Monthly Archives: January 2025

As leaders, we know that our most important assets are our people, and their growth is critical to the success of our organizations. I’ve adopted a mantra that guides my approach: "PEOPLE GROWTH = BUSINESS GROWTH, and LACK OF PEOPLE GROWTH = BUSINESS DECAY." While we aren't directly responsible for their growth, we are accountable for creating an environment that fosters it. Our role is to provide the resources necessary for them to acquire new knowledge, skills, and habits that enable higher performance. Here’s a quick checklist to assess how well we’re supporting growth (on a scale of 1-5, with five being the highest): I effectively communicate expectations. I provide constructive feedback on performance. I invest my time in top [...]

This principle holds true in sports and business alike. Legendary Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi famously began each preseason by holding up a football and saying, “Gentlemen, this is a football. This is what the game is called. We need to run, block, tackle, pass, and catch better than the other team. Doing so doesn’t guarantee a win, but failing to do so almost always guarantees a loss.” And for our beloved Bills fans, Coach Sean McDermott echoed this sentiment during Sunday night's locker room victory speech, saying, “When you take care of the football, and you take the football away, that’s what it comes down to—good, strong fundamentals.” Similarly, UCLA basketball legend John Wooden would teach his players how [...]

If you don't like change. "If you don’t like change, you’ll dislike irrelevance even more." Leaders are agents of change. The "status quo" concept doesn’t belong in a leader’s vocabulary. Change is inevitable. External factors like the economy or unforeseen challenges may be out of our control, but internal change—whether to scale, improve systems, or elevate the business—is within our grasp. Just as cars need tune-ups, businesses benefit from intentional check-ins. Proactively ask your team: What can we improve? What’s holding us back? Those closest to the work often have valuable insights—but you’ll only discover them if you ask. Reflect: Are there issues I’ve tolerated for too long? Am I actively pursuing improvements in critical areas? Do I subscribe to “if it [...]