I get asked a lot about family businesses, and I’ve helped hundreds. Family business problems begin with an innocent mistake: the assumption that working with someone you love is easy. The truth is there are few things more difficult. Once you accept that you’ve inadvertently taken on an Olympic-level challenge, things can change. It’s actually…
Paul was afraid, but that wasn’t the problem, as you’ll see. He needed to have a tough conversation with Sheila, an employee of fifteen years. Sheila needed to either change or leave. She was his wife’s best friend, one of his first employees, and surely had the best intentions. But her negativity was a poison…
Over a decade ago a general contractor in serious trouble came to me for business coaching. Let’s call him Dave. His revenue was down two straight years. He broke even the year before, but nine months into the current year, his net profit was negative four percent. Burning cash by the wheelbarrow, he had five…
The toaster won’t turn on. You fiddle with it for a minute or two. You start locally. But, when that doesn’t work, you think bigger. You move from content to context. First, you check if it’s plugged in. Then you go further out, “Hmmm, maybe the circuit is blown.” You do this all the time.…
In last week’s article, I asked you to complete the sentence “I will be happy when…” as many times as you could and I promised you a breakthrough. Here’s a hint: it’s about overwhelm. This is where you have that breakthrough, but it won’t work if you haven’t yet done the assignment. Don’t read on…
When is it okay to question authority? It’s a question that causes a lot of confusion in a business culture. There’s a core belief that’s hard to shake: the idea that you “have” to do whatever your boss tells you. Any manager will say they’d love it if their employees took on more responsibility. Some…
Gothmog, the pig-headed orc general from the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, hires a Clear and Open Mentor following Mordor’s defeat depicted in the final film. Gothmog: “I hope you’ll understand I’m a little grouchier than usual.” Mentor: “Of course, that was a huge loss for your team. Understandable that you’d be upset.” “It’s just…