Blog
Notes on leadership
Articles and reflections for CEOs and business leaders, from my work as a Vistage Chair and former founder.
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The Second Plane
September 11, 2001: Like many people, I can remember exactly where I was that morning. I was sitting on a plane at Dulles Airport waiting for a mechanical issue to be resolved so we could take off and fly to NYC. I remember hearing about the first plane that struck the North Tower of the…
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Battle Rhythm
Every leader has done it. You sit down at your desk in the morning and tell yourself you are just going to do a quick email review before getting started on the day. Maybe there are a few small tasks on your mind that you want to knock out first. Maybe your calendar is relatively…
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Inside a Courageous Conversation
There are moments in leadership development where something shifts from concept to lived experience. At our Vistage meeting a few months ago, I witnessed one of those moments – and it challenged how I think about growth, problem-solving, and what it really takes to lead. It started with courage. The Moment of Choice At that…
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Addicted to the Struggle
If you’re a founder, CEO, or senior leader building an organization that aims to shape the future — not just survive it — this is for you. It’s lonely at the top. You’ve got heavy decisions, major challenges, and great opportunities ahead. But you can’t always share your thoughts with your leadership team or even…
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Sabbaticals, Scuba Tanks, and What’s Important Now
I met yesterday with one of my Vistage members who’s about to head into a summer sabbatical. As we wrapped up our session, he asked a deceptively simple but powerful question: “Do you have any advice for what I should do while I’m out?” I paused. Not because I didn’t have opinions, but because I…
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How Expensive can a Spoon be?
What Steve Baker’s keynote (and a lesson from my own past) reminded me about financial literacy and culture At last Thursday’s Vistage DMV Regional Executive Summit, the opening keynote by Steve Baker, President of The Great Game of Business, landed on a leadership lesson that was both simple and deeply impacting: Most employees don’t understand…
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Sharing Purpose
Last night my wife and I had some friends over for dinner and one said, “I’ve decided that I hate working. I love the pay and the benefits, but I hate working — especially with people who won’t make decisions when THAT’S their role in the company.” Now there’s several things to unpack here, but…
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When Strength Becomes Weakness
How to Recognize and Overcome Your Limitations As entrepreneurs, we often focus on leveraging our strengths to drive our businesses forward. While this is crucial, it’s equally important to recognize that every strength can also be a weakness. Understanding how your strengths might be limiting you can help you achieve a more balanced and effective…
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Mastering Delegation While Doing What You Love
As an entrepreneur, you wear many hats. From managing finances to marketing your products or services, the list of responsibilities can seem endless. But trying to do everything yourself leads to burnout and can really drag down your business’ growth. The key to avoiding the overwhelming context switching that happens while running a small or…
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Imposter Syndrome while Taking the Leap
Last summer, while at a skydiving center in Hawaii with my wife and nephew, I met a writer from the Wall Street Journal. She was there with her husband, ready to take the plunge. When she learned that I chair an executive peer advisory board, she asked, What do you think is the most common…