Would You Rather Be Effective or Be Right?
If you’re in a leadership role, there’s a pretty decent chance that when you were a kid, you were one of the smartest kids in class. If that wasn’t you, you probably remember who was. You know the...
View ArticleLetting go of what you are…to be what you might become
We can limit ourselves by the stories we tell ourselves. If we’ve defined ourselves as quiet and thoughtful, we may rarely speak up in a meeting. If we’ve defined ourselves as brash, we might never...
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Garry Ridge is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the WD-40 Company, a billion-dollar business with a 93% employee engagement index. Garry Ridge on CultureLab
View ArticleHappiness and work: An interview with Lord Richard Layard
The preeminent happiness researcher shares some surprising results on connecting well-being, mental health, and how employers can play a role in improving our lives at work. Happiness and work: An...
View ArticleWinning the ’20s: A Leadership Agenda for the Next Decade
The winners in business have shifted markedly in the last decade. When the 2010s began, the world’s ten most valuable public companies by market capitalization were based in five countries, only two of...
View ArticleSage Advice For The First-Time Leader
Congratulations! You’ve just been given a fantastic opportunity. But before you dive in, I’d like to pass along a little sage advice Sage Advice For The First-Time Leader
View ArticleOops, did I say that out loud?
When I was in business school, they called it a “Lisa Kohn” if you were talking about someone and they were right behind you. Seriously, they did. I wish I could say that I did nothing to deserve that...
View ArticleThe Two Cultures Aren’t Compatible
Amazon’s 2017 acquisition of Whole Foods was met with a lot of fanfare. The deal would allow Amazon to grow beyond e-commerce and sell groceries in hundreds of stores while collecting significant...
View ArticleGive me a «T» for teamwork
Dysfunction is prevalent across many organizations and so management responds with an increase in training. Yet holding team-building activities when management is in flux, standards are declining and...
View ArticleSilent and listen have a lot in common besides six letters
Have you ever been in a meeting where it seems like everyone is shouting…and no one is listening? Have you ever tried, and tried again, to explain yourself to someone, only to feel like there is no way...
View ArticleThe Best Leaders Aren’t Afraid to Ask for Help
I think of myself as strong. I see myself as someone who can manage a lot of stress. Who can get a tremendous amount accomplished in a day. Who can work long hours and pull through in clutch moments....
View ArticleRemembering Jack Bogle and Herb Kelleher, Two Great Strategists
Within a two-week period, America lost two great business icons, Southwest Airlines co-founder Herb Kelleher (March 12, 1931 – January 3, 2019) and Vanguard founder Jack Bogle (May 8, 1929 – January...
View ArticleThe Legacy of Herb Kelleher, Cofounder of Southwest Airlines
Most everyone who met Herb Kelleher, the larger-than-life cofounder and longtime CEO of Southwest Airlines, has a story about his or her initial encounter with the man, so I’ll begin this reflection on...
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Garry Ridge is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the WD-40 Company, a billion-dollar business with a 93% employee engagement index. Garry Ridge on CultureLab
View ArticleThe Most Powerful Lesson My Cancer Taught Me About Life and Work
I was 34 when I heard my doctor say “stage-four Hodgkin’s lymphoma.” The news hit me like a punch to the face. I was stunned. Then every two weeks for six months, I had to go the Lineberger Cancer...
View Article4 Ways to Deal With a Toxic Coworker
Lately, we have been hearing a lot from our clients about “toxic” coworkers and teammates. This issue isn’t new; there have been bad coworkers since the beginning of organized work. But these days,...
View ArticleAndrés Iniesta’s Farewell, and How to Make Endings Count at Work
The game had ended. The applause had died down, and people had gone home. His work was done, now he could rest. So he took off his cleats and he sat down. Someone took a picture, and it went viral....
View ArticleReal Leaders Bring Meaning into the Workplace
Fred Kofman is an author and leadership expert and has led teams at Linkedin, advised Google and conducted many workshops around the world. His newest book is The Meaning Revolution, The Power of...
View ArticleTo Understand the Future of Tesla, Look to the History of GM
The entrepreneur who founded and grew the largest startup in the world to $10 billion in revenue and got fired is someone you have probably never heard of. The guy who replaced him invented the idea of...
View ArticleHow Meditation Changes Your Brain — and Your Life
When neuroscientists tested expert meditators, they discovered something surprising: The effect of Buddhist meditation isn’t just momentary; it can alter deep-seated traits in our brain patterns and...
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