I pushed the limits as a cadet at West Point. I marched well over 100 hours of punishment tours during my four years in school. There were a lot of ways to get in trouble, and a lot of rules to tell us what not to do. Every violation of the rules at West Point […]
Becoming a leader of character is a process that never ends. It is a never ending road towards a destination you can never completely reach. But, leaders must take this road daily in order to grow and lead well. I had the benefit of my father, General Jim Anderson, and four years of training at […]
There is really only one person on earth who truly knows your character – YOU. All of us have strengths and weaknesses in our character. But do we stop and really look at ourselves in the mirror? We have developed the My Mirror Character Assessment for just that purpose. You will get a snapshot of […]
I really don’t care what I hear on the news. We do not have an issue with self-esteem in America. My proof? The American Idol auditions! The fact that some of these people can gripe, scream and even cry on national television because Steven Tyler (Aerosmith: My favorite band!) told them they were not ready […]
Though I was trained to lead at West Point and led men in combat as a lieutenant in the Army, I was still a baby when it came to recognizing a problem on my team, coaching it and documenting it appropriately in the corporate world. The Story I hired Tory myself (name changed). He had […]
Most corporate sponsored leadership training is ineffective. Why? Many consultants attempt to jam their round peg of a program into the square hole of an organization. Most training has a short half -life because there lacks accountability within the client organizations to actually implement the ideas generated at training events. Leadership training often focuses on […]
I am one of those guys who does not always get to control the TV remote in my house. Because of this dynamic, my desire to watch Deadliest Catch or SportsCenter is put on hold so my wife can watch one of her cooking shows. One thing I often hear on these shows is to […]
Small goals are uninspiring. If a leader wants a motivated team, setting the bar low or downplaying the difficulty of a tougher task is a big mistake. “People do not exert themselves for little, unimportant goals. They work hard, take great risks, and let nothing stop them only for big goals.” – MG William A […]
A man came to my house the other day asking for work. I handed him a hammer and some nails and told him to build a tree house for my kids. In fact, I gave him every tool he needed to complete the job. He should be able to build the tree house if I […]
Based on this quote, I’ve been on teams that would have made General Patton crazy. You may have too. These are teams where people don’t speak up. Everyone is agreeable and all ideas are good – especially if the ideas came from the boss. The results: Meetings are boring. Ideas are vanilla. Results are average. […]
Yes is one word. It is one word that can please so many and also let so many people down. I struggle to say No. No does not come easily, but it has saved me and saved my credibility more than once. I am sure I am not alone. I often commit to a good […]
It takes a lot of work to fire someone these days. Our friends in the legal profession have made the process of firing employees incredibly time consuming. For some leaders, this process is a disincentive for doing the right thing. When a leader allows a low performer to stay, that leader is failing. In the […]
Sometimes the best thing we can say about another person is “Thank God she’s not on my team, and I don’t have to work with her.” Let’s face it. Some people are hard to like. Spending time with her is not easy. The way she behaves, the way she talks, her attitude – everything just […]
“I know what I am doing now.” That is what I thought after a few years leading sales teams. I thought I had arrived. But each time I allowed myself to think that, I was proven wrong. Someone or something always surprised me. A new challenge would surface that I was not prepared for. It […]
