Dear Grandpa: Here Is What I Have Learned the Past Year
The first week of March always reminds me of my grandfather because he was born on March 3, 1919. What follows is a letter to him. Dear Grandpa, Little did I know on your birthday last year how much things in our country would change. The past year has been unlike any other that I […]
Dear Class of 2021 (And Leaders)
In a few months there will be the usual onslaught of commencement speakers, albeit this time on ZOOM, across the nation. Since I won’t be speaking anywhere, here is the advice I would give to graduates. It happens to be the same advice I would give to leaders. First off, read insatiably. Living in the […]
Harshness Reflects the Hidden You
One of the my favorite weeks of the year is the week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve. Work seems to wind down, while time with family winds up. Having three kids (9-7-4 respectively) our house was full of energy this year. Unlike other years, however, we had nowhere to go. This combination worked well […]
One Action To Save Time and Lessen Stress
Here is something I am working on to save time and lessen stress: Rather than having a conversation with someone in my mind, I am working on having it with them directly and in person. That’s it. Maybe you can relate to my issue, which is the issue of stewing over potential conversations with others. […]
Learn From History: Applying Lincoln’s Wisdom
More books have been written about Abraham Lincoln than any historical figure save Jesus Christ. So, there is not much I can add to what has already been said about our 16th President. What I want to do instead is apply one aspect of his wisdom to modern-day leadership. David Reynolds’ 2020 book, Abe: Abraham […]
Learn From My Mistakes: Confrontation
The other day I was walking through our plants and noticed that a few presses were running slow. In our business, a slow cycle hurts profitability and delays orders. It should always be addressed. Yet, when the Plant Manager walked up to me and asked how things were going, I did not mention the slow […]
Learn From Our Success: Believe
My leadership in 2020 quite possibly pivoted on one, single conversation. While there were countless important conversations in 2020, one outweighed them all. It outweighed all the others because had it not happened, the door would have been shut to possibility. The conversation was one I had on ZOOM with my Executive Coach. It was […]
5 Actions I am Taking For Civility
The last week has been momentous for America. Naturally, I found myself having several conversations during the week about what was transpiring. Therefore, I am pivoting from my original post for this week and writing this post on January 8th. To be sure, what follows is not about politics. In fact, I started taking these […]
3 Not So Obvious Reasons Why Manufacturing Matters
According to the National Association of Manufacturers, manufacturers accounted for 11.39% of the total output of the economy, and employed 8.51% of the workforce in the year 2018. Another 2018 study done by PRNewswire-USNewswire found that family-owned businesses create 78% of new U.S. jobs and employ 60% of the workforce (obviously this accounts for more […]
Going Out With A Bang – The Annual Quit List
The New Year always brings endless possibilities for more. As a go-getter, I am always fired up to set new goals and take new ground. But, one can only take on so much. To that end, as a leader I want to always evaluate the tasks I am asking team members to do because I […]