In a recent interview with Dave Edwards, Vice President of Supplier Relations/Business Development at Premier, Inc., I asked him to describe his leadership role. As Dave enthusiastically described his leadership approach and specific responsibilities at Premier, I began thinking, “Dave is describing a guaranteed principle and formula for personal and professional leadership success.” From Dave’s comments …
I recently recorded a 65-minute, high-energy interview with Dave Edwards, Vice President of Supplier Relations/Business Development at Premier. Over the next few weeks, we will publish several healthcare leadership articles as a result of that interview. As you will see over the next few weeks, Dave provided excellent perspectives regarding many important leadership questions and issues. …
There is new evidence that healthy-looking people are perceived as better leaders. Healthy people are perceived as better leaders, even over intelligent-looking people. A recent article on the Harvard Business Review blog states the following: “The evidence comes from a study led by Brian Spisak at VU University of Amsterdam and published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. The study asked …
I took this picture in Yosemite National Park. It is one of more than 250,000 pictures that I have personally taken all across America the Beautiful. I have every one of those pictures saved on multiple external drives. I frequently return to thousands of interesting and inspirational locations all across America by simply …
Great leaders gracefully say “no” far more often than they say “yes.” Great leaders are crystal clear on their highest priorities and therefore gracefully say “no” at least 20 to 30 times more often than they say “yes.” As a leader, are you teaching and coaching your direct reports, your team, your colleagues, and all those within your organization …
We are less than one month from beginning a year that will be filled with almost unbelievable technological and other rapid, dramatic change in every industry and every organization in the world, including every healthcare organization. 2015 will bring incredible opportunities for personal, professional, and organizational success. The new year will also bring many difficult personal, …
Maybe it happens in every industry. I don’t know because I have not served as a CEO and senior executive in every industry. Of course, neither has anyone else. However, I have served as a hospital and healthcare system CEO and senior executive for the past 40 years. Throughout this rather long and successful career, …
“We need to be as strategic with ourselves as we are with our careers and our businesses. We need to pace ourselves, nurture ourselves, and give ourselves fuel to explore, thrive, and perform.” This critical, life-long truth comes from chapter 8 of the book titled Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit Of Less by Greg McKeown. The author provides …
Pablo Picasso once wrote, “Without great solitude, no serious work is possible.” In chapter 5 of Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, Greg McKeown addresses the critical need to escape, and the many advantages of purposefully scheduling time wherein you are unavailable for anything, other than to think. Do you openly coach, mentor, lead, and expect …
“If you believe being overly busy and overextended is evidence of productivity, then you probably believe that creating space to explore, think, and reflect should be kept to a minimum.” So writes Greg McKeown in his excellent book titled Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit Of Less. Many leaders would not admit it, but their actions speak far …
In chapter 4 of his book Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit Of Less, Greg McKeown discusses the critical issue of continuous ‘trade-offs’ in our personal, professional and organizational lives. To make his point McKeown summarizes the hugely successful story of Southwest Airlines and how its leadership, led by Herb Kelleher for many years, has produced amazing financial results, …
Life is all about choices. The same is true regarding leadership. Leadership is all about choices. The short-term, long-term, and ultimate fate of every leader—that includes you—is determined by his or her choices. Highly successful leaders make wise, proactive choices. We are in a study of the excellent book titled Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit Of Less, written by Greg …
In chapter three of Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, author Greg McKeown poses an important and interesting question: “We have been taught from a young age that hard work is key to producing results, and many of us have been amply rewarded for our productivity and our ability to muscle through every task or challenge …
Have you every wondered about certain individuals or organizations who have achieved huge success, only to lose it and fade into obscurity within a number of years? What happened to them? Was it bad luck or unfortunate timing? Was their initial success a fluke? Did they suddenly just lose their edge? There’s no one-size-fits-all answer …
In his book Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, Greg McKeown writes: “Essentialism is not about how to get more things done; it’s about how to get the right things done. It doesn’t mean just doing less for the sake of less either. It is about making the wisest possible investment of your time and energy in order …
In our day of massive information overload—24/7 everything, everywhere, all the time—it becomes increasingly difficult for leaders and all team members to focus on the truly vital and what is most important. In chapter one of Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, author Greg McKeown tells the story of an executive facing this very situation. But …
Continuing our study of Greg McKeown’s book, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, this week we look at a crucial and liberating leadership question. How many leaders and organizations teach, coach, and explicitly empower ALL of their team members to ask and act on the following question? “Is this the most important thing I should be doing with …
We see it among less successful leaders in every industry and in every walk of life. Millions of leaders, and literally billions of people spend their entire lives, and their entire career ‘majoring in minor activities.’ I have been a formal and informal leader in the healthcare industry, and in business in general, for over forty years. As a hospital …
I am currently studying—note that I did not say that I am simply reading—an excellent book titled Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less. The author is Greg McKeown. Regardless of your level of leadership and personal and professional success, you can learn and benefit from this book! From day to day, in fact more often than that, …
Jon Gordon, a successful leadership author, thought leader, and speaker, recently visited West Point Military Academy to speak and to interact with cadets, coaches, and the military brass. Following his visit, Jon wrote an article titled 9 Leadership Lessons from my Visit to West Point. He explains that although he was there to teach, he ended …