It’s 202‽

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2021 - maybe it’s better to say December 42, 2020 instead of January 11, 2021 (kafkaesque?). We so want major demarcations in time to be major demarcations in hope, optimism, aspiration… change! Sure doesn’t feel like it this year, at least so far. But, I think it will - and to help make that happen, let’s start making our own time-based demarcations, based on our time vs. time imposed by some calendar, society, expectation of the way things ought to be.

So, my 2021 time-based demarcation a punctuation mark - the 54-year old interrobang, a forgotten and perfect punctuation mark for 202‽. Feel free to join me! Use this remarkable, timely, integrated (!?) punctuation mark - set your own timeframes, demarcations and mark them with a ‽

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What Gives You Hope?

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Summer is ending, leaves are changing and we know what is coming, and I'm so filled with Hope!  Yup! InBIF10 Top Row L-R Marlea Brown, Andrew Kaplan, Nicha Ratana; Bottom Row L-R: Faisal Khurshid, Isby Lubin, Fiora MacPherson, Sarah Kandath, Me  what, in Whom do you Hope? Hope is a powerful force in life.  It is based in what is both possible and probable, not in hallucination. That's why September is Hope Month for me...because of BIF10.  

BIF is the most amazing gathering of humans from all over the world sharing stories about perseverance, innovation, impact…and Hope! Every year we wonder how can the next be better and it always is.  Because of Hope – Hope in what the human spirit is capable of achieving:

I urge you to look at the videos, photos, and posts…. And sign up for next year!!

If You Aren't Scared, You Aren't Leading

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Do you find leadership daunting?  Even scary?  I do.  Frankly, I think we should.  Leading others carries a huge responsibility.  It is not for the faint of heart, for those afraid of being wrong, for those who want comfort and stability, or for those who need external affirmation.

I’ve been doing more mentoring lately of C-suiters, those in line for the C-suite and entrepreneurs (serial, new, aspiring).  And then of course there are my wonderful clients who hire me to help them create living, innovative, actionable, measureable, adaptable strategies.  Whew! You know what? It’s scary! Seriously!  I don’t mean this to sound arrogant, quite the reverse.  It’s rather humbling! What if I mess up? What if I give the wrong advice and they follow it?

When you’re a leader, people look to you for direction, discernment and hope.  Leadership is partly a job of probability – the probability that you are right a lot more than you are wrong and the probability that when you are wrong, the consequences aren’t as profound as they could be.  I’ve been privileged to help (almost all) my clients grow – create profits that let them continue to delight their customers, provide meaningful jobs to their employees and better their communities.  When they don’t, people’s lives, families and communities are affected.

That’s why I think the best leaders are humble and vulnerable with a quiet confidence…enough confidence to ask “Why” and “Why not”, to say, “I don’t know” and “Will you help me?”  Authentic leaders are trustworthy AND competent.  These go hand in hand, creating a virtuous circle: 

  • You build trust because you know your stuff very well but not flawlessly;
  • You are competent because, aside from ‘book knowledge’ and experience, you are willing to learn, listen, be open-minded and trust other opinions as well as your own.

So, what about you and the leaders around you – who you work for, with and nurture.  Are you trustworthy AND competent? What can you do to help the leaders around you be more of both? And what can you do to make sure you are? Just a step at a time, a day at a time.