The leaders who fail have a severe case of control-itis.

They do too much when just a few things deserve all their attention. I’m a doer. I love to put my head down and execute a goal or project.

But that’s not always my responsibility.

The responsibility of your team is to execute the strategic mission of the company.

If you’re stuck in the day-to-day, you begin to lose sight of what’s most important.

Sometimes, that okay. It takes a little sweet to hit an objective; your brain to think through crippling problems. But the more you do, instead of lead, you begin to lose connection with the companies objective.

You work in the…

Globalization is over predicts Chamath Palihapitiya.

In a global world, “supply chain shocks are usually impossible to predict but happen with frustrating regularity,” writes McKinsey. Recently it’s been the pandemic, the massive Ever Given cargo container ship stuck in the Suez Canal, and the head-spinning changes in global customs and foreign regulations. According to McKinsey research, companies experience at least one month of disruption every 3.7 years, eliminating 45% of one year’s EBITDA over a decade.

Chamath believes instead of just in time, that companies need to focus on resiliency.

The risks to global supply chains are massive.

Countries will sanction, borders can close, and the world is…

Without sales, your business will fail.

Opportunity creation is essential to any B2B team providing a high-value product or service. A reactive sales team who waits for magic to strike aren’t true sales professionals. They have to create magic.

They create magic when a sales manager coaches them effectively.

1/ Targets and territories

Sales managers must first coach targets and territories.

Your teams must know who they’re pursuing and why. Chasing anyone with a pulse is ineffective. In my company, we coach our Account Executives to pursue targets in various countries who fly a specific aircraft — usually small to medium-sized operations.

We focus…

I’ve made some stupid hiring decisions.

It wasn’t always apparent that recruiting isn’t a sprint. My biggest mistakes were made when I didn’t think through a job responsibility. I didn’t clearly articulate what persona best fits a particular role.

Over time I’ve found these three candidate traits are essential for any role.

1. Communication

We live in a world that struggles to communicate.

Communication skills are what employers claim they look for in candidates. Yet, I still don’t see it improving. Dickie Bush tweeted employers should make this book mandatory reading before giving email permission — not a bad idea.

Make it…

I was fat.

I had to be bigger, fatter, and stronger to play football. I gorged myself with a bag of Doritos every night, becoming a plump but strong 250lbs. I was good.

But my body hated me.

I became tired of all the aches and pains.

My knees constantly throbbed.

They hurt getting in a car, sitting through a movie, and going up stairs. A Doctor said I lost all the cartilage in my knees, and the pain was forever — stupid Doctor.

I didn’t want to be in pain anymore, so I had to find my why.

Find your why.

Why should I be healthy?

As a teenager, it was…

When you focus on everything, you focus on nothing.

The world is made to distract you. Your brain loves chaos. It loves to label every minimal task as essential and watch you wiggle to get it all done.

Most of the things you have to do are better left undone.

How do you know where to spend your time?

Focus on what creates the most significant results.

Most of the things you do in your life have minimal impact. It’s no fault of your own; it’s how the world works. The world loves to watch you squirm.

It’s why the 80/20 rule, or Pareto principle, is so important

20…

People make assumptions about everything.

Assumptions alone aren’t evil. It’s when we make assumptions about what others are thinking or doing and believe the assumptions to be true. Our habit is to then blame the other person and react with verbal and emotional poison.

Whenever you assume you’re looking for trouble.

Your assumptions cause unnecessary pain.

In the book The Four Agreements, Don Miguel Ruiz says, “all the sadness and drama you have lived in your life was rooted in making assumptions and taking things personally.”

The poison of assumptions spread fast. People begin to gossip about their assumptions without ever knowing what the absolute…

Without great people, your business will flounder in a sea of mediocrity.

Being a great leader, it’s your responsibility to lead with and through other people. People, no matter how much you love technology, is the ultimate differentiator. Prioritize getting the best people on your team and keeping them.

Think about how you can implement one of these five simple hiring tips into your strategy.

Create clear expectations for your roles.

It sounds easy, but you must think hard about who the ideal candidate is and what they’ll do.

It’s not a job description; it’s a set of five to seven non-negotiable expectations that someone must…