Musings at Altitude

As I look into an organization, one of the great challenges I have is assessing leadership when things are going well.  I find myself in the good times wondering if it’s the organization, if it’s the product or solution being sold, if it’s the customer with the need, or if it’s the leader creating the right […]

A good friend sent me a note yesterday with a comparison of a boss to a leader, attributed to H. Gordon Selfridge: The boss drives his people; the leader coaches them. The boss depends upon authority; the leader on goodwill. The boss inspires fear; the leader inspires enthusiasm. The boss says “I”; the leaders says […]

I was able to spend a couple days at home this past weekend.  As usual, my wife and I verbally sparred much of the weekend as we got used to being together again (that’s a natural process when you’ve been gone all week) and we crowded into each others’ space.  During the sparring, at a […]

I had an early wake up call this morning, catching the hotel shuttle to the airport at 4:15 and on a plane and out onto the tarmac by 5:45.  These early morning flights are filled with people snoring and then a rush to exit the plane upon arrival at the destination to get to the […]

This weekend is very special for me because of the sacrifice of a man 2,000 years ago.  We celebrate on this weekend His death and His resurrection, and I seem to then spend lots of time thinking about the sacrifice made, the example set, and the expectations then of me and others because of that […]

I think we all have experienced those weeks where it seems like in every major effort we’re engaged things are going wrong.  This was one of those weeks.  We have several key events occurring all at one time and the bumps in the road have been frequent and burdensome.  I watch our team members as […]

Throughout my life I’ve played to the stereotype of folks from Mississippi.  I’ve been known to say, “I’m from Mississippi, so please speak slower.”  Or, “in my Mississippi math, it comes out to ________”.  I’d then smile and folks would nod knowing exactly what I meant or exactly what I was joking about.  But over […]

I really hate debating – verbally parlaying; arguing back and forth; desperately hoping to win someone else over to your position or ultimately yielding to the other and letting them feel the euphoria of you giving in.  But when it’s all over did anyone really win?  When I debate, I typically give in because I’m […]

Throughout my business life (actually throughout my entire life), I’ve struggled with patience.  When I see things that need to be done, I’d like them to get done or at least move forward toward being done immediately.  When I see a path that needs to be taken (at least from my perspective), I can’t understand […]

For the last two days, I’ve been sitting at or below sea level, and the temptation to yield to the burdens of business and thus sink into despair have been great.  I talk often about the OODA loop – observe, orient, decide, act – and I’m convinced that we’ll never be able to effectively quantify […]