Valuable Insights for Today's Leaders
Florida’s DeSantis vs. Disney: How will swing voters react to Reedy Creek action?
The GOP used to be the party of limited government interference in the affairs of individuals and companies. No longer. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a possible Republican nominee for the presidency in 2024, is playing to the GOP’s base. Is DeSantis ignoring swing voters? Time will tell.
Lessons from the drive to unionize Starbucks
Starbucks employee unionization efforts are a lesson for all companies. Listen to the concerns of your employees. Create an environment in which employees develop a feeling of ownership in what they do at the company. Do so before a movement to unionize occurs.
We should all practice the human side of leadership
Recognize that your employees are your most valuable asset. Quoting Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group, “Clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of the clients.” Branson also said, “Train people well enough so they can leave. Treat them well enough so they don’t want to.”
When faced with a challenge, remember where your power comes from
When faced with challenges and adversity, remember Eric Little’s statement in the film Chariots of Fire, “So where does the power come from to see the race to its end? From within.” After you look into the deep, dark abyss, it becomes your finest hour, and you emerge stronger than before.
Tech companies need to avoid en masse terminations
Don’t emulate Google and other tech companies. Avoid terminations en mass. Evaluate employee performance and the staffing needs of your company and make changes on an ongoing basis. Inform each employee who is about to be terminated individually. How you handle terminations is a reflection of you as a leader.
Customer-facing employees must possess emotional intelligence
How will a front-line customer-facing employee react in a volatile situation with a customer? They will fall back on their experiences, emotional intelligence, common sense and good critical judgment to defuse the situation.
Will Norfolk Southern board hold CEO Alan Shaw accountable for avoiding derailments?
It’s up to the boards and CEOs of railroads to change their mindsets and recognize that they need to be on a mission critical journey to eliminate derailments. Practically, zero derailments will not be achieved, but that needs to be the goal.
Be more effective when presenting capital projects for approval with these tips
The best way to communicate verbally or in writing is to put yourself in the place of the intended audience and ask yourself how you would like to receive the information. Too many people don’t consider this, and it hurts their ability to effectively communicate what they are trying to say.
Does Norfolk Southern consider derailment avoidance a mission critical imperative?
The Feb. 3 derailment of a Norfolk Southern freight train in the village of East Palestine, Ohio raises the question—does Norfolk Southern consider avoidance of derailments to be mission critical? The airline and auto industries approach safety as a mission critical imperative. The railroad industry should have the same mindset.
Philadelphia mayoral candidates should look at New York’s blueprint to reduce violent crime
What do Philadelphia’s mayoral candidates plan to do about crime? Their approaches run the gamut and lack detail. I have yet to hear the approach that all candidates should pursue—benchmark other cities that have had success in reducing crime. The future livability of our city depends on it.
The Philadelphia Eagles are in the Super Bowl for one simple reason — they hired the right people
What lessons for all organizations does the Eagles’ success demonstrate? Jim Collins in his iconic leadership book “Good to Great” was right when he wrote, “[Get] the right people on the bus (and the wrong people off the bus).” Hire the right people. You won’t regret the money you spend to do so. Paraphrasing Collins, the right people will take your organization someplace great.
Build competitive advantage through a culture of continuous improvement
If you are looking for a sustainable initiative to build competitive advantage, look no further than the culture of continuous improvement. Companies that do not continually improve will fall behind. Those that do continuously improve will win the competitive race in the long run.
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