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You can certainly sing this! The 12 Pains of Christmas

The holidays are here and we’re still trying to figure out how we’re going to get it all done.

So, instead of asking you to work at something – anything – I’ve decided to give you a gift of holiday music.

Elmo did it, so did Ren & Stimpy, Winnie the Pooh, Shrek, the Muppets … so with animated competition like this, what can go wrong with my first effort at song-writing?

“There is a remarkable breakdown of taste and intelligence at Christmastime.  Mature, responsible grown men wear neckties made of holly leaves and drink alcoholic beverages with raw egg yolks and cottage cheese in them.” — P.J. O’Rourke

Yeah, I know, don’t quit your day job.

So, feel free to sing along to the tune of the 12 Days of Christmas. Key of D Sharp, please.

All together now:

The first thing in business that’s such a pain to me… is the never-ending stinking eee-mail.

The second thing in business that’s such a pain to me … stuff a-cumm-u-lating … and the never-ending stinking eee-mail.

The third thing in business that’s such a pain to me … meetings, meetings, meetings … stuff a-cumm-u-lating … and the never-ending stinking eee-mail.

The fourth thing in business that’s such a pain to me … Keep going … there’s more pain coming …

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The Most Powerful Leadership Lesson You Can Learn from Detroit’s Bankruptcy

The Single Most Powerful Lesson You (Leaders?) Can Learn from Detroit's BankruptcyNOW is the time for tough decisions?

“Now is the time for tough decisions,” said Michigan’s governor, Rick Snyder, on the occasion of Detroit’s bankruptcy filing.

Did he say “NOW is the time for tough decisions”?

Maybe for the weak-kneed, lily-livered city fathers who’ve been putting lipstick on this pig for years, but “NOW” was a very long time ago for Detroit. (This isn’t elistist babble, either. I was born in Detroit and raised in the great State of Michigan.)

Let’s come at this from a different perspective

But, it isn’t our place to examine the state of the American city and the financial woes that are afflicting all of our governmental entities.

It is our business, however, to examine the leadership and decision-making process that brought Detroit to this fateful day.

Can’t Make the Tough Decision? Leave the Kitchen!

How many times have you … and me, too … deferred a difficult decision because we desperately held on to an easer choice even though we knew we were only delaying the inevitable?

This is the Achilles’ heel of almost every business leader I know.

I’ve written about this dilemma on many occasions … and from many perspectives. Why don’t leaders deal with issues as they “show up” rather than when they “blow up. Why do we hesitate to make the tough calls and do the right thing?

Isn’t that why we’re earning the big bucks?

5 Warning Signs that Tough Decisions Aren’t Being Made Read the Full Article to Learn the 5 Warning Signs

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Top 5 Reasons You Will Love the Exkalibur.com Transformation

The Transformed Leadership Web Site at Exkalibur.com

This is one happy visitor!

Practical Strategies to Help Leaders Get Real Results

In truth, I realize you really don’t care that we transformed our web site.

You shouldn’t.

You should only care if you can find what you want when you want it.

I only care about what will really help YOU!

Yeah, I know that’s easy to say and you probably hear it from almost everyone.

But, think about it. I don’t need to visit my own website to find articles I’ve already written … and probably no one knows my website more intimately than I do. And, with the administrative dashboard, I can find virtually anything I want, anytime.

So, this really is only about you and I hope we’ve been successful at creating a rich and appealing experience … to help you find what you’re looking for … and to discover new and valuable materials you didn’t know we had.

We worked hard so that Exkalibur can become an even more valuable and trusted resource for you … just as you work hard to become a more effective leader and build a successful business.

Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value. ~ Albert Einstein

Practical Strategies to Help Leaders Get Real Results

You might have noticed that we also changed our tagline. Check out the Top 5 Changes …

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Leadership | “Did Jamie Dimon Steal Your Leadership Book?”

Dude. You didn't steal my bookA young friend of mine called last week.

“Hey, did Jamie Dimon steal your book?” he asked, referring to the The Essential Hallmarks of a Good Leader recently published.

“No, he certainly didn’t steal it,” I said. “He might have read it since you can get it for free right here? Why would you think he stole it.”

“Okay,” he replied. “I guess he didn’t steal it then … but is there any chance he might have written it?”

Funny guy, huh?

Who is Jamie Dimon?

As you probably know, Jamie Dimon is the Chairman and CEO of JP Morgan Chase, with an enviable track record as a visionary executive leading large and complex financial organizations.

And, no, he didn’t write The Cornerstones of Effective Leadership … but I was eager to see just what my friend was referring to … and more importantly, what Jamie had to say about the characteristics he thought were the most important to being a successful leader.

What does Jamie think?

(more…)

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Leadership Insights | The 8 Principles of Effective Delegation

What’s Your Delegation Score?

Delegation isn’t just a handoff so you can walk away and do something else. It is a critical leadership skill that you must master if you want to expand your reach, take control of your time and achieve the work-life harmony you’re seeking.

Learn the 8 Principles of Effective Delegation.

Score = 0 from 3 people

 

How often have you failed with delegation?

How often have you wondered why a project went wrong, or why someone never finished the task you were counting on them to finish?

How many times have you complained about projects that you’re managing … missing their deadlines, going over budget (not under budget very often, huh?) and not getting done as you expected?

How did you feel when you were called on the carpet by YOUR boss wanting to know why the project you’re handling is stalled?

Why didn’t your delegation succeed?

When we’ve delegated some or all of a project to someone else, we’re embarrassed … and probably a little teed off … but we’re also too often thinking about the wrong things like …, “damn that John, he just can’t be counted on” … or, “she doesn’t get it” … or something like, “they can’t ever seem to follow through” as we tick off all the reasons why the people on our team have let us down. (more…)

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Candid Feedback | Turn Coal into Diamonds

I have written ofter about the value of honest and candid feedback.

I’ve included comments from Anne Mulcahy, CEO of Xerox, Ken Blanchard and a host of others.

“Feedback is the breakfast of champions.”
~ Ken Johnson

Here’s the thing. It will not only strengthen your team, it will also screen for those who are unwilling to change. You will help them and yourself in the process.

This is one great place for a win-win scenario.

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Leadership Lessons: Wild & Crazy Guys or Masters of our Domain?

What Does It Take to be a Great Leader?

Nothing in life travels in a neat formation accompanied by bugles and cavalry.

A lot of it shows up filthy and unkempt, prominent in the mess we’ve made around our foxhole.

These lessons are typically the offspring of hubris, naivete and ignorance … or from overlooking the land mines hidden beneath our feet.

We’re sharing valuable and practical leadership tips and tools to help you BECOME a better leader.

First, you must start BEING a better leader  … implementing NOW the changes necessary to adopt the proven strategies of successful leaders. You might start by building on the communication matrix and making sure you’re defending the castle to get done what only you can do. Make some time so you’re thinking past today.

___________________

“I always turn to the sports section first. The sports page records people’s accomplishments; the front page has nothing but man’s failures.”

~ Justice Earl Warren

Get in the game. Enjoy the Ride.

Enthusiastic Leaders

The week just ended is my favorite sports week of the year. Some of you will say, “Nah, you got your calendar mixed up. Baseball season opened the previous week.”

Of course, I could say, “but the home opener for the Giants was that week” and then you’d say, “OK, so you’re a big Giants fan. I get it.”

A few of you may suspect that’s not the reason. Not that I don’t love the World Champion San Francisco Giants and all … but honestly? That didn’t even occur to me as I braced for the greatest sports week of the year.

What’s not to like?

There are a lot of reasons why I love the week that just ended. (more…)

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Leadership | One Simple Way to Trash Your Brand Anthem

Any chance that you’re tone deaf?

A brand anthem expresses to your customers the core values related your brand and products, much like a vision statement expresses the core values of your company.

Are you trashing your Brand Anthem?

I was sitting in an exceptionally beautiful church on Easter Sunday morning.

There were garlands of fresh daffodils and orchids draping the sanctuary.

Easter lilies were everywhere, consuming the floor of the chancel and the empty spaces on the altar rails. Small children were dressed in their Easter finery, sitting awkwardly in their new suits and dresses anxiously awaiting the Easter Egg hunt following the service.

Time for the Processional Hymn

Christians everywhere know that the hymn, “Christ the Lord is Risen Today” also starts the Easter service and marks the procession of ministers and laity down the aisle to the altar.

It is unarguably the best known Easter hymn, a holiday staple like O’ Little Town of Bethlehem, Joy to the World and other holiday songs at Christmas.

I’ve pretty much know that Easter hymn by heart … sang it every year as a child … and can’t imagine an Easter service without it. (more…)

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Leadership Insights | Do you really think you’re Resourceful?

blue-ball-in-a-maze
On a recent morning, I headed to a favorite place just down the street to fetch a couple of lattes for my wife and me.

Our forebearers would have awakened in woolen underwear, stepped in the dark onto a cold dirt floor, and stumbled outside to chop some wood to start a fire in the cook stove balanced on the rocks outside.

They would have tossed some coffee grounds into a beat-up metal pot … grounds that had already been used for several days … filled the pot with water, boiled it … and at some point, would finally get that first bitter cup of java.

No coffee house down the road, no car to get there, certainly no latte or cappuccino. Eat what you kill, literally. If you ain’t got it, you ain’t gonna get it.

Lots of resources but ….

“The secret of success is constancy to purpose.” ~ Benjamin Disraeli

In many ways, we’re much less resourceful than our forefathers.

While we may have expanded the definition of community in many positive ways, using our physical and social media “mobility” to create unimagined connections, we’ve also become more dependent on external resources to get through our day.

In some ways it’s probably better that we’re co-dependent. (more…)

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The Spotlight of Leadership: Where are you standing?

Searchlight - Floodlight

The Spotlight of Leadership

Experienced leaders know that they are standing in the Spotlight of Leadership all the time. I’ll tell you about a video you should watch just below.

Have you read any of the news stories and interviews recently with General Stanley McChrystal, whose new book is coming out now, My Share of the Task?

You’ll recall he is the four-star general whose resignation was precipitated by a Rolling Stone article which disclosed some unsavory remarks about the President’s executive team.

What is McChrystal’s response?

The reporter was given broad access to McChrystal and his staff, with few conditions, to see how the general and his leadership team worked together.

You can read the candid response from General McChrystal about this incident here. (more…)

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