The Culture+ Blog
Insights to help you create a compelling and connected culture
High-performance teams come from high-performance cultures
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You get just 3 hours per day
You get about 3 solid brain hours per day. That's it. So, what are your best 3 hours? Might be right when you awake. Might be in the evening. It's probably not just after lunch. The limited brain up-time limits what we can do. But that limit is not a bad thing. If we embrace the constraint, we get a reason to protect our time. And then we get a reason to protect our team members' time. Imagine a whole team that gets a consistent 3 hours every day to produce their best work that is devoid of...
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We don’t want engineers
We don't want engineers, we want people who can engineer. We don't want pilots, we want people who know how to fly. It's a subtle difference but the language matters. When I was on the client side of the table, I knew that every respondent to my RFP could do the...
“It’s you, actually.”
If someone has left your organization for another since Covid-19 became an economy crushing thing, then I humbly suggest deep leadership reflection.Remember the old break up line, "it's not you, it's me." If somebody left you recently, it's definitely you. Not because...
Doing more and doing enough are the same
You could be doing more. You could be providing more homeschooling help for your kids. You could be preparing healthier meals. You could check in more with your parents, especially now. Your could set up regular calls with your lonely friend. You could be exercising...
The fictional undertaker and perspective
My family is getting more annoyed with me. (And it's not because we are spending every hour together COVID-19 sheltering.) While washing the dishes or folding the laundry or cleaning the bathroom or doing any of the chores I have done a thousand times, I have started...
Make your idea easy to act on
Make your request easy to act on. If there is no action from those above you on your idea, then it could be because you haven't presented it in a way someone can act on. (It could also be because your idea sucks, btw. Just sayin'.) I would encourage you to do two...
How to Alchemize Challenge – Future of Leadership Letter [March 2020]
Ben and I showed up a few minutes early to the Zoom meeting. I love the few moments on a Zoom call just before a meeting formally starts. People act like people instead of corporate bots. We chatted. He told me a story about a recent outing he and his young son...
Change in another disguise
The question came up long ago when I advocated for a new part time WFH situation for a member of my team. The question from my bosses: "Well, how will you know he is actually working?" I think I kept it to only a mental eye-roll, but I am not certain. I broke my...
Nobody remembers whack-a-mole effort
It's 3 months from now-Have you over maintained the spring/summer yard or have you started that one important business relationship? It's 6 months from now -Did you return every email or did you start a challenging new initiative at work? It's 12 months from now -Do...
Big decision to make? Not after 8 o’clock
Stop making big decisions after 8. Slowly, over time, I have adopted a rule. More like a suggestion or a guideline. I try not to make life decisions after about 8 pm. What do I want for desert? No problem. Should I continue writing my next book or burn it in the trash...
Offer a daily surge of grace
You can feel it, right? That swift undercurrent of tension and stress. Our lives upended, we are trying to establish a new normal. Not easy. Plans seem to be changing by the day. Kids are home. Partner is home. You are home. Everybody is home. Tightly packed....
The best help sometimes doesn’t look like help
"They just need your witness." One of my favorite authors was hosting a webinar over the weekend. At the end of a solid hour he offered up a few moments for Q&A. The questioner asked some long-winded question about providing support to people directly affected by...
A few ideas to help recharge while you are sheltering in place
Five things to do this weekend to recharge while you are sheltering in place: 1. Read. Find that one book you put down because you were too busy and pick it back up. If it's still good, linger over it. Read slowly. There's no rush! 2. Walk. Find a new path, a new...