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Leadership LibraryI have written more than 300 articles about Leadership, about 1/3 of which have been published by the SF affiliate of the New York Times. You can focus here on specific issues including Communication, Compensation, Governance, Entrepreneurship, Performance, Planning, and Recruiting

Please check out the Featured Articles from our Leadership Library to get you started.

Do You Have a Battle Strategy – or is Hope your only Strategy?

I’m pretty sure most of us missed the Crusades … and know very little of medieval warfare.

While battle strategy in that era appears to be random and haphazard, certainly in most movies depicting that period, planning invariably eclipsed brute force. Strategy proved to be the touchpoint for success in every battle, including the ones we’re fighting every day.

Using a Battlefield Metaphor May Seem a Bit Strong …

… yet, it’s perfectly apt for the complexity … and yes, often the intensity … of what we’re facing every day.

But, this concept is not really about military conquest. 

I use the reference more in the sense of this phrase:

“Civilians think about strategy. Generals think about logistics.”

D-Day Was Really ALL About Planning

Most of us weren’t around during World War II … but D-Day was the largest amphibious invasion of all time.

It involved over 250,000 troops and 15,000 ships landing along a 50-mile stretch of the Normandy coast on June 6, 1944.

Luck?

Accident? … or the result of rigorous strategic planning and project management?

Could this happen without planning?

“In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” ~ Dwight D. Eisenhower, (Our 34th President)

Did General Eisenhower, the Allied Supreme Commander, lead this effort without any planning?

Of course not, and even if our business plans aren’t quite as extensive, we know (deep down, we know for sure) that we need some sort of an organized planning process to build a successful business.

Keep Reading to find the 4 Simple Reasons You Need a Plan

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Getting to the Point | The Exkalibur Newsletter | June 16, 2017

This week we’re Getting to the Point with some valuable insights from the business world along with fascinating stories from the worlds of psychology, science, health and politics.

This week’s Featured Article, Apply these 7 Criteria to Decide If You’ve Got a Great Idea … or a Dud, offers some practical guidelines to help you “separate the wheat from the chaff” when it comes to considering all of the opportunities that come your way. In our Business Brief, you’ll get an update on Moore’s Law, see how Silicon Valley is trying to save California’s water supply and how Apple is trying to help U.S. Manufacturing.

In the Do This segment, I’ve combined my experience as a radio talk show host with my lifetime media observations to offer you a way to evaluate media bias for yourself. Our Around the Web segment will help you tell the difference between talent and genius, how the need to be popular is affecting our culture, the impact of the opioid epidemic on legitimate pain management and how soon you might be wearing your own jet suit. I’ll also offer more tips on how to use your iOS devices (iPhones and iPads) in Under the Apple Tree.

Over the weekend, relax and watch a captivating Movie, with another riveting performance by Robert DeNiro and learn in the Wide World of Sports what the Golden State Warriors did to rise from the ashes of last year’s stunning defeat. You’ll get a laugh in our Humor segment as you contemplate your next massage, but in our What I’m Watching segment, you’ll need to keep it together as you watch Alex Honnold ascend El Capitan without ropes. You also don’t want to miss the latest novel from Scott Turow in What We’re Reading – Fiction.

Happy Father’s Day, Dads. It’s great being one, isn’t it?

Continue to the Table of Contents & the Full Newsletter…

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Apply these 7 Criteria to Decide If You’ve Got a Great Idea … or a Dud

As a leader, you’re constantly evaluating  opportunities. Some come from careful planning, others simply fall from the sky. But no matter the source, there are always too many ideas and not enough time or resources.

So how do you decide which one’s worth pursuing … and which one will suck your time and get you nowhere???

How to differentiate between a Bright idea and a Lightning Bolt?

Let me offer 7 Ways to Differentiate between a Lightning Bolt and a Bright Idea, a set of criteria you can apply to sort through all of these opportunities and get rid of those that bring with them a massive storm system.

By applying these criteria thoughtfully, you’ll avoid wasted energy and failed opportunities, and be sure you’re applying your limited resources to the opportunities that will make the greatest contribution to your success.

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Getting to the Point | The Exkalibur Newsletter | June 9, 2017

This week we’re Getting to the Point with some helpful advice from the business world along with some fascinating tidbits from the medical, scientific and tech arenas.

This week’s Featured Article sets out a simple approach to building a sales funnel to ramp up your top line revenue. In our Business Brief, you’ll also learn 6 Phrases to help you demonstrate active listening, a critical but too often overlooked ingredient of great leaders. You’ll also get some tips on planning a retreat with your team, the latest scientific thinking about howu to think and attack a business problem along with a fascinating story about the millions of dollars lost in stolen nuts in California (No, I don’t mean the residents).

In our From the Apple Tree segment, I’ve summarized some of the latest announcements from Apple, which Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, described in his keynote address on Monday. You don’t want to miss the amazing Apocalypse video there. You’ll also be happy to learn in our Geeking Out segment how Apple and Google are attacking advertisers who to not only block ads, but eventually block third party tracking.

Around the Web will show you why valedictorians don’t become millionaires, and answer one of the questions that’s always haunted you … why are doughnut boxes are pink? If you’ve got kids who aren’t yet in college, there’s some powerful lessons about social media and how they can affect your child’s college application. You also won’t want to miss interesting news on the medical front and whether your annual physical does any good.

You can also relax and do some reading this weekend, either about a fascinating and frank woman in our We’re Reading (Non-Fiction) segment or another great novel from Greg Iles in our What We’re Reading (Fiction) segment. There’s also a few examples of Why Moms and Grandmothers Yell in our Humor segment and some thoughts on what it would be like in our Sports segment if the Golden State Warriors go 16–0 tonight to win the NBA Championship.

Continue to the Table of Contents & the Full Newsletter…

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What Are You Doing to Grow Your Top Line?

Baseball season is in full swing, so it’s a good time to remember how great hitters get to the Hall of Fame.

It’s the same process you should use to focus on revenue enhancement, a fancy term for “get more sales”.

Get More At Bats - Exkalibur.com

There are some Simple Metrics to Measure Your Success

Most companies do a poor job of tracking Suspects and Prospects, but if you want to overcome that limitation, try these simple metrics to build a sales funnel that will help you quickly grow your top line.

Make getting more at bats  the cornerstone of your sales strategy.

Getting to the Point | The Exkalibur Newsletter | June 2, 2017

This week we’re Getting to the Point with some helpful advice from the business world along with some fascinating tidbits from the music, tech, media, military and scientific arenas. Be sure you don’t miss our Announcement about an important change in our Publication Schedule.

On an upbeat note, make sure you Do This by reminiscing with me about what Rolling Stone named as the #1 Greatest Album of All Time. Continue your nostalgia tour with a look at our Featured Article which considers the 101 years of the Indy 500 and, most importantly, the 5 Powerful Leadership Lessons you can take from it.

In our Business Brief, you’ll find the CEOs Reading List and the Key to HR Success. You’ll also learn why Amazon is opening book stores and what the acknowledged leading expert is saying about Internet Trends. You don’t want to miss more iOS tips for your iPhone and iPad in our From the Apple Tree segment … and you shouldn’t miss the latest updates on how to apologize for your mistakes (and how not to) which is covered in the From the Library segment.

Our Around the Web segment is also chock-full of goodies. You’ll read about why you trust you favorite media but not mine and about skyscrapers made of wood. You’ll also understand how a whale can weigh 300,000 pounds when you see how many hot dogs we eat. In the “it’s about time department”, you’ll meet a few of the first women graduates of the U.S. Army Infantry School.

A quick roundup in the Wide World of Sports takes a look at the NBA Championships underway and the passage of a baseball legend. In addition to the lessons from the Indy 500 I mentioned in the Featured Article, a little Humor from the golf world snuck in here, too.

You can also relax with some great binge-watching options in our What I’m Watching segment, a good movie you’ve probably never heard of in Movies or with Dennis Lehane’s latest novel described in our What I’m Reading – Fiction segment.

Continue to the Table of Contents & the Full Newsletter…

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5 Powerful Leadership Lessons from the Indianapolis 500

Our leadership prowess is always on the line but nowhere more powerfully than on the starting line at the Indy 500.

You’re all in, 24/7 for 365 days … with victory in a 33 car lineup about 3 hours away. Do you understand the leadership requirements to achieve victory where there is no do-over?

 

Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades

On Sunday, May 28, 2017 … and with a spread of only 0.2011 seconds – yes, that’s about 2/10 of one second – Takuma Sato edged out Helio Castroneves who was trying to become only the 4th driver to win 4 times at the Indy 500. Sato is the first Japanese driver to win at Indy and earned his redemption from hitting the wall on the final lap in 2012.

I’ve been following this race for more than 50 years

For over 50+ years, I have listened to … and starting with the first live, same-day telecast in 1971 … watched the Indianapolis 500.

Every year.

Without fail.

What do I know about cars?

Nothing!

Really, I should say Absolutely Nothing!
Keep reading to learn the 5 Powerful Leadership Lessons from the Indy 500

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