Read more about the article A little sleepy? Start at your desk!

A little sleepy? Start at your desk!

Have I given you anything yet for Christmas, or maybe to celebrate the New Year? Well, I have now. Consider this part of the Exkalibur Stimulus Package for 2010.

I don’t know about you but there are occasions … and they seem to be increasing in my case … when I feel a nap coming on … yes, during the business day, around 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. if you have to ask. Traditionally, there’s nothing we can do about it, hang in there, head for the coffee pot, slip out early, frog around on the web … something other than work. (more…)

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Read more about the article Vol. 56: The Power of Personal Accountability

Vol. 56: The Power of Personal Accountability

sword1The Power of One concept is not new — it’s the bedrock of everything from motivational speeches to Army One.

There’s an entire industry devoted to the power we have over our destiny.

In the context of Building a Business, we can view the Power of One as a series of concentric circles that ripple outward from the center … from where we stand as business leaders.

[pullquote]“God grant me the courage to change the things I can, the serenity to accept the things I can’t and the wisdom to know the difference.” – Reinhold Nieburh[/pullquote]

With a stagnant economy that has brought many businesses to their knees, we’ve been inundated with economic data, shards of doubt and glimmers of hope. While we can’t ignore these external forces, we can’t allow them to deter our commitment to reclaiming control of our agenda.

As a result, there’s no better topic with which to start than personal accountability, the singular touchstone of professional success over which we have the greatest control. (more…)

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Read more about the article Not important? Probably not!

Not important? Probably not!

gtd-bookHow about that for a double negative … meaning that “Not Not Important” is actually “pretty damn important”. Some of you took English, right?

What do I mean? Many of the followers of Sword Tips know that I’m a big fan of GTD, the “Getting Things Done” framework promoted by David Allen. He wrote recently in Wired magazine about one phenomenon that comes up all the time in my work with CEOs. If like most of us you’re always struggling with priorities, you need to read this. If you’ve got some ideas that have worked for you, share them.

By any other name, it’s the “it’s just not a priority” syndrome! God knows we’ve all got too much to do, and most of us have probably tried the 1-2-3 system of prioritization at one time … soon realizing that everything was becoming a “1” because it wouldn’t get attention any other way … and then we realized we made everything a “1” … and then we realized we ended up right back where we started.

There is no avoiding the pain that arrives like a SCUD when something that needs to get done doesn’t get any attention (more…)

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Original + Unique = Risk = Some failure

conference-tableBy now, you know that the Sunday NY Times Corner Office series is oft-quoted here to highlight varying aspects of leadership that flow from Adam Bryant’s conversations with notable CEOs and business leaders.

This week he interviewed Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO of Dreamworks Animation SKG.

Perhaps Katzenberg inhabits an industry that is prone to more risk than others …  but I doubt it. I agree with his equation, too, because if you’re not original and unique … and if you don’t make failure  acceptable, no one will take the risks that ensure that your value proposition is fresh and creative. He believes that showing your employees that they’re expected to take risks is the single most important quality of an organization.

Katzenberg also stresses that the most important aspect of leadership is earning respect … not getting respect. (more…)

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