Early Lessons in Leadership When Empathy Trumps Authority Early lessons in leadership — #1. I’d love to tell you a story about myself as the child prodigy who led a fund drive to acquire new life-saving equipment — that I helped invent — to support the local children’s hospital. But for me, the path to leadership has been less Hollywood and more humbling. […] Written by BPH October 8, 2020October 23, 2020 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Early Lessons in Leadership Beware of Self-Fulfilling Prophecies Early lessons in leadership – #8 If you’ve ever watched toddlers playing in a room full of toys, you may have noticed them trying to pick up a new bauble without putting down the toy they’re already holding. They are curious about the new object, but reluctant to let another child grab what they’ve got. […] Written by BPH January 25, 2019October 23, 2020 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Early Lessons in Leadership You’ve Got Mail (You Don’t Know it) Early lessons in leadership – #7. Early in my career, circa 1990, my work in the nascent tech-media industry forced me to raise my game in computer literacy. It was a humbling experience — but a great learning opportunity. I was hired by Seybold Seminars, and when asked about my computer experience, I felt pretty […] Written by BPH January 11, 2019October 23, 2020 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Early Lessons in Leadership The Power of Being Alone with Yourself Early lessons in leadership – #6 One of the most valuable lessons I learned as a young executive was forced on me by circumstances beyond my control. Left to my own devices, I might never have learned that using quiet time to find clarity requires intent. I’m an extrovert by nature — I always have […] Written by BPH December 14, 2018October 23, 2020 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Early Lessons in Leadership Finding a Cultural Fit Early lessons in leadership – #5. Freeman is noted for its strong culture — 90 years in the making, and a source of pride for all of us. But in recent years, as we’ve acquired new companies and brought in new leaders, I’m reminded that it can take a while to feel like you fit […] Written by BPH November 16, 2018October 23, 2020 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Early Lessons in Leadership When Passion Isn’t Enough Early lessons in leadership – #4 One of the best dividends of my hospitality experience in the Midwest was that it brought me to San Francisco, where I was lucky enough to get in on the leading edge of the high-tech boom. That led to a job for a tech-media start-up in Japan, and several […] Written by BPH October 19, 2018October 23, 2020 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Resiliency and Resolve Gearing up for the next marathon. I am by nature an optimistic person, but I have to admit that 2020 pushed me about as hard as I’ve been pushed in recent memory. That’s probably why I greeted the dawn of 2021 with an almost superstitious sense of optimism — as if a single night’s sleep […] Written by BPH January 15, 2021January 15, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Unplanned Obsolescence Relevance is the outcome of choices and actions. I like to imagine that years from now I will be socializing with colleagues and, like old soldiers, we will recount stories from the darkest days of our careers way back in 2020. It’s taken a toll on everyone, in more ways than we can begin to […] Written by BPH December 18, 2020December 18, 2020 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Baby Steps Our preferences aren’t as logical as we think. Marketers have long obsessed with building brand loyalty, but the foundation of that loyalty may not be as logical as we’d like to believe. A recent Fast Company article reported that the researchers at Johns Hopkins who studied a group of babies found that when they randomly […] Written by BPH November 13, 2020November 16, 2020 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
When Empathy Trumps Authority Early lessons in leadership — #1. I’d love to tell you a story about myself as the child prodigy who led a fund drive to acquire new life-saving equipment — that I helped invent — to support the local children’s hospital. But for me, the path to leadership has been less Hollywood and more humbling. […] Written by BPH October 8, 2020October 23, 2020 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
