Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of a best-selling series of books that chronicled her pioneer childhood in the late 1800s, proved that it is never too late to accomplish great things and to become a highly successful, influential leader. Wilder left a literary legacy that has positively influenced millions of people—both young and old—for generations. Her books …
I was recently reminded of one of the most powerful leadership principles ever encountered: “If you have a big enough why, the how becomes easy.” Most leaders, organizations, and people focus on the “how.” Take a look at the titles and focus of millions of books, articles, and blogs. Take a look at the titles and focus of thousands of …
Home from school at last, the five-year-old boy ran up the stairs, bursting at the seams with excitement, anxious to tell his daddy what had happened in class today. “Guess what, Daddy? I got to be the Class Leader today!” Turning to greet his son, the father caught the contagious excitement of his preschooler and …
I recently had the opportunity to conduct an in-depth interview with Dave Edwards, Vice President of Supplier Relations/Business Development at Premier, Inc. Dave is not only a thoughtful and articulate leader, he is unusually passionate and is definitely “all in” regarding his personal, professional, and organizational mission and role at Premier. Throughout the entire 65-minute interview, one …
Throughout his life, President Herbert Hoover demonstrated profound determination and perseverance. Born into poverty and orphaned as a young boy, Hoover was determined to create a better life. In his own words, Hoover’s boyhood ambition was “to be able to earn my own living, without the help of anybody, anywhere.” Raised a Quaker, he soon …
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. …
As the two-hour flight got underway, Christy waited anxiously for the flight attendants to begin passing out refreshments. Deep, stabbing hunger pains radiated through her stomach. Her hand automatically went to her belly and she rubbed the little baby bump that was just beginning to be noticeable now that she was in her second trimester. …
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, …
“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 …
As I’ve been working on writing my latest book, Be An Inspirational Leader: Engage, Inspire, Empower, I have (obviously) been thinking a lot about great leadership. In one of the chapters in the book I explore the topic of being accountable as a leader and what that looks like. There are many facets to being …
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 …
When you were in high school, did you know what you wanted to be when you grew up? Did you think you knew what you wanted to be when you grew up? How about now—wherever you ended up, whatever career you’re currently pursuing, have you ever thought about how differently things might have been had …
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 …
No matter what job you have, most likely your position doesn’t require all of your talents. There are certain skills, hobbies, and unique abilities that you could bring to the table, but there just doesn’t seem to be a need for them in your current position. It might be singing, dancing, painting, writing, photography, …
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 …
Years ago, when I was working for VHA, there was a small family-owned and operated deli on the first floor of the building where our national offices were located. The deli was a convenient place to have coffee or a soda with a colleague, or to have lunch. I ate there frequently, as did …
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 …