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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What Is the Right Thing to Do?
Doing the right thing is never easy. The question confronting us all is: What is the right thing? To paraphrase the words of a U.S. Supreme Court justice when asked how to discern pornography: “You’ll know it when you see it.” Leaders apply another lens to this question and answer. Leaders, by definition, have an
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Outwork Everyone Else
Sometimes hustle matters — and matters more than anything else. Speak to leaders who achieved results and reached places they never thought possible, and you’ll hear stories of hard work and dedication. Others may have more skills or innate talents, but the one thing we all control is how much effort we put into succeeding.
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The Power to Sway
The right feedback at the right time can change the arc of a life. As teachers can attest, it is common to learn many years later that a spontaneous remark, criticism or encouragement was the catalyst for significant change in a student’s life. We never know when our suggestions or advice will take hold and
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Expect More, Evaluate Less
When Benjamin Zander, the longtime conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, found himself a teacher to young students at the New England Conservatory of Music, he decided to tackle the issue of student self-doubt head on. He learned from experience that even the best musicians fear making mistakes and dread the conductor’s evaluation of their
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The Spaghetti Sauce Question
This one can get tricky. Let’s say someone on your team has an embarrassing problem. Something that could detract from their credibility or acceptance by others. How should a leader approach the delicate feedback that is clearly needed? First, what do we mean by embarrassing? Extremely bad breath comes to mind. Repeated flatulence. Unusual scratching.
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Thank People in Advance
Thanking people for being candid before they are candid is a wonderful way to create more honesty and frankness. Ben Franklin taught us that to thank people before they do something you desire is a sure-fire way to have them do that very thing. This is particularly true when it comes to getting candid feedback
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The Bad Motive Behind Flawed Decisions
The fear of failure is a powerful motivator that drives many leaders to excel. Striving to always be prepared and not to let others down is a reputable quality everyone appreciates. But, sometimes, the fear of failure produces something else — a need in a leader to constantly prove themself. Making sure everyone knows you
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You Can’t Keep a Good Leader Down
More than 75 years have passed since Henry Ford made the idea of leadership rather simple: “The question of who ought to be boss is like asking who ought to be the tenor in the quartet. Obviously, the person who can sing tenor.” After the fact — once a decision has been reached, when the
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Don’t Let Mistakes Become Decisions
Mistakes are a part of life and they happen with great frequency no matter how experienced we are. The good news is that making mistakes is an essential part of learning and achievement. Once we make a mistake, we have the chance to course correct and do better on the next attempt. Sometimes, unwittingly, we
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Accountability and Responsibility Defined
When disappointed by his inability to draft the players he wanted, legendary NFL coach Bill Parcells once commented: “If they want you to cook the dinner, at least they ought to let you shop for the groceries.” Like Parcells, none of us wants to be held accountable unless we control the process and ingredients critical