FieldNotes
Our daily Field Notes email is just the kind of jumpstart you need. A fast read. Maybe less than a minute. Because sometimes it just takes one insight to change the trajectory of the day.
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Don’t Crush the Desire to Excel
For leaders, disappointing people comes with the job. When the people we coach or parent are not ready for the next challenge or have not earned the reward they have worked toward, we are obligated to tell them that their efforts have fallen short of the goal. In many cases, the person on the receiving
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Plan Meetings Like Practice Sessions
Look behind the success of winning sports teams and you will usually find a coach who scripts team practice sessions down to the minute. Practices are scheduled weeks in advance and planned to produce specific outcomes. Every segment of practice is designed to work on the skills or issues the team needs to master to
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The Mistake That Undercuts Performance
The idea that the best leaders are never satisfied resonates with those who value excellence. “Good enough” is never good enough for leaders who are driven to achieve extraordinary results. The best among us believe deeply in continuous improvement, which, by definition, presumes everything and everyone can always be better. Before we salute this line
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Beat the Forgetting Curve
We rapidly forget what we learn. Within 24 hours, we typically lose more than 70 percent of the information we acquired the day before. This is mostly a good thing. When we acquire new information, our brains will sort what is important and ignore the rest. Forgetting is our natural defense mechanism to prevent overloading
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The Power of Stubborn Inaction
The bias toward action shared by most successful decision-makers can also be a liability. Moving too quickly can be as detrimental as moving too slowly, although the latter is more painful to watch. Organizations need answers to their most pressing problems, and the best leaders deliver. Good leaders are decisive, we rightly learn. In fact,
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Challenge Mediocrity Where It Lives
Mediocrity is a disease with debilitating effects on teams and organizations. The recipe for mediocrity includes playing it safe, avoiding commitment, and holding low standards. Instead of rising to a challenge, team members who stand for mediocrity become paralyzed by the fear of failure. Success is never as sweet as is avoiding defeat. Over time,
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Influence Trumps Direction
For leaders, coming to grips with the importance others play in their success requires reflection and experience. Early in their careers, leaders rise on teams and organizations for getting things done and performing at a higher level. Rewarding personal achievement with an opportunity to lead is common in nearly every organization. When those same leaders
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Exploit the Possibilities of Luck
Long-term success is hard-won — usually, the result of deep work, luck, and a strategic view that proves powerful. Successful people always love to point out the hard work involved. Yet, luck plays an essential role, as well. If you had to count on luck or skill, few among us would rely on luck. We control
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No One Is Hanging on Your Every Word
Inexperienced leaders can become fixated on what others think of them. They can become overly concerned with, and influenced by, the anticipated perceptions others might have of their choices, decisions, and messages. Bordering on paranoia, some leaders can be so concerned with such opinions that they can become consumed with attempting to outthink their critics,
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What Metaphor Guides Your Team?
The quality of a team often reflects the metaphor by which the members organize. One powerful but underrated metaphor is the team as a “hive.” Think bees. In a hive, the team always supersedes the individual. What is good for the team is always good for the individual, whether the team member recognizes it or