I recently spent a couple of hours thinking about my job instead of actually doing it. I mulled over the current state of affairs at work, my priorities, my recent accomplishments, where my time is being spent, and so on. I guess you could say I was reflecting. To some of you, this may sound like a colossally assinine waste of time, but self-reflection is actually one of the defining qualities of a high-performance leader. Which I am attempting to be, and I... Read more
Lately, I have been coaching one of our managers on how to appear more confident in front of groups. I am uniquely qualified for this task because I am oh-so-familiar with self-confidence issues, as they played out many times in my early career. I would freeze up, quake in my boots, get dry mouth, gastric problems – you name it. Yet somehow, by the grace of God and a little experience, I was able to overcome these self-imposed limitations. My greatest lesson in confidence came from a boss... Read more
There are many things to admire about the British, the most obvious being their attractive accents which somehow make them sound much smarter and far more commanding than their American colleagues. It doesn’t matter how disheveled their appearance might be, or how dry the subject is, those darn accents can captivate even the most insolent audience. Aside from that, another thing I greatly appreciate about the Brits is their great facility for doling out words of praise. This doesn’t come... Read more
Last week I attended a meeting where a very famous sports broadcaster gave a motivational speech. Generally, I am not very motivated by motivational speakers. This gentleman, however, was sufficiently non-motivating in a way that was actually inspiring. Let me explain. Rather than hyping up the audience with animated clichés and pithy anecdotal stories that I’ve already heard before from other motivational speakers, this gentleman spoke mostly about the highs and lows of his career. The twenty minute speech was... Read more
Every great story, every hero, every inspiring moment is born out of adversity and perseverance. Conflict and battles are the stuff of myth and legend, and we love these stories because we can relate. Our personal and work lives are filled with mini-versions of this stuff: Pushing through. Overcoming obstacles. Fighting. I am not necessarily talking about fighting in a vicious, mean way, but in a way that says, “I am responsible for my future. No one else is going... Read more
The other day I received an email from a complete stranger, asking for advice on a business plan: “Dear Mr. Wood,” he blurted forth. “I saw your name blah blah blah and I have this wonderful idea blah blah could you please take some time to review and give me feedback blah blah.” Like most of you, I am quite busy and under intense pressure at work. As a result, I have become fairly adept at a handy management trick known as filtering, which loosely... Read more
A couple weeks ago I received a royalty check from the publisher of my e-book, At Work as it is in Heaven. It wasn’t much – enough to buy a couple tanks of gas for my SUV. But the point is, there is now hard evidence that some wretched working souls somewhere on this lonely planet have actually punched their way through enough mouse clicks to actually purchase the thing. We’re not talking about thousands of people, so calm down.... Read more
There is a saying here at my company: we like to see managers get “bloodied up a bit” before moving them into more prominent leadership roles. If we believe someone has management potential, we will intentionally put them in a situation where they will encounter extreme conflict, opposition, or just plain ambiguity (which in and of itself can be very stressful). Then we will watch closely to see how the candidate responds. How will they handle an impossible situation where there... Read more
Last Easter Sunday was not only, well, Easter Sunday, but it was also the final episode of Mark Burnett’s series, “The Bible” on the History Channel, culminating in a gritty and inspiring dramatization of the crucifixion of Christ. The five-part mini series managed to generate ratings of biblical proportions, and a spin-off is already in the works. Burnett is best known for his stints as producer of Survivor, The Apprentice and The Voice – certainly not your typical Sunday School... Read more
The other day my friend asked a rather blunt and personal question: “Do you think it is God’s will for you to be at the company you’re with right now?” What I wanted to say was, “Well, duh. I’m working there, aren’t I?” In other words, how else could I have possibly ended up in this place unless God had somehow greased the wheels? I don’t know how all this stuff works, theologically speaking, but I have to give him some... Read more
Shrinking the Camel
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