All leaders make mistakes. The best ones learn from their mistakes and never blame their people. In 2014 I was coaching the lightweight men’s quad out of Riverside Boat Club. The boat was rough around the edges but the guys were fit and strong and moving fast. Trials were coming up and if they...
Continue readingYell Versus Tell – Effective Communication Is All About The Delivery
Effective communication is key to high performance. If you want to get a message across you can speak calmly and directly. Or you can yell. Both will get a message across. But not necessarily the message you want to convey. And not necessarily a message that adds real value. Any kind of real leader,...
Continue readingJobseekers Need To Be Tough, But What Does That Mean?
More than ever, jobseekers today need to be tough. Layoffs. Recession. Archaic promotion processes. But what does it mean to be tough? You might think it means hiding weaknesses, and vulnerability. Always putting on a good face. Never showing doubt. Working to exhaustion every day. Well, toughness might not mean what you think it...
Continue reading
How The Worst Race Of My Career Helped Me To Become A Champion – A Story of The Search
Champions are often born out of the worst of times. ...
Continue readingWhy Is It So Hard To Get Clarity?
When you're struggling to find clarity avoid these three things - comparing yourself to others, not understanding your why, and second guessing yourself. ...
Continue readingTommy Boy And Deep Work
(Originally posted on LinkedIn today) David Spade’s character in Tommy Boy was prophetic. When he told Chris Farley’s character Tommy “Let’s say the average person uses ten percent of his brain. How much do you use? One and a half percent. The rest is filled with malted hops and bong resin.” How often do...
Continue readingThank You, Selma
There are moments in life where I am touched by something so deeply that it immediately makes me wish my mom was still alive to see it as well. They bring me to tears just as she used to be brought to tears by Maria Callas, or a story about her father, or sometimes...
Continue readingIce Cube Trays
Is inconvenience really a bad thing? Sometimes there is value in being more closely connected to the process and final product. You might have to do more work and wait a little longer, but you’ll value the end result much more. ...
Continue readingA Barrow Full Of Pumpkins
This weekend we went to Shuh Farms in Mount Vernon with the cousins. We bought 154 pounds of pumpkins and carted them back to Seattle today. I’ve been thinking about the experience. The kids ran into the pumpkin patch and were quickly carrying back any and every pumpkin they came across. Little discernment or...
Continue readingSlices Of Life
There are a lot of “experts” out there. Trying to tell you how to win at life in just nine easy steps. So much of it is nonsense. They don’t know you. But they sure want to help you solve all your problems for a small fee. I am no expert. Sure I’ve done...
Continue reading