Coughlin’s Law: Bury the Dead
People leave, let’s get over it. Gone are the days when a man arrives for work in the factory two days after his high school graduation and leaves forty years later with a gold watch. The American career path hasn’t included this scenario since before Lyndon Johnson took office. [...]
Filed in Business Situations, Leadership Observations, Management Training No Responses yet
Quitters Never Win and Winners Never Quit
Argh! I can hear my mother misquoting Vince Lombardi in my sleep: “Quitters never win, and winners never quit.” A simple saying that forced me to keep my word throughout my life – even when it cost me money.
Why is it these simple clichés can hold such importance [...]
Filed in Digression, Leadership News and Views No Responses yet
Last night the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals to win the coveted Stanley Cup. Both teams deserved to be there, both played well throughout the season, and – as evidenced by a Game 7 in a best-of-seven-series – both teams were evenly matched.
Both [...]
Filed in Leadership Observations, Lessons from Pro Sports No Responses yet
Leadership Lessons from the Public Sector
There are reasons some people are lifelong public servants and others work in the real world. Whether it’s the military, public education, a state legislature or a municipal government: a job void of profit responsibility is generally void of any true accountability. Without accountability, leadership can become unnecessary and [...]
Filed in Leadership Development, Leadership News and Views, Leadership Observations, Management Training No Responses yet
The Effect of Ego on Leadership
At AskTheManager.com we’ve always held to the belief that you can learn more from bad leadership examples than you can from the good ones. It’s not really cynical to think this way; in fact, we believe it’s quite healthy. It’s like seeking out the silver lining. We’ve [...]
I don’t know about the best of times but these sure feel like the worst of them. It’s as close to Dickens’s London as I dare want to see us go. Dickens would have been hard pressed to pen an economic/social setting as ugly as the one we find ourselves in today. Eventually, we [...]
Filed in Leadership Development, Management Training No Responses yet
How Do You Deal With a New Boss?
One of our regular readers – and someone who asked our advice very early on in the legacy that has become AskTheManager.com – AngelCakes from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan recently provided us with both an update on her management career and a new dilemma.
When we first heard from AC, [...]
Filed in Business Situations, Leadership Development, Management Training No Responses yet
The Future of Entrepreneurship in America
I noticed something strange while sitting on my front porch today: A professional landscaping crew of seven had descended on my cul-de-sac to industriously cut the lawns and trim the bushes at my home and the homes of my neighbors on either side.
While this same event happens twice [...]
Filed in Digression, Leadership Observations 4 Comments so far
