by Michael Holland As I drove from one executive coaching session to another, I had a 30-minute window of windshield time with an email and 4 text messages I wanted to take care of… but didn’t. Later, while I pondered the missed opportunity, I thought about my high school aged son who had recently utilized [...]
by Michael Holland Febreze is a magical mist sprayer that covers up almost any smell. In truth, it neutralizes the odor by binding "malodorous molecules" in a super-secret process, and the results are tremendous. But Febreze almost didn’t make it to the shelves. In the first market tests, the chemical was so effective that after [...]
By Michael Holland Leverage that driving or flying time this holiday with a good audio book! Here are 4 books I’ve recently listened to on my iPhone. Get Back to Basics. . . Leadership and the Art of Struggle: How Great Leaders Grow Through Challenge and Adversity by Steven Snyder. In hindsight, many [...]
by Michael Holland Do you have legitimate authority? What a great question. In his most recent book David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants, Malcolm Gladwell brings us perspective that we should know—or may already know—but that we often overlook. This perspective is contained in a principle of legitimacy and helps [...]
by Michael Holland Here are two headlines from the week of November 11, 2013: Microsoft Abandons ‘Stack Ranking’ of Employees Yahoo ‘s Latest HR Disaster: Ranking Workers on a Curve It’s so intriguing to see two large companies having so much fun with the most basic of management tasks while going in opposite directions with [...]
by Michael Holland “Blah, blah, bah. . . I have to get this work done. . . blah, blah, blah” There’s a fine line between working hard and being addicted to work. I see many executives and employees who work hard and enjoy most of the work they do. But I also see some who [...]
by Michael Holland In the midst of the chaos comes yet more work. You're already way overloaded with 20-plus direct reports, and you still have to fill those two open manager positions. You are working 13 hours a day just to keep the fires at bay by providing minimal direction and insight to all [...]
by Michael Holland Each summer our neighborhood in upstate NY comes together for the Rick Braiman Memorial Lawn Mower Race. A race course is designed new each year to weave among several homes and around obstacles, requiring racers to negotiate chaos-inducing spots. Our recent race included two laps with two drivers, creating a “difficult” change [...]
by Michael Holland Manager Matt sits at the small table outside a coffee shop enjoying the fresh air and the aroma of coffee. He’s waiting for Erin, one of his employees, to arrive. It’s time to deliver her yearly performance review. Matt relishes the opportunity to have this climatic yearly conversation because he’s [...]
by Michael Holland Normal managers are everywhere: in fact, most managers are virtually the same in the way they manage and lead their teams. These normal managers follow the status quo of the culture and fight to maintain the mediocrity of entitled management, wearing their self-proclaimed status symbols of “Back to Back Meetings” [...]
