Here is a typical situation when a leadership and organizational consultant goes into a new business to help them out. The consultant has a discussion with the client trying to get to the bottom of several issues in the front office. There are multiple paths that needed exploring, but the consultant's process tells him where to start. "Could I please see a copy of your organizational chart?" The client will often answer with something like: "We have four separate entities for business and tax purposes." Which prompts: "Do you have yourselves organized by an org chart?" "No." So the consultant [...]

There is no longer any doubt about it. We are at a decision point in history. We are nearing the point at which we have the opportunity to throw the switch on the tracks of history to go down a new path. However, I fear we as a people are too busy with our necks craned down to look at our screens while the switch passes by us and we head down the tracks to major war abroad and on our own shores, upheaval we have not known since before World War II, and a major collapse of the social [...]

We need to talk. We need to listen. We need to love. Everyone. Our neighbors. Those who aren't our neighbors. The promise of technology, the internet and social media was that people would be able to get together in virtual communities. The reality is that people have used the information revolution to increasingly associate with people who are like themselves. People now use the internet to find neighborhoods to live in -- and the criteria includes, if not is dominated by, who else lives there. People the world over now read newspapers and magazines that focus on a specific point [...]

Ideas. The best leaders live in the realm of ideas. Facts and details are great and necessary. But connecting ideas is what advances business and humanity. You've heard me say often that the senior leader's job is to stay above the daily fray and focus on the long-term vision and strategy (see here). I also contend that it is important to stretch your limits as a leader and why it is important to think beyond your knowledge set (see here). How comfortable are you saying "I don't know" or "what do I need to know to understand this better?" If [...]

It's better to be right than first. We've talked often here about narratives in the past (see here and here) and why it is so critical for senior leaders to look for evidence when making decisions and developing strategies to achieve corporate objectives. Sunday's Washington Post featured an article titled "Amanda Knox is innocent. But are the facts enough to change minds?" The piece was a review of the new documentary on Netflix which delves into the details of Knox's case in an attempt to change the very public opinion formed without any hint of evidence of the facts. This [...]

Perhaps it is time to have an internal dialogue within the Government and between our treaty partners about precision in language about what an ally is and isn't. And if necessary, we ought to take the bold steps of making formal changes to whom we call allies. It matters. I would contend allies and coalition partners are very measurably different. Coalition partners share short-term interests. Allies share deep and enduring virtues and values. As values evolve or change, so do and so should coalitions and alliances. Again, it matters. Who you associate with says something about you. We all know [...]

I sat in a client's office a couple of years ago when the client told me he didn't like my second Maxim (click on the link here to see the full list): Seek Balance in Life. He said that in his experience, people use the concept of balance to not work as hard as they ought to, or might, or should. There is a strong sense in the corporate and government worlds that those who see balance are "wussies" that don't pull their weight. Let me be specific: there are times when an employee must work overtime for long periods [...]

May I offer you a challenge? Carefully consider the following question: As a CEO or senior leader, how willing are you to learn? It may seem like a simple question. It may seem not worth your time. But indulge me for a minute. Go down the hallway to the rest room or close the door to your office and look at the mirror and ask yourself, in private, where nobody will know...how willing are you to learn? This may be the key question to you and your success in business, government or whatever field you are in. Nobody is going [...]

Whether you are a young rising professional or are tagged to be a senior leader's executive assistant, there are some very sound steps to help you get through turbulent waters. Few people want to go through the pain of the steps required to rise through the ranks in the corporate world, but those who have the fortitude and follow some simple rules will most often come out on top. Realize that in most corporations, there really is a process for getting the best people to the right positions within the company. Yes, some are haphazard, especially if you find yourself [...]

It has been a difficult week for liberalism in the world. The notion that people ought to respect the election results even if it puts in power those they oppose isn't working. The idea that cosmopolitanism - diversity and respect for other cultures - is better than everyone looking and thinking the same seems to be literally under attack in Europe. But perhaps our liberal institutions can shield us and help us ride through the rough times. Lets see. We were told a hundred times "Donald Trump can't win." Yet this week he accepts the nomination as the Republican Party's [...]

How odd that the Washington Post said that the biggest "threat" to the European Union is the will of the people. The Brussels technocrats who have steadfastly maintained a distance between themselves and the people of the member countries all for the ostensible betterment of those people through routine and predictable rules of commerce and relations may soon find themselves out of work. The British populace did not create the tide that is threatening the European Union as well as markets and retirement funds around the world. It exposed the tide to elites who were too distant from the people [...]

Last week I had a very serendipitous convergence. I had fresh in my memory the day two weeks ago that I spoke to the government classes at our local high school. It's not the kids' fault that they didn't know what the social contract is. The overwhelming sentiment among these seniors was that we should drastically cut or eliminate the government and that everyone ought to take care of themselves. So when I discussed the importance of people not having to expend all their energy defending themselves from sudden attack, from all the efficiencies that come from government-funded roads, police, [...]

Last week, I visited a mentor who arguably taught me the most about professionalism in my early career; lessons that have stayed with me until. John Casciano certainly didn't look like the type that would rise to the highest levels of National Security leadership. Short in stature, he certainly wasn't going to rise based on having "the look." In an era of tremendous turbulence with the ossification of one major segment of his profession and he rise of another, he nimbly moved between segments in his corporate structure and rose in a very non-traditional career track. He used his intellect, [...]