Successful businesses are so common today in most industries that it’s easy for them to become complacent just because you’re “making money” or doing better than last year. Because of their ubiquity, successful companies have come to bore me. They’re certainly the rule rather than the exception, and most are so content with how they’re doing they spend a lot more time talking about becoming great or getting to the next level than they do taking the action necessary to make it…

One of the best things about leadership principles is their wide applicability. You can find beneficial leadership life-lessons in sports, business, politics and throughout history. These maxims can be adapted to your personal life, home, church or enterprise. In my new Become a Category of One in-house workshop, I use Vince Lombardi’s success with the Green Bay Packers as a case study in how not to just become the best in your business category, but to create a different…

A common mistake leaders make when hiring is bringing someone on board because they like him or her. While liking a potential team member is certainly a plus, it is not an accurate indicator of character, competence or team chemistry. In fact, most of us have seen employees who were once likeable become far less so as we discovered weaknesses through performance we should have uncovered during the interview process.  Hiring experts have long estimated that the number one cause of hiring…

In 1965, Pete Townshend of the British rock group, The Who, wrote the blockbuster hit My Generation. The song was later named the 11^th greatest song by Rolling Stone of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Townshend reportedly wrote the song on a train and is said to have been inspired by the Queen Mother, who is alleged to have had Townshend’s 1935 Packard hearse towed off a street because she was offended by the sight of it during her daily drive through the…