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The Power of Routine
When I arrive in a hotel room on a business trip, I set a five-minute timer. The timer indicates how long I have to unpack my bag, change my clothes (if needed), and get out the door. I created this routine years ago to avoid the trap of turning on the TV and getting sucked into flipping…
Read MoreLessons From Launching a Book
Today’s newsletter is going to be a little different. For the past few days, I have been traveling from event to event, promoting my new book, The Five-Week Leadership Challenge. From the first day I proposed the book to Harper Collins, to writing my first draft, to now, I have learned a lot. I’d like…
Read MoreEmbrace the White Space
In my role at Vanderbilt University, I often talk to students about their career aspirations. Most of those discussions involve a brief exchange about my experience and the decisions I’ve made throughout my career. I typically share two things about my work life. The first focuses on the information that is on my resume –…
Read MoreAmazon Tops Advertising List as the Strategic Wolf is on the Prowl
Ad Age’s Datacenter reports that Amazon spent $11 billion on advertising in 2019 That makes it the world’s largest advertiser topping Billion-Dollar Brand Builder Proctor & Gamble that is a perennial placeholder at the top of the chart. Amazon has been a regular topic of discussion in my marketing and strategy classes at Vanderbilt University. It wasn’t…
Read MoreFind Your Path
The vast majority of my career has been spent being developed to lead others, leading others, or developing others to lead. Throughout much of that time, we would be led down a fairly prescriptive path. To be a leader, you’d have to have this experience, go to this course, take this job, etc. There was…
Read More4 Reasons That You Should Start a Business Today
Every semester, I invite entrepreneurs into my classroom at Vanderbilt University to share their stories with my students, partner with student teams to address business challenges, and receive recommendations about how to improve their businesses, drive growth, and better position themselves in the marketplace. Using these experiences as a backdrop, coupled with my own business…
Read MoreAre You Promoting the Right People?
Imagine for a moment that you just got promoted. Your first order of business? Help choose your replacement. To you, there’s really no need to interview anyone. You already know that you’ll be choosing your hotshot lead analyst who has been performing at a high level for some time. Fast forward 6 months, and things…
Read MoreJetBlue Airways Chairman Told Me Two Ways to Help Your Career to Takeoff
I recently interviewed Joel Peterson for my Leadership Lab podcast. Joel has a long history of successful growth capital investments in a variety of industries. He currently teaches at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, serves as Chairman of the Board of Overseers at the Hoover Institution at Stanford, and is engaged on numerous Boards.…
Read More3 Lessons that Skullcandy’s CEO Taught Me about Starting Your Career Strong
As the leader of a global brand, “at the intersection of sport, music, youth culture, art, film and fashion,” Skullcandy competes against big players like Apple, Bose, Sony, and many more. The audio marketplace is tough and it is heavily dependent on trends and emerging technologies. These can change overnight. This level of competition teaches…
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