THE BLOG

Have you ever felt the frustration simmering beneath the surface of your team? Or caught yourself venting about some persistent issue, hoping that putting it

The legendary economist Thomas Sowell wrote, “there are no solutions, only trade-offs.” He’s referring to public policy and is making the argument that when politicians

In Issue 15 of IGW Insights we emphasized the importance of culture, and specifically that the worst behavior you tolerate defines your culture. In Issue

All companies have metrics of success. Companies with a lot of physical inventory measure inventory turns. Restaurants monitor food costs. Consulting firms assess utilization. As

One of my favorite business aphorisms is, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” I love this quote and I share it with clients as often as

When asked how she gets ideas for her books, the novelist Lionel Shriver once said, “I pick something to be outraged about and then I

Measuring the profound impact Goldman Union Camp Institute (GUCI) had on me is impossible. My first summer there was in 1985. I was twelve years

My older son graduated from high school last month. His school has two beautiful traditions for the lead-up to graduation. First, they have a father-son

The dream of every entrepreneur is to evolve his or her leadership. “But wait, Dan!” you might say. “Isn’t the dream of every entrepreneur to

I have been journaling for most of my life, and as a leadership coach, I regularly assign journaling prompts to my clients. Two questions regularly

Raising a child is an incomparable physical and mental commitment. From conception to adolescence, parents toil to cultivate the child physically and emotionally. It is

For some leaders, the voice of self-doubt can be a nagging whisper. For others, it howls like a banshee. Perhaps it tells you that you

Remember The Focus Equation? It’s how leaders define reality and create an environment for optimal contribution. In Issue 6 we discussed vision: how leaders create

I just finished The LEGO Story. Besides being an entertaining history of hands-down the greatest toy ever invented by my favorite company, the book is

Many years ago, I had the honor of attending a lecture on leadership by the CEO Emeritus of a legendary Fortune 500 company. If my

My last blog focused on why clarity of mission is central to inspiring investment and sacrifice from our teammates. This issue focuses on why it’s

Mission is an idea that gets short shrift. Leaders want to talk about the important things, like execution, accountability, and profit. But when it comes

2023 is in the books. Done. January of 2024 is in the books. Done. 1/12 of the year. The first two weeks of February are

The level of predictability in business (or life) is very low. Or as the Yiddish saying goes, “Man plans, God laughs”. Sometimes God’s sense of

One of the most important skills (skill = can be developed) of leadership is creating the conditions for belonging and connection. At summer camp we

Sometimes people hate taking sides. But some crises are so emphatic that whether we like it or not we are shoved onto a side. The

June 4, 2021 was my friend John Guzzardo’s last day on earth. He and another Northwestern University classmate Aaron Morgan were killed by a drunk

A major part of the leader’s role is to help the organization become more capable. This happens when you challenge conventional wisdom and lead to

‘Tis the season to eat matzah (unleavened bread). Leadership and Jewish crackers??? Oh yes. Last night my son and I were part of a matzah

Visionary leadership comes from a sense of wonder beyond perceived limits, and presumed possibility. How to cultivate that sense of wonder? Two suggestions: Take a

Shocking discovery: the people who work with us and for us are human beings! A short excerpt from a recent email from a client (let’s

Is your team compliant–doing what they’re told and no more? Do they exceed expectations–in expectation of reward? Do they sacrifice in service of an aspiration?