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There have been a lot of challenging circumstances lately. World pandemic. Economic crisis. Culture crisis of racial injustice. People are struggling. Overwhelmed by the layers of anxiety. My mother could get COVID-19. My husband lost his job. My neighborhood is protesting. My friend is hurting. My country is divided. And
In the early days of the COVID-19 crisis, leaders had a full plate just dealing with the immediate implications of closed operations, employee safety, rapid cash flow decline, and more. By now, most have created a new plan for 2020 that reflects this unprecedented challenge. In light of this progress,
What have you learned in the last 30 days? Will you remember it 30 days from now? Just a few weeks ago our worlds turned upside down and many of us found ourselves unable to do the things we normally do. Go to our job site. Go to the gym.
“Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities, because, as has been said, it is the quality which guarantees all others.” – Winston Churchill Nothing like a global pandemic to reveal the courage and character of our leaders. If you aspire to be the top leader of a business
In the last week, most of us have experienced a dramatic change in our schedules and environments. Many are now working from their homes or are without a job. It all happened so suddenly, leaving us reeling from the degree of change in our lives. So, since the changes in
I heard this story some years ago that has stuck in my mind. It was about a village that depended on a mountain stream for their water. For years, at the top of that stream, there was an old man who made it his work to keep the stream clear
Throughout my career, I’ve been involved in lots of discussions about compensation for business leaders. Perhaps the most common thesis for motivating executives is “make them feel like owners.” That typically leads to a discussion of bonuses and stock awards — that are paid when goals are met. No doubt,
At a business lunch last week, my colleague said, “You can’t ask someone if they have integrity.” Isn’t that the truth? You cannot evaluate a person’s integrity by asking them about it. In fact, in my experience, asking them almost guarantees an inaccurate answer. The word integrity means “a firm
If you know me well, you know how much I love big ideas – those inspired daring destinations. I love innovation in every aspect of the business – new products, new advertising, new technology, new designs, new distribution systems. The bolder, the more innovative, the better. You also know my
Whew. The election is over. The campaign advertising has stopped. Back to work we go… Don’t get me wrong. I am very grateful to live in the United States – a republic where the people elect their leaders. I have never seen a better system of government in my travels
Reading a newsfeed on my iPad last month, a headline captured my attention. “The World Took a Negative Turn in 2017.” The news story? The Gallup organization measures the emotional state of most countries in the world each year. The 2017 survey results show a sharp increase in negative emotions – stress,
There is a book titled Culture Eats Strategy for Lunch, by Curt W. Coffman and Kathie Sorensen, Ph.D. The title makes corporate culture sound important, strong, high-impact. Yet in far too many places, building corporate culture is considered a “soft skill.” Squishy, hard to pin down, outright marshmallow material. So
Saturday afternoon, I went out for tacos with my daughter and her family. The restaurant was a fun local place—and the dining area was decorated with a whole host of bumper stickers. On the wall next to our table, the bumper stickers had a theme. Life is good. Work is
I am excited to be back in the blogosphere talking to you about leadership. The second edition of Dare to Serve hits the market in just a couple of weeks, and I can’t wait for you to see the new chapters. You can jump on Amazon today and pre-order your
Excerpt from Dare to Serve: How to Drive Superior Results by Serving Others I was once being interviewed for a leadership job in a restaurant company. The interviewer, a senior executive at the company, asked me about my approach to leadership. I said that I developed teams of highly competent
Last week I was getting ready to board a flight at Newark airport. The arriving plane was late and the gate crew was rushing around to quickly get that plane ready to go. The gate agent called the first group of passengers to board, but as they got down the
Excerpt from Dare to Serve: How to Drive Superior Results by Serving Others About ten years ago, I developed a bit of an obsession. Of everyone I met, I started asking this question: “Why do you work?” You could see them trying to figure out what answer I was looking
Excerpt from Dare to Serve: How to Drive Superior Results by Serving Others I have a weird personality. I only want to work on big, huge, hard things. Maybe it is my wiring of being an idea person. Maybe it is my love of turnaround opportunities. Maybe it reflects my
Excerpt from Dare to Serve: How to Drive Superior Results by Serving Others I began studying different approaches to leadership several years ago and that’s when I first encountered the idea of servant leadership. Robert Greenleaf introduced the concept of the servant leader in the late seventies – one who
Excerpt from Dare to Serve: How to Drive Superior Results by Serving Others It’s no secret people matter to me. I consider the most important aspect of my career the opportunity to coach and develop people. Coaching and developing people is a signature trait of a servant leader and servant
At Popeyes, our third principle is: “We are fact-based and planful.” I know that sounds really boring as a principle, but we have to talk about it because it has revolutionized the way we work and helped us reach our performance goals. In the fall of 2007, the work environment
Somewhere along the way to adulthood, we tend to stop listening and learning from others. In fact, it’s worse than that. We start telling everybody what to do – and call it leadership. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. Why is this the case? The first thing that
Yesterday morning I visited a summer day camp for children in Traverse City, Michigan. As the children arrived, they were greeted by a welcomomg tunnel of jumping, singing, high-fiving camp counselors. The kids’ faces lit up with excitement as these counselors enthusiastically celebrated their arrival. This was Day 4 of
Think about a time when one of your close friends disappointed you. They let you down. They acted in a way that was inconsistent with your expectations. Perhaps the behavior was so unexpected, you were surprised and taken aback. You couldn’t comprehend why they would act that way. They
Lately it seems that everyone on the planet is in search of their personal purpose. It’s “trending.” Simon Sinek says Start with Why Jon Gordon offers The Seed: Finding Purpose and Happiness in Your Life and Work There is The Purpose of Your Life: Finding Your Place in the World
I have a core belief about people. I believe each and every person on this earth was created and designed to be special. They have unique gifts and talents. I want to help people reach their full potential. But even with that worldview — the strengths of a team member
We have been talking about the importance of knowing the people we lead. This week we continue this conversation by exploring the benefit of knowing the top priority values of your individual team members. At Popeyes, we ask our team members to explore their values and share their top three
Several times in my career, I’ve been asked to play a “get-to-know-you” game at a business dinner. The game is called Two Truths and a Lie. The way it works? Each person states three things about their life that the rest of the people would not know. Two of them
In the second year of my role at Popeyes, trust with our franchise owners remained low, data for decision-making was still limited and consistent positive sales results were not yet evident. My team and I were sitting in a meeting with skeptical franchise leaders, debating the performance results of the
I am a book junkie. If you visit my home, there are certain rooms, like my home office, that are literally overflowing with books. Even my work office has at least 100 books in it. So it will not surprise you that on this Sunday afternoon, I am scanning the
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