Blog
Your New Idea Is Not Where You Think It Is
In the 1950s, in rural Oklahoma, at a place called Robbers Cave, several researchers performed an experiment we would find unethical today. They invited twenty-two eleven-year-old boys to participate in a three week camp. The researchers advertised a wholesome summer camp experience. The experience they delivered was very different. What the researchers actually did was ...
A Small Shift to Ask More Powerful Questions
Typewriters with ribbons, developed in the 1950s, were excellent at speeding up typists, but not so good at erasing their mistakes. Bette Nesmith Graham was a typist by day, and a painter by night. She wondered, “What if I could cover up my typing mistakes the same way I cover up my painting mistakes?” She ...
Speed up to Slow Down. And Other Secrets of Great Coaches.
“If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?” – John Wooden In 1974 Ronald Gallimore and Roland Tharp were psychology students on the campus of UCLA. On the other side of Westwood Boulevard, across from the academic side of campus is Pauley Pavilion, where John ...
Stop Being Afraid of Getting Fired
Yes, you could lose your job for being inept, incompetent, missing deadlines and milestones, or simply failing to do the work. But you will not be fired for taking chances, and embracing risk and then accepting the responsibility that goes along with it. And if you are fired for taking an honest chance, with positive ...
A Trick to Reduce Election Stress and Up Your Game
The glass is not half full, or half empty. It is refillable. Your value to an organization is not in the hours you clock, the number of emails you flip, slide decks you build, and it’s certainly not in the air miles you log to get in to Zone 1 boarding. Your value is in ...
Three Ridiculous Myths About Leadership
This article is excerpted and edited from my new book, Small Acts of Leadership. Enjoy! As one of the most revered coaches in American history, John Wooden, the “Wizard of Westwood,” coached his University of California basketball team to an unprecedented ten national championship titles in twelve years. This remarkable winning streak included an astonishing ...
