ARTICLES BY DR. ANDY NEILLIE, CSP
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Four Leadership Reflections from a Snow Day in Austin
It snowed in Austin on Sunday. Real snow. For hours. If you are from the Midwest or Mountain States, what we had may not qualify as “real snow” in your opinion. But for us, the flurries swirled for 6+ hours and the local weather reporting station declared an inch-and-a-half of total snowfall between 9a and 3p. Several Austin suburbs recorded 5 inches or more.
Such fun! We’ve lived in Austin for more than 20 years. We can’t remember another snowstorm like this since we showed up in 1999.…
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It’s the Little Things That Matter Most – Two Best Practices for Leaders
Unlike any year since 1995, in the past nine months I haven’t been on a single airplane. But I have been in our kitchen. In fact, during this time I’ve gone from being our grocery-store errand-runner and prep chopper to full-blown chef (*with a pretty large disclaimer).
Indeed, one night last week I made “Creamy Pasta and Kale.” In addition to the pasta and kale, my recipe included garlic, rosemary, verjus blanc (BTW: if you have no clue what “verjus blanc” is,
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Mickey is Better, But Not Where We Wish He Was
Mickey is better, but not where we wish he was. And he probably never will be.
We rescued Mickey four years ago. He is rescue #9 for us over the last 30+ years. Like many rescued pets, Mickey’s story has some sadness to it. He was not given the vaccinations he needed as a puppy and developed distemper. While he survived, his neurological system didn’t develop correctly.
The vast majority of the time Mickey is just fine.
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Help! I’m running out of soap!
It has been more than six months since I got off an airplane. Normally by this time of year I would have well over 100,000 air miles as I criss-cross the US for client engagements.
And now I’m fast approaching a crisis situation: after stockpiling hotel soap for the past 20+ years – and avoiding the grocery store soap aisle since the 1990s – I’m down to just a few,
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Your Managers Are Costing You a Lot of Money
Your managers are costing you a lot of money. $360 billion dollars this year alone.
It doesn’t show up directly as a line item on any P&L. But your bad managers are costing you. A lot.
According to several recent studies by Pepperdine University, Inc. Magazine and other organizations, 50% of your people who work under a bad boss plan to look for a new job in the near future.
Three out of four employees say their boss is the worst part of their job.
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How Are Your Tomatoes Doing?
One of the bright spots for my wife and me in late March occurred when we realized: we could finally try our hands at a raised garden. After flying almost weekly for years, we now stared into months with no travel on the calendar.
A trip to Austin-iconic Shoal Creek Nursery and we were in business: four large-looking plastic raised gardens, instructions included, along with tomato, bell pepper and cucumber seedlings as well as two packages of green bean seeds.
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We can be right, and still not be right. . .
Fellow Leader,
We can be right, while still not being right. Particularly during a season where everyone’s fuses may be short, as leaders we can be “right” while still not being right.
This Present Reality
Patience is frayed for all of us. It’s July (in Texas, we say that, “Juu-Liii”) and temperatures are soaring near triple-digits almost daily in the Austin area. Our swim schools have enacted social distancing measures and a rigorous sanitizing process so we can continue to serve those of our families who are venturing out during uncertain times.
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3 Best Practices for Leaders in Uncertain Times
The challenges keep coming. We’ve restarted our businesses in central Texas, but at a much-reduced capacity. And based on the news you and I are reading, many, many businesses and industries continue to operate at run rates far below optimal. Perhaps just as challenging is that none of us know what a “New Normal” may look like and when it will arrive.
How do you and I lead when we are dealing with day-to-day challenges and months of on-going uncertainty in front of us?
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Four “Fast-Follower” Best Practices Learned on Lake Austin
Texas started opening back up last week.
Our business hasn’t – on purpose.
Four “Fast-Follower” Best Practices learned on Lake Austin.
Here in Texas, our Governor started re-opening the state last week. He gave direction to various business enterprises on recommended occupancy rates and social distancing requirements as we emerge into an economy that needs to recover from Covid-19.
I’ve given the managers of our local businesses very clear direction. Don’t be the first businesses to re-open.
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