’s not about who or what …
Figuring Out What You Need To Change – Grow Great Daily Brief #206 – May 15, 2019 Read More »
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This week’s theme is self-awareness. I landed on this theme due to the many people I encounter who spend way too much time comparing themselves. It’s why I intentionally built the foundation last week focused on your mental health. Now we’re going to work at getting very real with ourselves. It’s not about who or …
Figuring Out What You Believe – Grow Great Daily Brief #205 – May 14, 2019 Read More »
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This week’s theme is self-awareness. I landed on this theme due to the many people I encounter who spend way too much time comparing themselves. It’s why I intentionally built the foundation last week focused on your mental health. Now we’re going to work at getting very real with ourselves. It’s not about who or …
Figuring Out What You Love – Grow Great Daily Brief #204 – May 13, 2019 Read More »
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Back in 2010 I saw an online article entitled, “Action Creates Emotion: Want to change how you’re feeling? Change what you’re doing.” In the summer of 1971, a team of researchers led by Psychology professor Phillips Zimbardo divided a group of undergraduates randomly into two groups, prisoners and prison guards, and arranged for them to …
Feelings Follow Behavior – Grow Great Daily Brief #203 – May 10, 2019 Read More »
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Today, let’s continue this week’s focus on our mental health. Unlike physical health, we tend to think mental health is for other people, not us. We’re not unhealthy mentally. Or so we think (even though we give it hardly any considerations). We don’t always take care of ourselves like we should. Few topics get as …
Happiness: Should It Be Our Goal? – Grow Great Daily Brief #202 – May 9, 2019 Read More »
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This week’s theme is your mental health. Each week we’ll explore a single topic that impacts the lives of small business owners. Usually, the topics apply to executives and leaders in most any arena. You’re smart. You can make the application as it suits you. I’m just here to help you figure it out. Randy …
Stop Lying To Yourself – Grow Great Daily Brief #201 – May 8, 2019 Read More »
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This week’s theme is your mental health. Each week we’ll explore a single topic that impacts the lives of small business owners. Usually, the topics apply to executives and leaders in most any arena. You’re smart. You can make the application as it suits you. I’m just here to help you figure it out. Randy …
Resisting The Daily Promotion Of Fear – Grow Great Daily Brief #200 – May 7, 2019 Read More »
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This week’s theme is your mental health. Each week we’ll explore a single topic that impacts the lives of small business owners. Usually, the topics apply to executives and leaders in most any arena. You’re smart. You can make the application as it suits you. I’m just here to help you figure it out. Randy …
Laughing As A Form Of Courage – Grow Great Daily Brief #199 – May 6, 2019 Read More »
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Culture is defined like this… the customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular nation, people, or other social group Investopedia offers this definition of corporate culture… Corporate culture refers to the beliefs and behaviors that determine how a company’s employees and management interact and handle outside business transactions. It’d be easy to take …
Transformational Leadership: Culture – Grow Great Daily Brief #198 – April 26, 2019 Read More »
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Collaboration defined – the action of working with someone to produce or create something In short, it’s high-level teamwork. In our context of leadership, it’s vital for you to have successfully built the foundations necessary to foster this. If you’ve not yet listened to the 3 earlier episodes on compassion, connection, and communication, then do …
Transformational Leadership: Collaboration – Grow Great Daily Brief #197 – April 25, 2019 Read More »
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Five C’s comprise the work – and the progress – of transformational leadership. In this series, we’ll briefly go through these: Compassion Connection Communication Collaboration Culture Today, we’re focusing on communication. Let’s start with a dictionary definition: the imparting or exchanging of information or news Again, I’m going to redefine it with a more practical …
Transformational Leadership: Communication – Grow Great Daily Brief #196 – April 24, 2019 Read More »
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Five C’s comprise the work – and the progress – of transformational leadership. In this series, we’ll briefly go through these: Compassion Connection Communication Collaboration Culture Today, we’re diving into connection. Once again, let’s begin with defining the term so we all understand. Here’s the dictionary definition: a relationship in which a person, thing, or …
Transformational Leadership: Connection – Grow Great Daily Brief #195 – April 23, 2019 Read More »
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Five C’s comprise the work – and the progress – of transformational leadership. In this series, we’ll briefly go through these: Compassion Connection Communication Collaboration Culture I put them in this order intentionally. We’ll explain as we go along this week. Today we begin with compassion. Transformational leadership is defined by the Business Dictionary like …
Transformational Leadership: Compassion – Grow Great Daily Brief #194 – April 22, 2019 Read More »
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Confidence doesn’t always stem from competence. A little kid jumps on a bicycle for the first time. He is incompetent at riding a bike because he’s never done it. But that temporary incompetence doesn’t hinder him from holding a strong belief (and desire) to master it. Gauge the frustration of your organization or team. There …
Building Confidence Among Your Team With A Plan – Grow Great Daily Brief #193 – April 19, 2019 Read More »
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On Tuesday Inc. magazine published an article by columnist Betsy Mikel (I’m a fan of her work) about what Google discovered about high achieving teams. Google’s manager of the People Innovation Lab conducted a 2-year study involving 5,600 Google employees. She also conducted focus groups with about 100 employees. On April 4, 2019 Veronica Gilrane, …
What Would Google Do? – Grow Great Daily Brief #192 – April 18, 2019 Read More »
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I walk for about an hour every day. Some days I’ll take multiple walks. A portion of my route is walking around a couple of baseball fields. Unless teams are practicing or playing, the gates are always locked. There’s fencing around the whole complex, including a pitching area and batting practice area. The city doesn’t …
What’s Your Big Obstacle? – Grow Great Daily Brief #191 – April 17, 2019 Read More »
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Long-standing conventional wisdom among performance gurus tells us that the super achievers ask WHO not HOW. When facing an opportunity or challenge, I see the high value of asking who, but I also know the high value of asking how! Gurus love absolutes. Just more proof I suppose that I am NOT a guru! Although …
Who Do You Need? – Grow Great Daily Brief #190 – April 16, 2019 Read More »
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It’s among one of the most underrated elements of leadership. Underrated in that not enough leaders give it the full attention it deserves. It’s very difficult to keep it at the forefront of our intentional behavior, but surely most of us can do better. How do you show up? When I was growing up – …
Visions Of Leadership: How Do You Show Up? – Grow Great Daily Brief #189 – April 15, 2019 Read More »
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We’re kids. Somebody has a basketball in their hands. Without warning they use both arms to shove a pass toward me shouting, “Think fast!” If I did (think fast enough), then I’d extend my arms and catch the ball before it hit me in the chest. If I failed (to think fast enough), then I …
30 Seconds To Decide – Grow Great Daily Brief #188 – April 12, 2019 Read More »
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In 1990 a paperback book’s title captured my attention while browsing through a bookstore (I frequently haunted bookstores; I miss it). Learned Optimism: How To Change Your Mind And Your Life It was written by one Martin E.P. Seligman, Ph.D. I knew I had to read it ’cause the author had TWO middle initials. E.P. …
What’s Your Habitual Way Of Explaining Bad Events? – Grow Great Daily Brief #187 – April 11, 2019 Read More »
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The other day I saw an online story about Henry Winkler reinventing himself from “The Fonz” on Happy Days to the comedic acting coach on HBO’s Barry. His wife of 40 years talked about how important working is to Henry. And how sad she was for him going to audition after audition without being hired. …
Mine The System Every Day – Grow Great Daily Brief #186 – April 10, 2019 Read More »
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Jimmy Johnson is still missed in Dallas. The infamous split with Dallas Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones wrecked what most feel would have been prime opportunities for at least a couple of more Super Bowls. We’ll never know. What we do know is that Jimmy was tired of being the bad guy. And he wanted to …
Does It Take A Bad Guy To Beat Complacency? – Grow Great Daily Brief #185 – April 9, 2019 Read More »
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I remember sitting in a college history class, The History Of Western Civilization and thinking about these ancient characters of the past. Here I am surrounded by hundreds of my not-so-close college friends, sitting in a class that should be anything but boring (why are so many college history professors boring?) wondering how many kids …
Empathy: The Value Of An Historical Perspective (But In Real Time) – Grow Great Daily Brief #184 – April 8, 2019 Read More »
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The line came from a bit of dialogue in a 2009 movie featuring George Clooney, The Men Who Stare At Goats. Clooney plays Lyn Cassady. Bob is a reporter friend inquiring about Lyn’s life. Lyn Cassady: Once you understand the linkage between observation and reality then you begin to dance with invisibility. Bob Wilton: Like …
Don’t Dance With Invisibility (Get Involved) – Grow Great Daily Brief #183 – April 5, 2019 Read More »
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On February 20th I lost a man who had been a lifelong mentor. His name was Barney. Whenever people would ask about my relationship with him, I’d always say the same thing, “a lifelong friend, confidant, and mentor.” Barney was about a decade and a half further up the trail, which gave me valuable benefits …
Mentors, Trusted Advisors & Confidants – Grow Great Daily Brief #182 – April 4, 2019 Read More »
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“It was just what I needed,” she told me. She wasn’t talking about a scolding. She was talking about being called into the sales manager’s office where her work was soundly praised. She was an account executive with an aviation parts manufacturer. At the time she confesses how fearful she was. “You’re called into the …
Praise: The Fuel For Confidence – Grow Great Daily Brief #181 – April 3, 2019 Read More »
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I first heard the phrase “learning organization” in Peter Senge’s 1990 book, The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization. Well, to be fair, at that point in my career I noticed the term. Perhaps it was around long before that, but since I was steeped in small business and not global …
Culture Building: Performance or Growth? – Grow Great Daily Brief #180 – April 2, 2019 Read More »
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Jimmy Hoffa Jr. supposed said it. He the radical attorney son of an infamous mobster boss. There is no “I” in team. So they say. But there’s no “we” in there either. As for leadership, you either take it or you don’t get it. Because the word for today does begin with an “i.” IMPOSE. …
You Only Get What You’re Big Enough To Take – Grow Great Daily Brief #179 – April 1, 2019 Read More »
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Yesterday my partner Leo Bottary posted an article about how a peer group can be a gym for leaders. Many years ago Jack Welch was responsible for introducing to me the concept of a business “workout.” Not that I know Jack personally, but I was honored to meet him once! I talked about it in …
The Peer Advantage: Why It’s The Greatest Opportunity For You To Grow – Grow Great Daily Brief #178 – March 30, 2019 Read More »
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Do you own a small business in the United States? Are you a US-based entrepreneur? I invite you to check out The Peer Advantage by Bula Network, a forum where 7 entrepreneurs and I come together to elevate your business, leadership and life. All our meetings will be conveniently conducted online via a video conferencing …
The Important Voices In Your Life – Grow Great Daily Brief #177 – March 29, 2019 Read More »
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Look at your life right now. Look at yourself. Look at the folks who surround you, the ones you spend the most time with. Who do you fuel? Who fuels you? Who do you drain? Who drains you? You know the answer. We all do. I suppose there are people in our lives who are …
Don’t Drain, Add Energy! – Grow Great Daily Brief #176 – March 28, 2019 Read More »
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Harry Truman said that. The reward of suffering is experience. He was right, of course. Failure, pain, and suffering can be our best teachers. It’s up to us to leverage them properly. Not an easy thing to do. Figuring it out involves time – often times extended time – when we don’t have it figured …
The Reward Of Suffering Is Experience – Grow Great Daily Brief #175 – March 27, 2019 Read More »
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On Sunday’s CBS 60 Minutes’ show, there was a profile on Samuel L. Jackson. During the interview, reminiscing about winning movie awards, he said, “Winning an award won’t move the comma on your checks. Only putting butts in seats will do that.” What does the audience want to see? That’s his approach to his work. …
Moving The Comma On Your Checks – Grow Great Daily Brief #174 – March 26, 2019 Read More »
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Friday night during the halftime studio show of the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament on CBS (a game between Duke and North Dakota), Kenny “The Jet” Smith made a comment. He said he’d commonly say something to the teams he played on. We just need to win the next ten minutes by 4 points. If we …
We’ve Got To Win The Next 10 Minutes By Just 4 Points – Grow Great Daily Brief #173 – March 25, 2019 Read More »
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? (Yikes! Look! A video version. Don’t get used to this. It’s a one-off because a few of you asked. Your wish is my command. -Randy) “Coach me and I will learn; challenge me and I will grow; believe in me and I will win” is the quote from Dr. Robert Halgren, Michigan Science Olympiad …
Believe In Me And I Will Win – Grow Great Daily Brief #172 – March 22, 2019 Read More »
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A problem prospects have and don’t want A result prospects want and don’t have Most businesses operate in one or the other. A few may operate in both ways. Over time we often get complacent and stop looking at such basic things. Big mistake. Fundamentals are often where the real power is found. Over time …
Two Sides Of A Business Coin: The Haves & The Have Nots – Grow Great Daily Brief #171 – March 21, 2019 Read More »
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Tap the brakes. I’m not talking about you domineering everybody in your life. And I’m not talking about how wonderful people are who refuse to submit to anybody over anything at any time. I’m talking about the most dreaded factor in our daily lives. FEAR Business owners – excuse me, entrepreneurs – often feel like …
Don’t Let Someone Have The Upper Hand – Grow Great Daily Brief #170 – March 20, 2019 Read More »
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One of the first rules of personal finance is to keep track of your expenses and income. That’s how you know where the money is. And where it’s going. Knowing isn’t enough though. Nothing changes simply because you know that 18% of your money is going toward dining out. But without knowing that…you’re powerless to …
Track It, Improve It – Grow Great Daily Brief #169 – March 19, 2019 Read More »
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Spring break was last week here in DFW. While I don’t have school-age kids I do have school-age grandkids. More importantly, I have clients who have school-age kids and many of them (check that, almost all of them) took last week off to get in one last vacation before the end of the school year. …
Let’s Unplug In Order To Connect – Grow Great Daily Brief #168 – March 18, 2019 Read More »
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A couple of days ago there was a UFC fight in Las Vegas for the welterweight title. Tyron Woodley was the defending champion. Kamaru Usman was the opponent. The champ lost. Badly. But it was what happened after the fight that got all the press. Tyron’s mom, Deborah, a 66-year-old who raised Tyron all by …
Even Winners Need Encouragement – Grow Great Daily Brief #167 – March 8, 2019 Read More »
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“I’m not sure it’s ever going to be right,” he tells me. He’s spent the last few minutes telling me about a project that is very important to him. A project he’s as passionate about as anything he’s done in a long time. I ask some questions to make sure I’m seeing and hearing things …
Fix It As You Go – Grow Great Daily Brief #166 – March 7, 2019 Read More »
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Last Friday NBA Commissioner Adam Silver spoke with at the MIT Sports Analytics Conference. The topic? The mental health of the players. Silver reported that social media and headphones are impacting the professional athletes, sometimes making them feel more anxious and isolated. Players fly or board buses with headphones affixed and interactions aren’t what they …
Championships Are Won On The Bus – Grow Great Daily Brief #165 – March 6, 2019 Read More »
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A young man aspiring to get into the big state university neglects high school homework. Weeks before graduation he gets a rejection letter. The University doesn’t grant him admission because his grades aren’t good enough. He failed to understand the consequences of not taking high school as seriously as he could have. The epidemic of …
Helping People Understand The Consequences & Rewards – Grow Great Daily Brief #164 – March 5, 2019 Read More »
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“Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.” – Oscar Wilde It’s funny. And likely very true. But cynical. Here’s a nobler quote. “To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.” – C.S. Lewis I’m a Christian and what Mr. Lewis wrote is congruent with …
Forgiveness Makes Sense (yes! business sense, too) – Grow Great Daily Brief #163 – March 4, 2019 Read More »
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Two months down, ten to go. If you’re like me, you feel like 2019 is a rocket ride…going super fast. Speaking of fast, instant is about as fast as you can get. Small business owners lean into their core strength – being nimble. It’s why so many giants have been disrupted by little guys who …
Instant Improvements: Operational Efficiencies – Grow Great Daily Brief #162 – March 1, 2019 Read More »
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I’m an operator. I’ve never shied away from that title. A VP of a supplier first called me that when I was about 23. He meant it as a compliment. And I took it that way. It’s not as sexy as being called an “entrepreneur,” but I think it’s more indicative of the work. The …
Saving Steps: Operational Efficiencies – Grow Great Daily Brief #161 – February 28, 2019 Read More »
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Do you hate networking? I do. Always have. I’m the guy who happily admits that if faced with two doors from which to choose – one that leads to a room with 300 very interesting people (all strangers) with whom I can spend 3 hours and the other that leads to a room with 6 …
It’s Not Who You Know, Or Who Knows You. It’s Who You Know Who Knows Who You Need To Know! – Grow Great Daily Brief #160 – February 27, 2019 Read More »
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“To succeed, jump as quickly at opportunities as you do at conclusions.” -Benjamin Franklin Judgment is easy. Jumping to conclusions. Making assumptions. Evidence is hard. Curiosity often difficult to satisfy. When people have a problem with somebody it’s just easier to tell everybody but the person you have a problem with. Over the weekend I …
Full Opinion, Half Facts – Grow Great Daily Brief #159 – February 26, 2019 Read More »
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? Think about the last time you got some good news. Some REALLY good news. How did it make you feel? Did it make the rest of your day even better? Or worse? I’m betting it made the entire day better. Success breeds success, and all that. Years ago I’m watching a sales guy attempt …
Tell Me Something Good – Grow Great Daily Brief #158 – February 25, 2019 Read More »
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Communication. Connection. Collaboration. Culture. These four C’s are a vital part of my work in helping entrepreneurs and leaders. The need is great. Higher human performance in the workplace is stymied by people’s inability or unwillingness to accurately read each other and situations. We used to simply refer to these things as “soft skills,” even …
How’s Your Relationship With The Truth? (Part 2) – Grow Great Daily Brief #157 – February 22, 2019 Read More »
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Ronald W. Pies is a professor of psychiatry in New York. He wrote an article in The Conversation back in March of 2017 entitled, ‘Alternative facts’: A psychiatrist’s guide to twisted relationships to truth. It’s a timely topic for any time, but increasingly timely given how little culture seems to care about truth or facts. Opinions …
How’s Your Relationship With The Truth? (Part 1) – Grow Great Daily Brief #156 – February 21, 2019 Read More »
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Strife doesn’t build a stronger organization. Conflict won’t deepen a leader’s influence. Confrontation is commonplace leadership topic. I often hear managers lament how they hate it and work hard to avoid it. Frequently they feel that confrontation is synonymous with strife and conflict. It’s not. Well, it doesn’t have to be. Let’s talk about this …
Disagree Without Being Disagreeable – Grow Great Daily Brief #155 – February 20, 2019 Read More »
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“You’ve got to get excited. That’s how innovation happens.” – Stephen Sanger, CEO, General Mills Enthusiasm is energy. Well, at least it’s one form of energy. A form of energy you’re going to need to reach new heights in your business (and in your leadership). Somebody said to me, “You can’t manufacturer enthusiasm.” I didn’t …
You’ve Got To Get Excited – Grow Great Daily Brief #154 – February 19, 2019 Read More »
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I’m going to blow things up and reassemble them, hopefully with a much faster design with an intense focus on mobile experiences. My hosting service – purchased from MapleGrove Partners – is crazy fast and great. I love it. You should buy it if you’re looking for a rock solid, inexpensive hosting that is ridiculously secure. I …
Site Update Underway: Stay Tuned Read More »
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Few things are more closed than a closed mind. Somebody smarter than me will have to teach us why we close our minds, but I’ve been fortunate enough to have experienced a few epiphanies in my life that forced my previously closed mind to OPEN. Each time I feel like reenacting that old V8 drink …
Opening A Closed Mind – Grow Great Daily Brief #153 – February 8, 2019 Read More »
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“I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen.” – Ernest Hemingway Hemingway was right. Most people don’t listen. At least, not well enough. Or often enough. My son owns and operates his own home inspection business. Here in Texas, that’s a licensed occupation requiring substantial training …
Listening Your Way To Growth – Grow Great Daily Brief #152 – February 7, 2019 Read More »
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Do you workout? Maybe take walks? Lift a few weights? Or do you ignore all that stuff and neglect your fitness? Don’t. Commit to improved health right now. Just a little bit every day until you make it a positive habit. But I don’t care if you get 6-pack abs or not. I’m more interested …
Make Your Mind Your Strongest Muscle – Grow Great Daily Brief #151 – February 6, 2019 Read More »
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Let me drop the bottom line on you: you’re going to become better because of the struggle. It’s going to serve you better than anything else. That’s why it deserves a hug when most people want to push it aside. Look at the stories we’re attracted to. Whether true or fiction. The most compelling stories …
Hugging Out Your Struggle – Grow Great Daily Brief #149 – February 4, 2019 Read More »
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By now you’ve certainly figured out that leadership and entrepreneurial success rely on LEARNING. Achievement, accomplishment and success don’t happen immediately. They take time. Largely because we have to figure out what works. That means we spend time doing things that don’t work. No way to know until you try. As we push forward to …
Knowledge Makes Things Simpler – Grow Great Daily Brief #148 – February 1, 2019 Read More »
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The following screen-shot is taken from the online definition at the Merriam-Webster website. Without empathy, you can’t get to compassion. And without understanding, you can’t get to empathy. You can be the boss without any of these, but you can’t be a leader. The formula is pretty straightforward. Be open and curious to learn because …
Compassion: You Can’t Lead Without It – Grow Great Daily Brief #147 – January 31, 2019 Read More »
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Yesterday morning our local sports talk radio station, 1310 The Ticket, had Troy Aikman on. When asked about the competitiveness of the NFL he said the Dallas Cowboys, with the same owner and GM for a few decades now, are puzzling because it’s unclear what they believe. A few years ago it was defense. Then …
What Core Beliefs Are You Devoted To? – Grow Great Daily Brief #146 – January 30, 2019 Read More »
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Beliefs drive actions. Some choose to believe that when something is working good enough, then it’s alright. Leave it alone. No need to improve it. Others of us (my hand is in the air) choose to believe that everything can be improved. I have an additional belief – it’s way more fun to pursue making …
Even Though It’s Good, Can It Be Better? – Grow Great Daily Brief #145 – January 29, 2019 Read More »
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“Next man up” is a commonly used phrase in team sports and the military. A variety of implications are in play. For starters, everybody is replaceable. But more importantly, the success of the team, the unit or the organization hinges on having people ready and capable of filling a space once occupied by a contributor. …
How Deep Is Your Bench? – Grow Great Daily Brief #144 – January 28, 2019 Read More »
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Not everything can be fixed. Some problems have to be endured. Thankfully, loneliness doesn’t have to fall into that category. I believe it can be fixed. Better yet, I believe it should be fixed. We owe it to ourselves and the people who care about us to avoid falling into the abyss of hopelessness prompted by …
Fix Your Loneliness Epidemic – Grow Great Daily Brief #143 – January 25, 2019 Read More »
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Confession: I’m really tired of hearing people bally-hoo happiness. “I wanna be happy. Don’t you wanna be happy?” Don’t get me wrong. Yes, we all want to be happy. But happiness is such a short-term objective. Nobody is happy all the time. Happiness isn’t even appropriate all the time. The quest for happiness presupposes that …
Has The Loneliness Epidemic Hit YOU? – Grow Great Daily Brief #142 – January 24, 2019 Read More »
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“All of us need to understand the importance of branding. We are CEOs of our own companies: Me Inc. To be in business today, our most important job is to be head marketer for the brand called You.” – Tom Peters Do you agree? That marketing is your most important job as a CEO/entrepreneur? “A …
Marketing: Your Most Important Job? – Grow Great Daily Brief #141 – January 23, 2019 Read More »
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Faith is a female entrepreneur in a male-dominated industry, drywall. She comes from a long line of tradesmen. Both grandfathers. And her own dad. She’s accomplished in the trade specializing in high-end residential construction, but she’s also an accomplished business operator. She knows her stuff. But she’s struggling with something she thinks should come more …
Celebrate Victories! – Grow Great Daily Brief #140 – January 22, 2019 Read More »
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I’ve been asked versions of this question, and this direct question, many times. Other than employee engagement I don’t think another topic dominates leadership conversations. But they’re very related. When employees are disengaged, culture isn’t going to be highly productive. Not for long. Let’s begin with the fact that culture can be broken and it …
How Can You Fix A Broken Culture? – Grow Great Daily Brief #139 – January 21, 2019 Read More »
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Today let’s talk about the things that can ruin higher human performance inside your organization. These aren’t in any particular order. And it’s only a few things to get you focused on what may be hindering your organization from reaching new levels of higher performance. As leaders, it’s highly likely we could keep adding to the …
Leadership: Engaging Employees With Engaging Work (Part 3) – Grow Great Daily Brief #138 – January 18, 2019 Read More »
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Yesterday we left off talking about congruency. It’s a very important topic because it’s a major disruptor of employee engagement. The story we tell ourselves – and the stories your employee are telling themselves – focus on trying to find agreement or congruency between what is said and what is done. It has a direct …
Leadership: Engaging Employees With Engaging Work (Part 2) – Grow Great Daily Brief #137 – January 17, 2019 Read More »
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I know of no leadership topic more popular than “employee engagement.” Across every sector leaders give some focus or lip service to it. Organizations spend extraordinary amounts of money attempting to accurately measure employee engagement. Mostly, I see folks spend stupid money on finding out how engaged (or disengaged) employees are, then play darts trying …
Leadership: Engaging Employees With Engaging Work (Part 1) – Grow Great Daily Brief #136 – January 16, 2019 Read More »
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Thanks to all the listeners who emailed me their biggest leadership challenge. Quite a few sent me stories of dealing with change and helping their team members deal with it. So today, let’s mull this over. The big component with dealing with change is TIME. It gives us binary options – we can deal with …
Leadership: Dealing With Change – Grow Great Daily Brief #135 – January 15, 2019 Read More »
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If you haven’t yet emailed me your biggest leadership challenge, then do it right now. Just email me at RandyCantrell [at] gmail [dot] com. It’ll be anonymous. It’ll help me deliver more valuable content, especially this week while we’re focusing on leadership. Let’s begin the week focused on how we think. Our leadership begins in …
Leadership: Expressions Of Belief – Grow Great Daily Brief #134 – January 14, 2019 Read More »
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Powerful Leadership: How To Unleash The Potential In Others And Simplify Your Own Life was published in 2002. It was written by two professors of the business school at BYU. Early in the book, there’s a little section subtitled, “Managers Have Huge Blind Spots.” The authors write… “One of the most distressing patterns in modern …
Leadership Mandate: First, Do No Harm! – Grow Great Daily Brief #133 – January 11, 2019 Read More »
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Dr. Diane Hamilton has a new book coming out, Cracking The Curiosity Code. “Curiosity is important in all aspects of our lives because it opens us up to our desire to experience things. As we become more curious, we find things that make us happy, energize us, and create new opportunities and experiences at home …
Curiosity Killed The Cat, But It Fuels The Entrepreneur – Grow Great Daily Brief #132 – January 10, 2019 Read More »
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Gender. Age. Geography. Education. There are so many variables that make us who we are, and how we view the world (and our place in it). This isn’t about figuring out if one way is right and another wrong. Culture is too busy doing that nasty work. No, this is about leveraging the power of …
There’s Power In Our Differences – Grow Great Daily Brief #131 – January 9, 2019 Read More »
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Here’s the thing about aiming higher. It’s always time. Why not? And why not now? Over the holidays I was watching the grandkids running on a Florida beach while I was reading and listening to the waves. It dawned on me that I needed to aim higher. The question I asked myself was, “Why not?” …
It’s Time To Aim Higher – Grow Great Daily Brief #130 – January 8, 2019 Read More »
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In 2004 a little book was published that captured my attention as I strolled through the bookstore on my weekly pilgrimage. The book was entitled, “Good Luck: Creating the Conditions for Success in Life and Business” by Alex Rovira and Fernando Trias de Bes. In spite of the fact that I’m not terribly fond of …
Creating & Finding The Good Luck – Grow Great Daily Brief #129 – January 7, 2019 Read More »
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It’s here. The last day of the year for the GROW GREAT PODCAST. I hope you’ve found this 5-day journey a profitable way to end the year. I knew of no more powerful way to end the year. You’re now in the Grand Ballroom of Abundance. You were outside with the masses who lamented all …
5 Days To A High Growth Way Of Thinking: Day Five – Grow Great Daily Brief #128 – December 21, 2018 Read More »
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You’re inside the grand ballroom of abundance, right? You should have entered yesterday, but if you’re still outside, then you need to go back to day 1, 2 and 3. You think you need courage, but you really don’t. Courage is required when fear is present. Well, I suppose there is fear present. That’s why …
5 Days To A High Growth Way Of Thinking: Day Four – Grow Great Daily Brief #127 – December 20, 2018 Read More »
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Expanding your business. It’s the point. The goal. And it can happen. If you’ve put in the work the last two days, then you’re beginning to more fully understand that YOU are the constraint. Your business growth is largely limited by one roadblock. YOU. Today, I hope you’ll start seeing the crack in the door …
5 Days To A High Growth Way Of Thinking: Day Three – Grow Great Daily Brief #126 – December 19, 2018 Read More »
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Strategies. Tactics. People are drawn to find out specific answers. While we don’t want people telling us what to do, we sometimes crave it secretly wishing people would just tell us what to do. We crave it because we’re smart. Easy is way better than hard. It’s hard to figure it out for ourselves. Better, but …
5 Days To A High Growth Way Of Thinking: Day Two – Grow Great Daily Brief #125 – December 18, 2018 Read More »
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Let’s start this final week of the Grow Great podcast – well, the final week for 2018 – by talking about a way of thinking. Mindset, attitude, mentality. Call it whatever you’d prefer, but I’m calling it exactly what it is – a way of thinking. Depending on the topic, we all have a way …
5 Days To A High Growth Way Of Thinking: Day One – Grow Great Daily Brief #124 – December 17, 2018 Read More »
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We talk quite a lot about being intentional and purposeful in who you surround yourself with, but today let’s fairly consider naturally occurring peer support. Professional (intentional and purposeful) peer advantage isn’t something everybody wants. And unless or until somebody wants to lean into the advantage of being surrounded by others who can help…they won’t …
Naturally Occurring Peer Support – Grow Great Daily Brief #123 – December 14, 2018 Read More »
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