Roots or ruin

I walked through a small hill town in Umbria recently. Narrow stone streets, a church that has stood since the 12th century, a butcher whose family has occupied the same shop for four generations. Nobody needed to explain the culture. It was present in every detail....

The map you keep ignoring

Every leader has guiding principles. Most just can’t name them. That is the problem. Warren Buffett built Berkshire Hathaway on a single unwavering principle: invest in businesses with durable competitive advantages, then do nothing. Not clever tactics. Not...

Deep enough to disappear

We celebrate the specialist. We admire the expert who has gone so deep into their craft that nobody else can touch them. And then we watch them vanish. Not because they were wrong to go deep. Going deep is almost always the right move. Research by Bain & Company...

Expensive paperweights

I’ve seen the glossy-bound strategic plans. Some cost nearly a million dollars to produce. Beautiful documents. Thorough research. Careful analysis. Endless acknowledgments of those who labored over every page. Perfect paperweights. They sit on shelves. Unopened...

Great leaders are challenged

Most leaders think they want agreement. They mistake harmony for health and consensus for competence. However, research from Harvard Business School reveals a different perspective. Teams with constructive conflict make better decisions 87% of the time compared to...