what are you looking at? Ever heard the quote, “We are born with our eyes shut and our mouth open – a flaw of nature that most of us never overcome”? I don’t know about you, but I find it all too relatable in my own life. Why is it so hard to see something…

If you own or run a business or have any type of leadership role, you’ve probably learned a thing or two about scrambling to save yourself from unexpected, potentially painful situations. And if you’re going to play the game, you better be light on your feet, keenly aware of your surroundings, and ready to move because someone on the other side will always be looking to fire a kill shot – or throw a wrench.

Do you tend to overthink and detail things to death? Do you have to research every feasible outcome, feel completely ready before making a final decision, and then second-guess yourself anyway? (I’ll raise my hand a little bit on this one.)

As leaders, we have to will ourselves not to throw up our hands and slip into complacency when we’re feeling overwhelmed. How our companies emerge from all of this madness will depend on how we lead through it, and your teams are looking to you for calmness, reason, stability, and hope. So how do you provide all of that in the midst of extreme pressure?

Real problems like poverty and famine, or perceived problems like a too-short phone charger cord, drive business. And innovation happens because problems (real or perceived) will always exist.

COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on our health, our economy, and our way of life. But if there is anything good to be found in this worldwide pandemic, it’s this: for the first time in our lifetimes, we are genuinely all – the entire world -in this together.

Differentiation is the future of my business, and yours. We describe companies that are not moving forward as stagnant, but I’m not so sure that’s a thing. You’re always moving toward something. Either you’re hammering your way toward innovation, or you’re pounding nails into the coffin of your business.

I believe that a) work-life balance is a myth – we are all “cheating” something to make something else work, and b) our businesses and professional lives will only rise, and (sustainably) thrive, to the level of our relationships.

Confidence is tricky because so often, it blurs the line with arrogance. Strong belief in yourself, your mission, your product, etc., when misunderstood, is almost always perceived as arrogance.

Let’s face it – we’re always selling something. Ourselves. Our ideas. Our products. Something. So what are the factors that determine if people are buying?