When I feel a little helpless in the world, I do what I do best, which is to gather the great thinkers and ask hard questions. So that’s what I’m doing on Thursday, September 14th. We are talking about women, men and leadership, and it will be an important discussion for both men and women to attend. Even though research shows companies perform better…
Photo credit to Fast Company's Co.Exist I am absolutely mind-crushing on Bill McDermott, CEO of SAP and author of "Winners Dream: A Journey from Corner Store to Corner Office." I just listened to his interview on Fortune Unfiltered with Aaron Task. I’m looking forward to hearing Steve Singh’s perspective on Bill, having sold his company (Concur) to SAP a few years ago. Steve’s on the…
Leaders juggle. It’s what they do. So imagine what occurs when you go from juggling a few red rubber balls to juggling hundreds of tiny puzzle pieces that fit perfectly together according to the picture on the box. How does this happen? Merge with another company or take one over as its new CEO...that’s how. That’s how I imagine Steve Singh, CEO of Concur…
The sound you just heard was me rolling my eyes. No, she’s not feeding chocolate to the homeless. That doesn’t even make sense. Right now, a lot of Americans are looking for some way to do something to make a difference or at least feel better about the shit show we’ve entered into. Well here you go…and it doesn’t even matter who you voted…
Benjamin Franklin said “Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are.” I took creative license and revised his sentiment:Workforce Diversity will not be achieved until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are. #TRUTH Diversity is awkward. Right after the last “From the CEO’s Perspective” leadership forum, I had a conversation with…
Much of the coaching work I do focuses on the ways in which executives are standing in their own way, and how we can implement behavioral changes to make them more successful. In fact, I’d go further to say, any of the work we do, typically starts there, because it’s that damaging stuff that limits success, creativity and growth. Now consider trying to change…
The Puget Sound Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 Celebration is one of the few networking events I actually look forward to. This group of business execs and leaders was particularly special - especially because two of the CEOs I coach made the list. Equally impressive were some of the other honorees I met, all of whom are doing great things for Seattle and beyond.…
In another sold out CEO Forum, three, amazing CEOs–Ken Alterman, SAVERS/Value Village, Kimberly Harris, Puget Sound Energy and Kevin Klock, Talking Rain–shed light on their biggest challenges, mistakes and takeaways from leading a multi-generational workforce. One of the reasons I chose this topic is because a former colleague of mine said that all this talk about Millennials and their influence is making her feel…
Jim Weber, CEO of Brooks Running, is one of the coolest and smartest leaders in Seattle. He has some amazing stories and I can’t wait for you all to hear them. I left our meeting at Brooks headquarters earlier this week feeling even more excited about the conversation Jim and I are going to have (along with two other exceptional leaders: Darrell Cavens, CEO of…
When I speak about leadership, I am often asked who my favorite leaders are. The smart people would skirt the question, but I don’t. The reality is, I have several favorite leaders for different reasons. Currently, I’m leadership-crushing on Raj Singh, because he truly is one of the most authentic people I know. So it was no surprise that when I posed the question…
When I talked to Daryl, a lot stood out. Something that stuck with me was the creative logic that came about when he and his friends were naming their boy band. One day, they were down at the marina and they saw a boat. “There were four guys, and the name of a boat was Forvus.” And that became their name. #MoreCleverThanOneDirection Daryl Campbell joined…
When combined, my cat’s collective name is Satan. I didn’t plan it that way. I named them Matan and Sinclair, and a college kid I mentored coined the name. I tell you this because, today’s post is about a guy who started a company to help cats like Satan (and dogs). Darryl Rawlings has a passion for pets, (get the tissue before you read…
I’ve been mind-crushing on David Niu ever since I met him. He told me the story of how, a few years back, he was feeling burned out so he quit life. He bought one-way tickets for himself, his wife and their 11 month old, and off they flew to explore the world. On their round-the-world trip, David interviewed entrepreneurs and learned all kinds of…
In my trimestral email, I described my theory on what inspired the great navigators, Da Gama, Magellan and Columbus, to secure a boat, rally a crew and sail off into the sunset to see if, at the very least, they’d stumble upon some sort of discoverable land before falling off the edge of the world. I asked the leaders who received the email: How…
For those of you that have been wondering and inquiring, I'm so pleased to finally share the big news! Here’s the 2016 line up for my “From the CEO’s Perspective” forums at the World Trade Center, Seattle. If you were lucky enough to attend our last forum in 2015, you heard the amazing stories from culture creators: Scott Svenson, CEO of MOD Pizza; Raj…