In September, 2001, the company I co-founded, Submedia, was installing its first display in Atlanta for our first big launch. We anticipated a lot of press. Giving away part of how the story ends, we did get a lot of media attention. The night before launch was crazy — we had a few hours to finish installing the display, we had to prepare for the Fire Marshall’s inspection the morning[…] Keep reading →

This post is about integrity. I like watching football. Watching a game or two on a Sunday is one of the main reasons I haven’t gotten rid of my tv. Watching the Super Bowl in another country inevitably leads to people raised outside the U.S. talking about the superiority of soccer. They talk about how football has so many breaks in the action and something about grace or strategy. I[…] Keep reading →

Following yesterday’s post asking you about your model for leadership, you might wonder mine. I looked at my paper from the business school leadership class, but my model has evolved so much from then — the beginning of my even asking the questions — I don’t see value in posting it. Elements of my leadership model Since then I’ve developed my Model of the human emotional system, which I’ve found[…] Keep reading →

To ask what your model for leadership is is not just an idle question. It was the sole question for the final essay in one of my leadership classes at Columbia Business School — one of the best classes I’d ever taken, including all undergrad and graduate school classes. Models influence your behavior strongly. Since people tend to do what they think is best (though not always what you think[…] Keep reading →

A scene from the inspirational docudrama Apollo 13 based on the true rescue of a disaster in space illustrates a great example of how different models and beliefs can motivate different motivations and behavior. The scene is the control room after a lunar mission suffered an explosion and three astronauts’ lives were in peril as their ship hurdled through space with little chance at recovery. The characters are a fictional[…] Keep reading →

I just heard that this weekend’s leadership development seminar in Shanghai sold out the last seat. If you wanted to attend but can’t now, there is a good chance I’ll do another in March. Please email me if you would like to be contacted about it. Thanks to everyone with the Columbia community here for making this happen and all the work behind the scenes. I look forward to seeing[…] Keep reading →

Do you ever find yourself trying to get someone to let go of something, to relax, or something similar, but they don’t? You know if they just didn’t worry so much or stopped caring about something so much, they’d have an easier time with the project, relationship, life, or whatever, but they just don’t let go? You may be motivated by compassion, but I suspect a lack of empathy may[…] Keep reading →

[This post is part of a series on internal objections and blocks and how to overcome them. If you don’t see a Table of Contents to the left, click here to view the series, where you’ll get more value than reading just this post.] Objection I don’t think you can significantly change your life, at least not at the beginning, without thinking something like I’ve been working on this for[…] Keep reading →

Hearing Dr. King talk about injustice anywhere being a threat to justice anywhere, I couldn’t help but notice how he polarized people too. The content is different, but the structure sounds like the “You’re either with us or against us” I heard from a U.S. President ten years ago. It tells people they aren’t safe, no matter where they are. If you read this page regularly, you know I don’t[…] Keep reading →