Leadership

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Strategic Leadership: Stop Trying to Do it All and Start Getting More Done

Strategic Leadership: Stop Trying to Do it All and Start Getting More Done

Dec 2, 2025

The business leadership struggle is real. So is this fact: You cannot do everything for your business. But you can choose to do only the most powerful things. If your days are packed with putting out fires on multiple fronts, it’s probably time to step back and fight the cause of all those little fires—to strategize for problem prevention and organizational progress. But you won’t get there without the right kind of focus.

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Leadership Mentoring: How to Reinvest Today’s Expertise in Tomorrow’s Leaders

Leadership Mentoring: How to Reinvest Today’s Expertise in Tomorrow’s Leaders

Oct 13, 2025

When one experienced leader commits to mentoring a future leader, the gains ripple across the whole company. Employees come awake to their opportunity for career development. Mentors enjoy reinvesting their experience. And the organization positions itself for sustainable growth and healthy succession planning.

I have been fortunate to have some great mentors during my career. One was a man named Frank. He made such a big impact on me and my family business that I wrote a book about the lessons learned.

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Must I Stop Being an Introvert to Become a Strong Business Leader?

Must I Stop Being an Introvert to Become a Strong Business Leader?

Jan 7, 2025

When business leadership roles come open, the introverts among us usually get overlooked in the hiring process. Long-standing assumptions send most HR departments scurrying to hire someone who will be charismatic, assertive, and outspoken. This is why, across industries, introverts are woefully under-represented in leadership. But does this mean that being introverted disqualifies you for leadership?

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Yes, Sustained Business Growth is Possible: What You Need to Do Starting Today

Yes, Sustained Business Growth is Possible: What You Need to Do Starting Today

May 28, 2024

Business leaders get tired of settling for minor revenue increases without long-term, sustained business growth. Yet changing a company’s established approach to business “growth” can feel like confronting an unassailable fortress. Unfortunately, fortresses don’t advance. And neither will a business, as long as short-sighted practices remain unexamined. So let’s look at the growth problem through a different lens.

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The Gift of Feedback

The Gift of Feedback

May 18, 2023

I recently spoke to YPO Guatemala, in Guatemala City, which was a great experience. I shared with them a three hour interactive workshop on leadership succession planning. What made it a great experience was their willingness to participate fully in the discussion and group exercises as well as their warm generosity in the way that they hosted me while in Guatemala.

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7 Signs You May be a Bad Boss

7 Signs You May be a Bad Boss

Apr 25, 2023

Nobody likes to think of themselves as a bad boss. But in my travels through the leadership keynote speaker world, I’ve met so many current and aspiring leaders. And whether they’re newly minted managers or seasoned C-suite types, regardless of their leadership tenure, it’s quite common for people to have a few blind spots around their own leadership styles.

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The Value of Retaining Talent in a Competitive Market

The Value of Retaining Talent in a Competitive Market

Feb 3, 2023

As a family business owner, you may be feeling pressure to reduce staff, but the old adage that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush is particularly apt when it comes to your employees. Despite the concerns about inflation and the push for layoffs, the companies that keep staff on the payroll will have a distinct advantage.

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How to Stand Out as a Leader in Succession Planning

How to Stand Out as a Leader in Succession Planning

Nov 8, 2022

Within the next 10 years Boomers will have all but handed over the reins of corporate leadership to succeeding generations. Whether you’re running a family business or joining the ranks of a public enterprise, more than 75% of the workforce will be Millennials. This is likely the biggest leadership handover the corporate world has seen to date, and companies large and small are wisely making preparations. I’ve been working with my clients to create unique strategies that work within the realms of their family businesses – here are six strategies on how to stand out as a leader.

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Leadership During Crisis: 7 Qualities That Make a Survivor

Leadership During Crisis: 7 Qualities That Make a Survivor

May 31, 2022

There’s nothing like a legitimate crisis for teaching business leaders what they’re really made of. As someone whose early days in the family business were defined by crisis leadership, I could not agree more.
But I didn’t do it alone. The leadership during adversity in question was delivered by my mentor, business turnaround specialist Frank

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Rise of the Virtual Boss: 5 Tips for Effective Remote Leadership

Rise of the Virtual Boss: 5 Tips for Effective Remote Leadership

May 17, 2022

During the past couple of years, we have had to become comfortable working from home—while also trying to balance family life, and possibly looking after someone who has been sick or has become more vulnerable. This is quite a change for many who were used to their daily commute into the office, where they had a clear distinction between home and work life as a virtual boss.

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Positive Leadership: Three Common Scenarios + How They Boost Employee Retention

Positive Leadership: Three Common Scenarios + How They Boost Employee Retention

Jan 4, 2022

We’re all navigating a whole new world after the last two years of COVID-related business stresses. Many employees are learning to balance remote work and family demands, and of course many leaders are grappling with a workforce they only see on a screen. It’s hard all around. But I’ve learned over years of leading a family business and becoming a successful leadership keynote speaker, that your actions in times of crisis will come to define you as a leader.

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10 Tips for Surviving in a Business Turnaround

10 Tips for Surviving in a Business Turnaround

Oct 26, 2021

Although it certainly didn’t feel like it at the time, I was incredibly lucky to take the reins of the family business at the tender age of 28, which enabled me to realize very quickly that I needed guidance from experienced outside sources. Because of that guidance, I was able to not only witness how to execute a successful business turnaround…but learn valuable lessons at every turn.

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7 Signs You’re a Bad Boss

7 Signs You’re a Bad Boss

Aug 31, 2021

Nobody likes to think of themselves as a bad boss, but in my travels through the leadership keynote speaker world, I’ve met many current and aspiring leaders. And, whether they’re newly minted managers or seasoned C-suite types, it’s quite common for people to have a few blind spots around their own leadership styles. Here are some tips to help get you back on track.

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Train vs. Hire: How to Find the Best Business Talent

Train vs. Hire: How to Find the Best Business Talent

Jul 26, 2021

The question of hiring best practices naturally comes up as I navigate the leadership keynote speaker circuit, and the age-old debate of “train vs. hire” is often at the heart of the discussion. Of course, there are pros and cons to either side, and here’s what worked—and what didn’t—for my business. I hope it helps you get your growing team on track!

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Virtual Boss: 5 Tips for Effective Remote Leadership

Virtual Boss: 5 Tips for Effective Remote Leadership

Jun 7, 2021

During the past year, we have had to become comfortable working from home—while also trying to balance family life, care-taking, etc. While the recent pandemic has forced the issue for many, I have actually been working remotely with my team in the UK since 2010, when my family moved to Colorado. During that time, I’ve found that a hybrid model—partly in the office, party at home—truly does deliver the best of both worlds!

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Knowledge Transfer Basics: 5 Tips to Avoid the Brain Drain

Knowledge Transfer Basics: 5 Tips to Avoid the Brain Drain

May 10, 2021

It’s a great time to be a succession planning keynote speaker—the working world has never needed our guidance more than it does now! But with more than 80 million baby boomers planning to retire before 2030, we’re about to face what might be the biggest knowledge gap in history.

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The 1 Simple Thing Successful Business Leaders Have In Common

The 1 Simple Thing Successful Business Leaders Have In Common

Mar 30, 2021

Many of the people I meet on my  succession planning retreats share a common complaint: strategy takes work! It can be incredibly difficult to tear oneself away from the day-to-day management of the business to focus time and resources on what feels like a theoretical future.

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The Ai Revolution in Hiring

The Ai Revolution in Hiring

Mar 9, 2021

I have come across an assessment tool that could be a game changer when looking to promote or hire new talent into a key role in your organization. It is called pymetrics, and is an Ai based assessment tool which helps you find the best fit for any particular role. It was developed by Frida Polli PhD; an academic neuroscientist from Harvard and MIT turned entrepreneur.

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