During a recent conversation with my friend, Jason Cleveland, we discussed the whole notion of being a “social worker” vs. having a “social mindset”.  Jason works with ex-offenders helping to re-acclimate them into society specifically on the job front.  That is where he and I share a passion: helping others find meaningful work.  We both [...]

Recently I was honored to serve as a judge for the Idea 2 Product competition sponsored locally by St. Louis University.  Students from the business and engineering schools are encouraged to submit their ideas for original products or services for cash prizes and to move on to a regional competition next Spring.  Throughout this month-long [...]

I believe it was providential that yesterday my working day began and ended with meetings discussing the same topic: how the convicted felon who has paid their debt to society for their crimes, is going to find gainful employment.  In the morning I had a breakfast meeting with Janis Frick and Jan Gannon from Soaring [...]

How many times have we as business leaders thought that if we can just outsmart, outmaneuver or outpace our competitors, the business would be ours for the taking?  Especially in commodity driven marketplaces where the competition is fierce and many, just to be able to separate ourselves on something other than price might make all [...]

Just read a good post from Umar Haque in the Harvard Business Review press blog: http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/haque/2009/09/is_your_business_innovative_or.html 
He makes some good points that all business leaders should be questioning within their organizations.  Mainly, how are we viewing innovation within our areas of control?  Are we solely concerned with just bringing something new to our customers or are [...]

The following is a fascinating article from the New York Times summarizing an interview with John Chambers, CEO of Cisco.  I believe that all of us as business leaders can learn from our mistakes and that we have not built a great department, location, plant or company until we have faced tremendous odds and overcome [...]

I was reading an article recently that talked about the lack of effective communication from those in leadership roles and how it impacts their organizations.  I felt this was worth sharing.  If leaders are going to move their groups and consequently their entire organizations forward, it is essential to plan and execute good communication about [...]

How many people have you spoken with lately that say something to the effect of “When this happens then I know we’ll be back to normal.”  For those of us thinking about it carefully, there will be no back to normal.  Business as we know it is changing.  The amount of correction happening in the [...]