See, Now You’re Just Making Stuff Up
The “Silly Season” is no longer confined to August. That makes the leader’s job of setting the proper tone even more important.
Tag: Mickeys Rules
Good Feedback Gets High Performance
I missed the block. The defensive end was my guy to block and I missed him, so our quarterback, Louis, ended up on his back. Again. I felt terrible—we were already struggling and now I’d made a mistake that cost us another 10 yards and Louis some undeserved bruises. Finally, I couldn’t hold it back […]
Advice that Sticks with Me
I don’t know what it is that I’m doing, but I sure as heck keep doing it! – Gilligan If you’re a member of a certain “experienced” generation—ahem, mine—then you’ll remember a television show called Gilligan’s Island. It was one of my favorites, and there was often a lesson in the antics of the hapless […]
Dynamic Dozen: Build Networks of Leaders
Dear General McClellan, if you’re not going to use the army, may I borrow it for a while? ~ Abraham Lincoln The squadron was broken and the commander was the reason. He empowered no one, made all the decisions himself, and insisted on controlling even the most minute details in everything we did. By any […]
#TBT Mickey’s Rule #9: Walk The Horses
There’s a great scene in the 1949 John Ford film She Wore a Yellow Ribbon that contains a lesson in leadership. You guessed it: they were walking their horses. What does “walking horses” have to do with leadership? Just this: leaders can and must try to get the best out of their people, but no one can […]
#TBT Mickey’s Rule #8: Be Curious; Ask ‘Why?’ A Lot
Successful leaders are curious about their business and the people who work for/with them. This sort of curiosity is an imperative for a leader because he/she has to both accomplish the task at hand and the “care/feeding” of the team. To put it more succinctly, the leader needs to know what’s going on. There’s a […]
#TBT Mickey’s Rule #7: The Other Team is Not the Enemy
Note: As we’re in the throws of a bitterly fought election year, Rule #7 takes on greater urgency. Try not to look at somone who thinks or believes differently than you as the “enemy.” Rather, begin by assuming your neighbor is a person of good will trying their best to do what they believe is […]
#TBT Mickey’s Rule #6: Ask The Right Questions
Asking the right questions is usually better than knowing the right answers.There’s an old saying in the Air Force that colonels rarely ask questions to which they don’t already know the answer. I never really understood that saying until I became a colonel, then the light came on. Everyone wants to show the colonel how […]
#TBT Mickey’s Rule #3: Don’t Let Perfect Be The Enemy of Good
Rule #3: Don’t Let Perfect Be The Enemy of Good One of the hardest things a leader had to do sometimes is hold back enthusiastic employees or teammates who are so focused on perfection, they keep working on a project well past when they should’ve stopped. Sometimes “good enough” really is good enough. On one hand, […]
Like Mickey’s Rules for Leaders? Buy the Ebook!
I received so much positive feedback from my “Mickey’s Rules” series, I’ve assembled the entire list into an ebook! Developed over career spanning three decades, in this book I give leaders a “how to” rule book for leading at any level. The eleven rules in the book are excellent guidelines for relating to other people, correctly […]
#TBT Mickey’s Rules
For years I kept General Colin Powell’s “Rules” on a worn, type-written sheet of paper somewhere on my desk. His Rules had been published in a news magazine article, and I thought they were fabulous, so I typed them up and added a few of my own to the bottom. Over the years, I developed […]
General Leadership: So Say We All
In my latest over a GeneralLeadership.com, I talk about leading change while channeling my inner Commander Adama from SyFy’s Battlestar Galactica. “It won’t be an easy journey. It’ll be long, and arduous. But I promise you one thing: on the memory of those lying here before you, we shall find it, and Earth shall become […]
How to Lead When You’re Exhausted
I just finished a grueling 2 week schedule, and by Wednesday of the second week I was really looking forward to Friday. I hadn’t had my usual amount of sleep and not a single meal with my family in almost a week. There hadn’t even been time for my customary morning rituals of a workout […]
Leading Leaders Now Available On Kindle
I’m very excited to announce Leading Leaders is now available in the Kindle Store!
Learning from Starbucks About Mission
One of my core tenets is leaders must give teams a sense of mission: In my book Leading Leaders, I recount the story of a friend of mine who took over leadership of a volunteer re-sale shop. “She and her leadership team began by listening to the volunteers and addressed their personal concerns about the […]
Rule #6: Asking The Right Questions Is Better Than Knowing The Answer
6. Asking the right questions is usually better than knowing the right answers. There’s an old saying in the Air Force that colonels rarely ask questions to which they don’t already know the answer. I never really understood that saying until I became a colonel, then the light came on. Everyone wants to show the […]
Rule #5: The First Report Is Usually Wrong
5. The first report is usually wrong. Be patient and ask questions. In my military career I’ve had the unique opportunity to watch news bring made, both in Washington and in the field, then watch it being reported on TV. I’ve also met many reporters, and in my experience they’re trying their best to tell […]
Rule #4: “’Can’t’ Never Gets Anything Done”
My Dad taught me a number of really great sayings, but among the best he ever taught me was “’Can’t’” never gets anything done. Keep it out of your vocabulary.” Actually, the exact words he used were, “Can’t” never could do anything. You see, Dad always believed that if you try hard enough, work hard […]
Rule #3: Don’t Let “Perfect” Be the Enemy of “Good”
One of the hardest things a leader had to do sometimes is hold back enthusiastic employees or teammates who are so focused on perfection, they keep working on a project well past when they should’ve stopped. Sometimes “good enough” really is good enough. On one hand, you want employees to work hard and strive for perfection, […]