In June 1972 I started working for a leader by the name of Max Coppom. Max was the founding CEO of what was then known as West Nebraska General Hospital, and he’d hired me to be the vice president, administration. I had a very positive first impression of Max during the interview with him, and …
I have been serving in leadership roles my entire adult life. In the past five years I have written two books on leadership and published hundreds of articles on the topic as well. I have also been honored by invitations to speak on leadership to groups all across the country. Needless to say, great leadership …
Following the recent loss of US Senator John McCain, there has been a great amount of media coverage about his life and legacy. Regardless of politics and personal opinion of the man, there is something he said that I think we all can appreciate and respect. It is a brief statement McCain made in response …
Good, bad, or indifferent, we all have habits. We know that some of our habits aren’t so great, and most likely we have some thoughts in the back of our minds about habits we think we should probably strive to have—like healthier eating, more exercise, better sleep patterns, etc. But which habits are most important? …
Last week I wrote about W. Edwards Deming and his management philosophy that can essentially be summed up as “focus on fixing the system, not the person.” The article was very well received, and of the dozens of comments, almost all voiced strong support of this philosophy. However, there were also many people who disagreed …
American engineer and statistician W. Edwards Deming (1900-1993) was passionate about improvement. Throughout the 20th century Deming’s philosophies and expertise helped to improve efficiency and quality of countless processes and products throughout the world—an impact and legacy that will far exceed his own lifetime. Deming is best known for his influence and impact on the post-war …
Where do you do your best thinking? And why do you think that is where you do your best thinking? I posed this question to my LinkedIn colleagues a few weeks ago, and as I read through the dozens of responses, I quickly noticed some patterns. While this was not a professionally conducted study or …
A couple weeks ago I posted this question on LinkedIn: “Where do you do your best thinking, and why do you think that is where you do your best thinking?” Nearly 60 people answered the question (you can see the original post and read all the comments here) and I was delighted by the wide …
We all view the world through our own experiences and perspectives. Which means that we ourselves are viewed by others through their experiences and perspectives. Inspirational blogger Nanea Hoffman is attributed with penning these words of wisdom: “You can’t control how other people receive your energy.” Hoffman goes on to explain, “Anything you do or …
My friend and colleague Mark Hood, CEO at Spine Team Texas, recently shared some excellent insights with me on how he most effectively engages his team. He writes: Here are four principles I have used throughout my career to motivate and engage my team. ACCESSIBILITY: Make sure your team can reach you easily. For example, return …
I recently shared a quote attributed to George Washington: “Ninety-nine percent of failures come from people who make excuses.” This quote and the discussion it generated got me to thinking about excuses and those who frequently use them. In my book Be An Inspirational Leader: Engage, Inspire, Empower, I devoted an entire chapter to the …
Ambition, initiative, strong work ethic… all these traits have served me extremely well throughout my career, but particularly well early in my career when I was a young, up-and-coming healthcare leader. From my youth I have been a hard worker, determined to do well, full of ambition, and eager to please. While in college …
My friend and colleague Steve Lawler recently shared the following quote by novelist Chuck Palahniuk: “Find joy in everything you choose to do. Every job, relationship, home… it’s your responsibility to love it, or change it.” This quote really resonated with me. I have long said, “If it’s to be, it’s up to me!” and …
I recently stumbled across an old email a colleague sent me a few years ago with the link to an article and the words, “You’ll love this.” She was right. The article was one written by author and speaker Jeff Haden, titled “10 Cherished Beliefs of Highly Successful People.” The full article is well worth …
I tend to be an observer, an analyzer, and sometimes—I admit—an over-analyzer. I often reflect on interactions and replay conversations in my head, wondering if I handled a situation well or said the right thing. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve followed up with a friend or colleague to double check that a …
I recently stumbled across a quote I’ve heard before, though I don’t know who authored it: “Four things you can’t recover: the stone after the throw, the word after it’s said, the occasion after it’s missed, the time after it’s gone.” This got me to thinking about the last article I published, where I asked …
Last week I asked the question, “Do you seek to learn?” This week I want to ask a follow-up question: “Do you learn when you lose?” No one likes to lose. But I think leaders especially don’t like to lose. Try as we might to keep our egos out of our leadership, it hurts our …
Here is a great question to honestly and very carefully ponder! Do you intentionally and consistently seek out and learn from people who can teach you? You, like me and every human on the planet, can significantly improve in virtually 100% of every area of your life—whether personal, professional or organizational. Whether our leadership, relationships, …
Without a doubt, the answer to the above question is different for different people. Happiness is a mysterious, profound, and very personal thing that is manifested in countless ways in different stages of life for every single person on the planet. That said, obviously many people find happiness in the same things. Just take a …
I recently posed this simple but thought-provoking question to my LinkedIn followers: “If you had just 15 minutes left to live, what would you tell your children are the 3 most important things you learned about how to live a happy life?” I received over 150 responses to my question. Responses ranged from very simple …