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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When Should You Tell the Boss That You Disagree?
Disagreeing with those more senior than you can be a nerve-racking experience, primarily because it is often difficult to predict how the senior leader will react. As a leader yourself, you have an obligation to express your honest views, even if this might upset “the boss.” Leadership demands you voice your concerns honestly, while recognizing…
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Victory in Helping the Other Team Win
Some acts of leadership are so powerful they are worth remembering and retelling. Take a college softball game contested more than a decade ago, when the Central Washington women’s softball team faced Western Oregon for a chance to make the playoffs. With the game on the line and two runners on base, Western Oregon’s Sara…
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Always Keep a List of Nevers
Never, as an idea and commitment, is a very long time and is usually unrealistic. When people say “never,” they usually mean “most of the time.” When it comes to leadership, “never” is particularly hard to accept, as situations and people require different strategies and tactics. In the words of Peter Pan, who took us…
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Never Walk Past a Mistake
For great leaders, standards of quality matter. Standards help to define people, teams and organizations. Former Senator Bob Kerrey suggests that, “If you walk by something that is substandard, and you do nothing, it becomes the new standard.” When we think about that statement for a moment, it makes perfect sense. Standards are what we…
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Do Not Touch the Instrument
In music, we describe a long line of virtuosos from the same family as talent passed down from generation to generation. It’s in their DNA. But even innate talent needs a little help. One family of world-class mandolin players has watched this kind of talent blossom over and over again. The patriarch of the family…
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What to Do When You Make a Bad Decision
The only thing more depressing than a tough situation is the failed efforts of a leader who makes them worse with a second bad call.
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Can You Give Me an Example?
Examples and illustrations are powerful tools to broaden and deepen learning.
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How to Stop the Seduction of Your Best Clients
Acquiring a new customer or client takes much more work and effort than maintaining the relationship with an existing one.
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How to Make a Crisis Even Worse
Remember that, no matter how horrible the incident, it is your response that defines who you are as a leader.
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Start With the Hard Part
If you want to make more progress when mastering a difficult process, game, or activity, consider practicing the hardest part first.