Endless, Cheerful, Repeated Coaching

“Man, you gotta have your head in the game every second of every play. You doze for a second, and the other guys are all over you and that’s the down, the quarter and the whole game. Too many games, and your career is done!”
—NFC Playoff Team Member

If a football team went a week without being intensely coached about the opposition, the […]

Beren & the Elders

The Sales & Counselor Selling Series

Beren, among many young braves, was called to speak to the Tribal Council about a difficult issue.  There would be no decision until all of the Council Elders agreed upon a course of action.  Planning to set the discussion on a course to a successful end, Beren resolved […]

You Can Change the World

“Everyone thinks to change the world.  But nobody thinks to change themselves!”
— Leo Tolstoy

“We can change the world, rearrange the world.  It’s dying to get better!”
— Graham Nash, Chicago

Examine Your Habits… of Thought, […]

Dirty Lens

“Your assumptions are your windows on the world.
Scrub them off every once in a while,
or the light won’t come in.”
—Alan Alda

“The fault, dear Brutus, lies not in our stars, but in ourselves.”
—William Shakespeare

Management v. Leadership

(in a crisis)

Well, we admit it. We’re Americans.  And that old picture of Washington Crossing the Delaware has a warm place in our heart.  Also it points out the dual nature of being the Boss.  You have to Manage the crossing.  But once you’re across and out of the boat, you have to Lead to the ultimate victory.

The Will to Command

Self-abnegation
Noun
1. Self-renunciation — renunciation of one’s own interests in favor of others.
2. Self-abnegation — the act of denying, sacrificing, giving up something in favor of others.
3. Self-sacrifice — acting with less concern for self than for the success of the joint activity.

Lately, […]

Circle the Wagons

“Circle the wagons” (idiom) suggests a group of people who intend to put up the barriers, turn inward and husband their resources as they deal with their own pressing issues. A business can “circle the wagons” when it needs to re-evaluate its products, marketplace or advertising strategy. All of these uses share the common theme of providing for defense from circumstances that can seem overwhelming. (See Dessert…)

In times […]

Keeping the Small Promises

“If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you must first develop the habit in little matters. Excellence is not an exception; it is a prevailing attitude.”
-Gen. Colin Powell

The term, “worthy of trust” is at the heart of the relationship between leaders and their teams. Can they trust you? Are […]

What’s Called For?

What’s Called For?

“What have you given us, Mr. Franklin?”
“A Republic madam, if you can keep it!”

Demagogue
A “demagogue” (from the Greek: Demos “the People” + Agogos “leading”) […]

Management v. Leadership (in a crisis)

“Management works in the system; […]

Aliens from Babel on Groundhog Day

“There was a tribe which became successful, rich, and so arrogant that they decided to build a tower, tall enough to allow them to walk directly into heaven, without divine intercession.

As the work began, and progressed over time; the Almighty became angry and levied a curse on the tribe.  The next morning as they awoke and began speaking, they slowly became […]

The Many “Hats of Management”

“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts.”

-“As You Like It”
William Shakespeare

In the early days of railroading, each crewmember had a unique […]

“It’s the Culture, Stupid!”

“The Shepherd does not despise the sheep.”

– Biblical Proverb

“It will be the policy of this organization that to refer to a client as muppet, puppet, crumpet or strumpet, will be a firing offense.”

Friends, […]

Servant of the Boat

“She’s as integral to the boat as the rowers are; they can’t do it without her.”

– Tom Terhaar
Head Coach, US Women’s Olympic Rowing Team
(1969 – )

“King of the Hill?”
or
“Servant of the […]

On Management

On Management
Part Four of Five
of the “What is Fusion?” series

“Let’s see if your walk is as good as your talk.”

– From “Zatoichi kenda-daiko” (1968)

We’ve already spoken about Communication, Sales and Culture Building. This article focuses on Management Development […]

Endless, Cheerful, Repeated Coaching

“Man, you gotta have your head in the game every second of every play. You doze for a second, and the other guys are all over you and that’s the down, the quarter and the whole game. Too many games, and your career is done!”

-NFC Playoff Team Member

If a football team went a week without being intensely coached about the opposition, the plays and strategy for the game at hand, and the positions and roles of each opposition player on each […]

Managing vs. Leading in Crisis

“Management works in the system; Leadership works on the system.”

Despite […]

Perils of the Visionary Leader (or the Razor’s Edge)

“The Sharp edge of a razor is difficult to pass over; thus the wise say the path to salvation is hard.”

– “The Razor’s Edge”
W. Somerset Maugham
Excerpted from “The Katha Upanishad”

A leader’s responsibility comes […]

This July, think about dependence.

“Gentlemen, we’d best hang together.
Or we will most assuredly hang – separately!”

– Benjamin Franklin
American Printer, Writer, Speaker
Founding Father
(January 17, 1706 – April 17, 1790)

Baby Steps

Lost in Rugby, England, Dwight Morrow and his wife, the parents of Anne Lindbergh, wandered through the streets for hours. He stopped a little Rugby lad of about 12 years. “Could you tell us the way to the station?” he asked.

“Well,” the boy answered, “You turn to the right there by the grocer’s shop and then take the second street to the left.  […]

Ancora Imparo

“And still I am learning!”
— Michelangelo

“Learning on the job is essential to judging!”
— John Paul Stevens
Associate Justice
United States Supreme Court
(1920- )

“The […]