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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Increasing the Odds of a Windfall
Windfalls normally follow the bumpy path of good fortune, but like all unexpected outcomes, leaders can increase the probability of chance by thinking creatively about what is around the corner and looming unseen overhead. When an opportunity appears on the horizon, the lucky are better prepared for it.
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Protecting Against Hubris
The dangers of hubris are well known, and need to be avoided. Leaders with high self-esteem and who project confidence have nothing to fear, unless they allow their pride to escape the normal constraints of reality. Remember that confidence isn’t thinking you are better than everyone else. True confidence is realizing that you have no…
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The Recency Bias of Performance Reviews
Offsetting the recency bias natural to leaders when reviewing performance is essential to reach the correct decisions. The best leaders collect data points from the entire year to make the most accurate performance assessments. To paraphrase Edwards Deming, without all of the data, you’re just a leader with an opinion.
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Reframing Nervous Energy
The physiological response to a high-pressure moment is actually telling us we are ready to perform. But because we aren’t used to the sensations and changes our body produces, we often view what is happening as negative and something that needs to be suppressed. This makes us pay attention to the stress rather than to…
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Embracing the Paradoxes of Leadership
The everyday paradoxes of leadership may be the most powerful explanation as to why some leaders excel and others flounder. The complexity of leadership becomes more understandable when we accept the idea that creating simplicity is exceedingly hard work. Now, that’s a paradox worth celebrating.
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You Can’t Unring the Bell
You Can’t Unring the Bell It has happened to celebrities, news anchors, reality stars, and politicians. No one is immune. Say, do, or tweet something highly offensive in the wrong moment and get walked to the door.
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Excellence Somewhere Else
Recruiting athletic talent for a Division II and III team is never easy. No matter the sport, the biggest, strongest, and fastest athletes have all been gobbled up by top-tier programs and schools. Yet, some of the most remarkable records belong to teams and coaches who compete in second-tier programs. For the best coaches, finding
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Have You Told Them?
Truth be told, we are often immensely proud of those special people we live with, work with, and learn from for what they have overcome, what they have achieved, and who they have become. When others learn we are proud of them, they experience a sense of delight unequaled in human emotion. This is
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You Can Never Be Too Good
As a wise person once said, “Leadership is something that you can never do as well as it can be done.” Insightful words. The same can be said about marriage, decision-making, parenting, relationships, and just about any human endeavor steeped in values. Some pursuits can never be perfected. This fact has to drive the perfectionists
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When Someone Benefits From the Problem
In too many organizations, powerful leaders too often engage in self-interested behavior to the detriment of the organization. Don’t get caught up in the hijinks. Consider what is happening and move on to those problems others honestly want to address. You’ll be happier for it.