Board meetings can be either energizing or draining. The difference between the two lies whether the board is helping to fuel growth or managing decline. Those are two completely difference meetings; trust me, I’ve sat through both. However, good board meetings are mostly the function of choosing good board members. While that sounds so obvious, it’s harder than you think. I’ve suffered through many a bad, boring or contentious meeting because people in the room were poor choices for leaders. Here’s what I believe are the characteristics of a good board member: Understands the vision of the organization Is involved in the organization beyond board meetings. Empowers the leadership to do their jobs well Is an advocate of the staff Contributes financially (non-profits and churches) Creates opportunities Recruits Protects the vision and the staff Brings fresh perspective Too often people sitting on boards think their job is to second guess…

If you’re a communicator, you cannot afford not to be engaged in social media. I know this sounds like a mandate, and it is. Even if only a part of your job is to communicate the vision, mission and direction of the organization you lead, you, more than anyone else in your organization, should lead the social media charge. I meet with leaders who refuse to embrace any social platforms. Their excuses are always the same: I don’t get it. I don’t have time. I’m a private person. I have nothing to say. Until recently I used to go down a list of why it didn’t take that much time and how to manage time. I patiently talked about how even a private person could have a dynamic online presence, and how even the most introvert of leaders has something to say to his or her organization as well as…

I have been thinking about some of the business advice I have given lately to clients and friends. One in particular sounds out of place. It doesn’t fit neatly in the “business” category but in my experience it has more to do with business than most any other nugget of help I have both given or received from someone. Perhaps the greatest impact in my business career has been whom I chose to marry. I cannot tell you how fortunately I am to have married well–“Way out of your league” as a friend once reminded me. This personal decision has had a greater impact in my business career than any other single choice. Being married to Gwen has allowed me to pursue my dreams to a degree I would never had done alone, and much less if I had married a lesser person. Marrying well will: Provide encouragement to to…

No one likes to receive bad news. But being the bearer of bad news is not much fun either. Seems like the past few weeks I have found myself delivering the kind of messages I wish someone else would do. I want to deliver happiness, fat checks, and great looking food. But there are times we all need to  “suck it up,” and give people news that will disappoint, hurt and even devastate. So how do you do that well? I’m not sure I’m doing it well, but as I thought about the circumstances I’ve been lately, I tried to put myself in the other person’s shoes. If someone is going to give me bad news, how would I like for it be done? Here are some thoughts: Be kind. Difficult conversations are painful by nature. So there’s no need to make them any more hurtful. Tell me the bad…

The pace of change has picked up. Not only is the world flat, the world adopts technology, new standards at a much faster pace than ever before. Just look at what Google and Facebook have done for business and cultural expectations. Yesterday Facebook introduced a new profile feature and Google introduced an ebook store. Millions of people immediately adapted and adopted the new options. As a matter of fact, we have come to expect this kind of dynamic change. This fast pace has created a lot of opportunity for some and has been the demise of others. To me, this new business model is defined by ambiguity. What does that mean? It means that as a leader I still need to know where I want to take my organization, but I no longer have the luxury of planning my trip all the way to its final destination. Along the way…

The most important work I do as a consultant is to help my clients with strategies in communications, business systems and even creative output. A lot of very cool tools and initiatives come from the work and many of these, my company, The A Group, gets to produce.  Recently during an interview, I was asked: “in your consulting work, what are the red flags your deal is in trouble?” It’s not a hard question to answer, but it’s a painful place to be. Whether you’re a consultant, a freelancer, an employee or a partner, the following red flags could mean your deal is in jeopardy: Communication Blackout. Your emails, phone calls, text messages and even Twitter direct messages are not being answered in a timely matter or not at all. When people “go under” often means there’s trouble ahead. You better figure out what’s causing it before the deal is…

The man to my left leaned in and with intensity in his eyes asked the question: “I’m contemplating a strategic business partnership; I want to lead my business into outliving me.” Across the table from us sat a veteran CEO with years of experience in multi-billion dollar business. The answer surprised me, but, again, it should not have. The delivery was deliberate and the words were kind but firm: “Check your heart. What kind of person do you want to entrust your clients to?” For some, this is the kind of answer you expect when one searches for a mate at a dating site. I cannot get passed that statement because it resonated with me in everything I’ve learned about business. Yes, business. A flood of thoughts with tangled emotions attached to them are still swirling around my mind as I think about the times I “checked my heart” and…

Most of the day had dragged on, slower than my fast-paced norm. But suddenly I looked up and two hours had passed without my knowledge. Instead of tired and restless, I felt energized by the task at hand. I had just spent time doing something artistic. I had offered to take head shots of a friend and had lost myself in getting it ready. While I can’t quantify it, the pursuit of art for its own sake transcends my mind from tasks and deadlines into the realm of infinite possibilities. I’m convinced that an artistic endeavor will make you a better professional, no matter your field. I remember dreaming up what became The A Group during a week-long beach vacation. I had purchased 5 business books and was ready to start on my first one when a stranger walked up to me and said, “you’re not going to read this…

“I’m thinking about starting a business but I’m not sure how to go about it.” I hear this phrase quite often these days. People who find themselves out of a job and contemplating starting a new business, or  those who are trying to pursue their dreams, often find themselves at the brink of a new venture not knowing what to do next. In my experience most new businesses fail not because of lack of talent, work ethic or drive. I have seen a lot of hard-working, talented people fail because they don’t understand the “business” part of their craft. Figuring out how to deliver a great product is only part of your business dilemma. You need to understand concepts like scalability,  sustainability, and cash-flow management. While those things might not be the “sexy” part of you do, they are vital to its survival. Here are 5 books every business owner,…

“You know we can’t be the Purple Cow forever, ” said the voice on the phone. That was 4 days ago, and I can’t get the conversation out of my mind. In case you haven’t read it, “Purple Cow” is a book by celebrity marketer Seth Godin that says: “You’re either a purple Cow or you’re not. You’re either remarkable or invisible.” I like to think of myself as a purple cow. Well, if I don’t pick up my running mileage I’ll be a different kind of cow, but none one us wants to believe that we’re no longer remarkable or that we now work for a boring, invisible or irrelevant organization. Mr. Godin and others have written a lot about becoming a purple cow, but once we get our colorful cow status, how do we stay there? Very few have been able to sustain purple cow status for a…