Flexibility in your beliefs and mental models is a key part of intelligence and leadership. Your beliefs influence how you see the world. Only being able to see things one way confines you to a mental jail and keeps you from solving problems. Think of the 4-minute mile. When everyone believed breaking it was impossible, almost nobody tried. Once the first man did, within months another followed. Now high school[…] Keep reading →

I turn 45 tomorrow and I’ve been saving up writing about two role models for the next few years. Vince Lombardi First is Vince Lombardi, according to ESPN and many others the Greatest Coach in NFL history. According to Wikipedia: He is best known as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers during the 1960s, where he led the team to three straight and five total NFL Championships in[…] Keep reading →

A friend read my book, ReModel, and asked me: Josh, what’s your model about yourself? He clarified: You wrote about how people can be Cathedral-Builders instead of being miserable. What’s your equivalent of being a Cathedral-Builder? “Cathedral-Builder” refers to the parable of The Three Stonecutters: Many years ago, a passerby saw three workers cutting stones in a quarry. Though they were doing similar work, one looked unhappy, another looked content,[…] Keep reading →

I was reading some articles on how diet, exercise, and behavior like not smoking can prevent cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. The story on cancer summarized from one study: Using sophisticated modeling techniques, the researchers argued that less than 30 percent of the lifetime risk of getting many common cancers was because of intrinsic risk factors, or the “bad luck.” The rest were things you can change. and from another[…] Keep reading →

I pointed out to a friend that he interrupted me nearly every time I spoke. He apologized and added, “I will never do it again.” I believe he felt sincere when he said it, but I work in developing people and I’ve heard people say similar things too many times to expect he could do it. More importantly, I know the difference in mental states between saying “I will never[…] Keep reading →

Have you seen the Beijing Sky lately? It looks more clear sometimes, but often like this: That’s not fog, that’s smog. We have a whole planet’s worth of atmosphere, and we manage to make a city’s air look like that. Beijing isn’t alone. Plenty of cities around the world look the same, as you know. I couldn’t help but think of it when I saw Mel Brooks lately and remembered[…] Keep reading →

For Vince Lombardi’s birthday, I wrote in Inc.com, “These two surprisingly touching Vince Lombardi quotes reveal the source of his winning leadership.” The piece begins These two surprisingly touching Vince Lombardi quotes reveal the source of his winning leadership For the great coach’s birthday, how to create winning traditions in your teams. I’m writing this article exhausted and sore because two days ago I started researching for this article. Having[…] Keep reading →

My in-person leadership course, being project-based, has a project. One of my students last semester for his project created a web page—partly to express himself, partly to meet and interview people he wanted to create connections with, partly to share with the world his passion for marketing. Here he is: His name is Joe Yaqian Zhang. His blog is here. He shares his perspective on marketing things and interviews relevant[…] Keep reading →

Campuses are full of students about to graduate in caps and gowns. Did you think what I did the first time you heard the term “commencement” for graduation: Wait. School is ending. It shouldn’t be called “Commencement.” It should be something about ending. Then you realize you’re entering the world outside school, which doesn’t think as much about school as you do. You realize life outside of school is just[…] Keep reading →