Management
A Memory Triggered by Nelson Mandela…
This quote takes me back to my first leadership position: A leader … is like a shepherd. He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind. –Nelson Mandela I came to Seattle as a young newly appointed…
Read MoreCEO Snack: Value of Outside Peers…
Make sure to keep your energy up today. Here are a couple snacks to chew on: 9 Reach out for support. It’s lonely at the top and having a couple trusted advisors or peers outside your company who you can run things by will help you learn new tricks, see things from different perspectives and avoid costly…
Read More“Why” am I a Vistage Chair in Seattle?
Are you about having conversations that matter? Are you the president, CEO, founder, owner, managing partner or general manager (chief executive) Are you P&L responsible and the final decision-maker? If so, we should talk. “To overcome the isolation at the top, CEOs need to find people they can trust who can hold up the mirror to them.…
Read MoreA Real Leader Creates Another World For You…
When my former company, LexBlog, was planning to make some major platform updates by early 2015, we knew we’d need help if we hoped to maintain business as usual. To the rescue, Joshua Lynch, LexBlog’s Director of Product Development. He researched and discovered Chris Murray and his team of WordPress experts at Oomph. I insisted we visit Oomph’s Boston office before getting started.…
Read MoreNew Leader? Be Smart About Your “Transition to Impact”
I had my head down developing international business opportunities for Mitsubishi International Corporation. I was in London meeting with my Tokyo counterpart assessing a virtual reality gaming company. After a long day, we needed some dinner. Over drinks, he shared some unexpected news. He was leaving Mitsubishi after 20 years to help diversify a smaller Japanese company. Part of…
Read MoreWhat Bevy of Behaviors Makes You A Strong Leader?
Why is leadership so damn elusive? In my first leadership stint, I didn’t hit my stride. I left a lot of potential on the floor. I needed some time to wash off the negative experiences–many of my own making. I lacked the confidence to lead even though as a young man I was leading martial…
Read MoreWant a Hulking Competitive Advantage? Engage People Well…
Losing just one key player can seriously impact budget, workflow and office culture. And its the top employees who are most ambitious–and most sought after. Do you have systems in place to keep your team happy and loyal? —Parker+Lynch When 78% of business leaders rate employee retention and engagement as an “urgent or important” issue, the time is…
Read MoreCalling Yourself A CEO Doesn’t Make You One
Are you a pretend CEO? If so, listen up: Just because you call yourself a CEO doesn’t make you one. For one thing, if a board of directors doesn’t name you chief executive officer of a real corporation, you’re sort of like a silly little kid playing grownup. More importantly, you’re probably misrepresenting your abilities,…
Read MoreStrategy of Merger: Four Steps to Success for Law Firm Leaders
These are challenging times for the nation’s 200k+ law firms. Just look at the pace of mergers. Combination announcements appear almost weekly. In fact, 2013 was a record year for law firm mergers. And, based on the first nine months of this year, 2014 will end with a similar number of transactions. Although the mega-mergers grab the…
Read MoreBiggest Challenge Legal Marketers Face? Lawyers…
This guest post is authored by Cara McDonald, LexBlog’s Director of Marketing. Her post was published first on Above The Law. Get Real With Law Firm Marketing—5 Observations Slick marketeers, snake-oil salesmen, racketeers, office assistants… Some lawyers believe marketing is not a valid profession or discipline. That’s B.S. Legal marketers are misunderstood at best and completely maligned at worst. As a…
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