Good Leaders: Can you relax today?

I’m tired. The four months of January through April are the busy season in the leadership consulting business. Last week I got up before 5am, five days in a row. It’s a good tired. But I’m tired. With that, good things are ahead…

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Good Leaders: How does excellence radiate around you?

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] Alabama football. Harvard Business School. Christmas in Christ Chapel at Gustavus. Is excellence a value or an outcome? Booker T Washington once wrote: Excellence is to do a common thing in…

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Good Leaders: How are you making your life count?

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] The house is quiet now. Loud silence. Like the pause after the airline pilot shuts down the jet engines. Melinda and I just took our youngest child, Anna, off to college…

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Good Leaders: How are you shaping yourself today?

Good Leadership Enterprises - What Really Works Book

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] “We become the sum-total of the people we hang out with and the books we read,” counseled Tim Schmidt, my co-author of the What Really Works book. Tim and his son…

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Good Leaders: What makes you feel significant?

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] Anna Mary Batz graduated from high school last week. She’s our youngest child which means Melinda and I have passed a huge parenting milestone. Without question, I’m blindly-biased as all loving…

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Good Leaders: What did you learn about leadership on your spring break vacation?

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] The obvious answer: time off is necessary for personal rejuvenation and strengthening the bond with family and friends.  But that’s not the point of today’s Good Leadership blog. What happens when…

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Did you unplug last Thursday?

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] “I totally forgot how much I love the sound of the engine in my car,” a coaching client exclaimed. He re-discovered the simple pleasure after accepting my challenge to unplug. In…

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Will you nominate a good leader today?

Oscar, Tony and Emmy are awards of excellence in the entertainment industry. Long after the ball gowns, red carpet and champagne,  recipients cherish the nomination because it represents the highest honor by their peers. Yesterday, Anna Mary Batz cherished her moment during homecoming coronation at our local high school. She was thrilled to be nominated…

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What does Happy New Year look like for you today?

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”]Twenty eight years ago today, I drove my 1981 red Honda Accord into downtown Minneapolis to start the first day of my professional career. I was 22 years old…and that first ‘real…

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How are you growing today?

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] Grow or die. Eat or be food. Time always moves forward…so the ageless Darwinian question when you look in the mirror: How are you growing today? I fancy myself as an…

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