As 2022 draws to a close, there are two issues that seem to have completely dominated the year – supply chain, and labor shortage. Those have been the two key drivers at pretty much every conference I have attended this year. Fixing the supply chain is beyond my ability. But dealing with our persistent labor…
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At its most basic, effective leadership consists of two key components. One of them is the human element – that’s the part where you’re showing and telling the people who work for you that you’re glad they’re there. This is the piece of leadership that gets the most attention, because there are an endless number…
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One of the things I’ve always enjoyed about my job is the opportunity to meet people living in places I would otherwise probably never go, doing things I know almost nothing about. It’s given me a chance to see a much broader cross-section of the world than I think most jobs allow for, and my…
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Last month, something happened to me at an event that hasn’t happened in well over a decade. I wish it were something cool like audience members throwing money and candy at me as they cheered “Bravo!” and “Encore!” But that’s never happened, and probably never will. No, this thing was far more mundane, and far…
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Recently my wife and I were in Barcelona, visiting her family and 87 of their closest friends. (Not quite, but there were a lot of people.) We were outside, it was a beautiful day, and it was time to decide where to have dinner. The only thing everyone agreed on was that we wanted to…
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In the last several months I’ve spoken at a few dozen conferences. And at every single one of them – big ones, small ones, and basically every industry there is – the people at those conferences have been talking about exactly two things: supply chain, and the labor shortage. Your company probably is, too. Those…
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When I was a kid, I wanted to be an astronaut. I also wanted to be a builder (which was my Lego-inspired term for ‘construction worker’), and I also wanted to dig up dinosaurs. I have done none of those things, and it’s perfectly OK. I chose a different path, and I’m happy with it. …
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To be fair, there are probably more than three things all employees want. Most employees would probably take a million dollars if you felt like giving it to them. Or a jetski, the ability to talk to animals, telekinetic powers – the list goes on. But in this article we’re going to talk about three…
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Every minute, approximately 765,000 articles about leadership are written. That’s only a slight exaggeration, because we are collectively obsessed with the notion of leadership. But I run across relatively few articles that contrast a leadership mindset against some of the other mindsets that are equally critical to a company’s success, and so I thought it…
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Recently somebody got mad at me for something they shouldn’t have. That’s not just my opinion, either; they even agreed with me that they were mad about something else and took their anger out on me. However, they didn’t apologize for getting mad at me when they shouldn’t have. And it’s bugging me. It’s still…
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So it’s a new year, which means it’s time to do something different. At least that’s what everyone else seems to think. So half the world has just joined a gym, or bought some language-learning program, or maybe signed up for those piano lessons they’re constantly putting off, and this is going to be the…
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Everybody’s heard of the power of positive thinking – and if you’re like me, then the phrase is vaguely annoying. “So I’m just supposed to think happy thoughts and everything will magically work out?” That’s kind of how it’s presented, but life doesn’t exactly work that way. For example, I once had a happy thought…
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By now you’ve heard the news – everyone is quitting every job everywhere. Nobody is actually employed anymore, and the great engine that runs our global society is grinding to a shuddering halt. In fact, it’s probably a good time to start stocking up again on toilet paper. Chances are the people who make it…
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Since many businesses are currently debating whether or how to return to the office – and meeting planners are debating how exactly to host their events – I thought it might be helpful this month to give you some insight into the state of in-person events today. My first live event post-apocalypse (my cutesy way…
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My wife is from Spain, and ever since I met her I have been fond of saying that the best way to live is somewhere between the American way and Spanish way. I’m pretty sure that statement could be applied more broadly as well – somewhere between my way and your way is the best…
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By now you’re undoubtedly aware of the latest pandemic paradox: at the same time millions of people are out of work, millions of employers can’t find workers. The explanations for our current labor shortage have been chalked up to a variety of causes from health concerns to unemployment benefits to remote schooling. I’m not going…
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(Hint – It’s More Than You Think) For most of us, the issue of control is a pretty big one. We like the idea of being in control at all times – of our diets, our schedules, our financial future, our children. There are times, of course, when we relinquish control and do wild and…
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In the last few months I’ve read countless articles and had dozens of conversations with people regarding the reality of remote work. For the most part, there seems to be no good consensus. Some people seem to love it and other people hate it, still other people like it a little but don’t want to…
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It’s finally happening. After over a year of living with some quite unexpected and unprecedented constraints, the world is finally, slowly opening back up. Whether we return to a fully open state tomorrow or several months from now – and also regardless of whether you think it should have happened yesterday or should be put…
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I recently had a conversation with a friend I hadn’t spoken to in years. I’ve always loved talking with this particular friend, but this time she was more somber when the conversation ended. My friend was working herself to exhaustion – she couldn’t sleep, was losing more weight than she could afford to, and was…
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It’s safe to say that most of us have experienced a higher-than-average level of boredom in the last 12 months. Nothing like having everything closed and being forced to stay at home to make you wonder what exactly to do with your time. For many of us, the answer was to complain about it. I’ve…
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