After two years of unemployment, my friend Mark finally landed a sales job. It’s not exactly what he had in mind as a seasoned management professional, age 52, but after dozens of leads and rejections, this appeared to be the only game in town. I usually run into Mark when I hit the local Starbucks before work. We often chat about the ups and downs of his job search. In spite of the looming insecurity, he has a fantastic attitude. Even... Read more
A colleague was telling me about an epic deal he was working on, involving dozens of high-powered lawyers and bankers. “It was incredibly intense,” he said. “We had a huge conference area set up like a war room, with each party’s representatives lined up on either side of the table. For five days, we worked around the clock negotiating to close the deal.” “Ugh,” I groaned, imagining the excessive hot air with all those $600-per-hour egos clogging up the space.... Read more
Once upon a time, I put together a brilliant plan for change. It was simple. It was easy. It moved people on my remote team from working in isolation to working cooperatively. I wrote it up, sent it out to everyone on the team, and called a virtual meeting. And I felt pretty darn good about myself. I was like Superman. My ideas came faster than speeding bullets. My charisma was more powerful than a locomotive. I could leap tall... Read more
So much has been written on the subject of leadership over the past thirty years that sometimes I honestly wonder if there is anything left to say. Popular authors and motivational gurus have found so many clever ways to slice and dice and list and repackage their critical leadership advice that I am just about left speechless. Apparently, these trusted career advisors have come to realize there is an infinitely unfulfilled market of poor suckers like you and me who... Read more
All of this World Cup stuff reminds me of the time I played soccer naked. I was 16-years-old, a foreign exchange student in Germany, looking to leave my friends with a good story of the crazy American’s last week. Several of them challenged me to get sent to the principal’s office in our Gymnasium, a task which ended up being more difficult than I anticipated. No one cared much when I wore American Flag shorts and dyed my hair green.... Read more
Several years ago, the senior executives of my company gathered in the Board Room to have a meeting about meetings. Apparently, some people had been complaining that we were having too many. I will be the first to admit there may have been some truth to this. Over the previous several months we had chartered one team after another to attack a wide swath of initiatives, projects, strategies, and urgent priorities. However, in our enthusiasm for Getting Things Done, it appeared that we may... Read more
Where I live, folks love to relive prom. Middle-aged guys dress up in tuxedos. Mothers become ladies after spending all afternoon on their hair and slipping into formals with high slits and deep dips. Then we go dance and eat with an open bar and a silent auction. People don’t hold onto their money as tightly when they are having a good time. This is a good thing, right? America doesn’t have to be a country of self-righteous Puritans wearing... Read more
Hello Friends. Well. It’s been a while. How have you been? You may or may not have noticed, but I have been on a blog hiatus for over a year now, and for good reason. “Wait,” you’re thinking, “JB said blogging was a fun hobby! A pleasant diversion to load upon the heap of looming responsibilities of his otherwise hyper-consuming executive role! Why on earth did that little crybaby quit?” Alas, dear friends, despite the talent and wit and poignant... Read more
I once worked with a leadership coach who asked me to write out a vivid description of my ideal life in the future. It was one of those visionary-exercise things which is supposed to force you to come to grips with your enormous potential for achieving super-sized goals in life. I obediently wrote it all down, and upon reading it he simply said, “It all sounds very nice, but where’s the fun in this?” “Fun?” I was thinking. “You didn’t say anything about fun! My... Read more
A friend of mine, Mark, was telling me of his harrowing experience in dealing with his Board of Directors. His latest business venture had brought in some high-powered private equity suits to the Board, of which he was now firmly accountable (since it was their money that was funding his new business launch). One board member in particular was proving to be somewhat challenging, as he was a – what’s a nice way to put it? – um, a little... Read more
Shrinking the Camel
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