By Michael Holland - The power of our brain to create and execute habits can be extremely beneficial or detrimental. Your brain doesn’t know the difference between the habit to walk (think about it) and the habit to grab that unhealthy snack every night. The brain simply recognizes something being performed several times and creates [...]
By Michael Holland - It's not your fault that you're not really an effective leader. You've put your time in to get educated. You've worked hard to move up into the ranks of management. You've put up with those bad bosses and countless ridiculous corporate directives and still delivered on the work you're charged with [...]
by Michael Holland - A few years ago, I was moving my daughter out of a temporary apartment during a polar vortex. The temperature hovered somewhere between 1 degree and minus 4 degrees, either way it was too darn cold. And then there was the wind that drove that temperature even further down below zero. [...]
By Michael Holland - I needed to re-set my clock in my not-so-new car and had forgotten which buttons to push in sequence to get the clock flashing and ready for change. Rumbling through my glove box I pulled out the thick, black canvass bag which contained the owner’s manual. Well, actually it contained one [...]
by Michael Holland - A foot of snow provided the perfect opportunity to teach my then 16-year-old son how to drive in the snow. He was several months into his learner's permit process and, all things considered, was a fairly good driver. To start off, we found a nice big parking lot. “Floor it towards [...]
By Michael Holland - My keen financial planning colleagues can speak for hours about the art and science of balancing portfolios. For the rest of us, we know that it's good to have a balanced portfolio whether it's with financial assets, the food we choose to consume over a week, or the selection of adult [...]
by Michael Holland - Rock stars and celebrities often have eccentric requirements for their pre-gig preparation rooms. The famous band Van Halen had a clause in their contract that specifically said they wanted bowls of M&Ms backstage, but that all the brown ones must be removed. Seems ridiculous. But there was a method to lead [...]
by Michael Holland – Great people leaders are lifelong learners consuming blog posts, podcasts, articles, videos and books to gain perspective and increase knowledge. Leverage that driving or flying time – or get away from the in-laws time – this holiday with a good book. Here are some favorites from books I read this year. [...]
by Michael Holland - As a leader, how will you know if you are losing your influence? How will you know if you've "jumped the shark"? From the Urban Dictionary, the phrase "jumped the shark" is defined as: “the moment when something that was once great has reached a point where it will now decline [...]
by Michael Holland - Most leaders take on their first management role between the ages of 28 and 32. They are put in charge of their former peers and expected to continue producing top notch work while they take on managing the team. New to the job and with no training, these new leaders fall into habits [...]
