What does it cost if things go wrong? Theoretically, we should have access to every important email conversation that takes place. We should never lose contact information and we should be able to retrieve the latest data in a flash. But this accessibility doesn’t come for free. If we want to have every email tracked, …

It’s tough to get much done in January. Everyone is behind after the holidays and the cold weather is anything but energizing. Same thing in February. Seasonal depression sets in and seemingly everyone tries to leave town to find warmer weather. March and April are tough too. The kids are out on spring break and …

When copies are free, you need to sell things which can not be copied. Well, what can’t be copied? There are a number of qualities that can’t be copied. Consider “trust.” Trust cannot be copied. You can’t purchase it. Trust must be earned, over time. It cannot be downloaded. Or faked. Or counterfeited (at least …

There’s an interesting dichotomy I’ve been reflecting on. Most of the meaningful and most memorable things I do in my life don’t happen in the office. They happen when I’m with my family or friends, or when I’m able to take on things that are meaningful to me. But at the same time, I acknowledge …

One of the most important aspects of learning is the willingness to look foolish. When we’re early in the process, we have to be ok with failing. That’s the quickest way to learn. In sports, it’s pretty simple. Pick up a basketball and shoot it. At first you’ll fail. But as you put deliberate effort …

Some jobs require long hours in the office to get the job done. Other roles lead to people spending long hours simply because of their company culture, or because they want to look like they’re working hard. Regardless, besides the toll this puts on our personal lives, I’m not sure that more time is necessarily …

I used to think I had a good understanding of the competitive landscape for my company, but now I realize that I was missing the biggest competitor. And I don’t think my oversight was unique. Restaurants, entertainment venues, and most other businesses we interact with can fall prey to the same mistake. The company I …

As I’ve gotten older – and I’ve been in the sports performance and training field for a long time – one of the things that I think is funny to me – and I point it out to a lot of people and parents – if you can imagine that every sport played was in …

Writing a goal is easy. Even tracking towards a goal is fairly simple once the goal is set. The major challenges come earlier. First, we have to figure out which way we want to steer. A goal is useless if we later determine that we didn’t set the right target. And second, we have to …

When faced with a request that we can’t, or won’t, support, the initial reaction is to simply say “no.” Sorry, but we can’t help you. The better, and more generous, approach is to change the question. If we can’t do exactly what was requested, then what can we do? It might not be exactly what …