ARTICLES BY DR. ANDY NEILLIE, CSP
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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.…
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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Leaders are Resilient
Without noticing it, Redford got old. The handsome “Cover Boy” of my best-selling book, “The Golden Principles” went from cover-boy looks and alpha-male behavior to white-faced and slow. We rescued him when he was just over a year old. We lost him to old age at 14. For a Golden, that’s old. And while he was in good health almost to the end, he moved slowly in his final days. But even in his advancing age,
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It’s Not Just About the Bunny Ears
Today is Easter Sunday and the middle of Passover week. For Jews and Christians, some of the most important days of the year: days that have always represented the hope of deliverance.
In our Austin neighborhood – perhaps like yours – it’s also been a day for a “social distancing” kind of Easter egg hunt. Many of our neighbors have placed pictures of Easter eggs in their front windows. Families,
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Why Leaders Should Encourage Thinking Outside The Box
My wife and I own four Aqua-Tots swim schools in central Texas. While I travel every week on behalf of Neillie Leadership Group clients, I have a rock-star team of leaders managing these four schools and the more than 100 aquatic coaches and team members who serve our families. Last year, we did more than 120,000 swim lessons at these four year-round, child-friendly indoor swim centers. I love what our swim center teams do!
Recently,
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3 Keys to Leading in Times of Disruption
My wife and I live urban. Several years ago, we were privileged to downsize and move into one of the oldest close-in neighborhoods in Austin. We live in a tiny stone cottage – one of the few stone houses remaining – three miles directly west of Austin’s downtown. We love how accessible Austin’s downtown has become for us with its restaurants, coffee shops and various goings-ons. Which leads me to this picture of our more-than-80-year-old house with a disruptive technology in front of it.
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It Started Under the Porch
Redford was getting on my nerves. Let me explain.
When we adopted Redford, we lived in a home that had a large porch descending into the backyard. The steps were 12 feet wide and provided not just steps down to the yard, but a place to sit when we had poolside get-togethers in our backyard. My wife and I always liked how wide the steps were – they made a graceful transition from our house to our yard.
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“The Poorer The Soil, The Richer The Wine”
Several years ago my wife and I celebrated a wedding anniversary by taking a 10-day trip to France. We started with three days in Paris, then spent a week on a small cruise ship on the Seine River.
During the river cruise, we spent several days in the area of Provencal, which is the beautiful wine country of southern France. One of the side trips we took on this cruise was to a vineyard and wine cellar or “cave” as they call them in France.
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