"We would worry less if we praised more. Thanksgiving is the enemy of discontent and dissatisfaction." H.A. Ironside
Teacher, Pastor for The Salvation Army
1876-1951
Owning the Role
There’s no lack of books, videos, consultants who advise on how to be a leader. Perhaps a more nuanced and insightful approach may be how to own your leadership role. Retired Navy Seal Jocko Willink and author of “Extreme Ownership: How US Navy Seals Lead and Win” was recently interviewed by Vistage Chief Research Officer Joe Galvin. If you’re not a Vistage member, check out this summary version of Galvin’s interview with him: 11 Questions with Jocko Willink: How to own your leadership role.
(If you are a Vistage member: the full length (1 hour) webinar with Lt. Cdr. Willink is available on the MyVistage site using your username and password. The title is “Discipline equals freedom: The Dichotomy of Leadership”).
If You Were Hiring Bill Gates….
Those charged with hiring new employees often focus so much on the right questions that they don’t adequately consider what kind of answers they should be looking for. For example, if Bill Gates applied for a job at your software company, what are the “right” answers?
This short article from Forbes shares a few of the answers Bill Gates gave at a “mock interview” where he played a young engineer applying at Microsoft. The article concludes that “ Gates’s succinct answers to common job interview questions provide valuable lessons for hiring for jobs in almost any field. “ If you want to watch the entire “interview” of Bill Gates applying for work at the company he founded., click here.
Best Biz Flicks
It looks like we’re about to spending more time at home again. To help you make the most of it, how about a great “Biz Flick?” Gair Maxwell who speaks to our groups in the US and Canada has a made a list of the “The Top 5 Business Movies Ever Made”. If you have one that inspires you that is not on his list, please send it to me and I’ll share it in an upcoming post.
Econ Recon
Better than Expected (But why?): When Covid hit in later winter it was easy to think that an economic spring might never come. To be sure, many are adjusting to remarkable adjustments (positive and negative) but recent metrics regarding GDP, employment and the equity markets have surprised many in their positive direction and intensity.
As welcome as such news is, it’s important for executives to understand why it’s happening. An excellent article from HBR explains Why the Global Economy is Recovering Faster Than Expected and addresses whether it will last. (Warning: This is a long article and there is a summary at the beginning). The economy is the water we all swim in. This article is worth your time…and in my view required reading.
