What was I thinking? A client hired me to deliver a keynote speech, so I planned the trip, prepared my speech, packed my bag, jumped in my truck and headed toward the airport. I was looking forward to being Physically Present with all the leaders of this great company on the day of their big…

There I was, up on stage speaking. It was a large audience and they were right there in front of me, but I couldn’t have possibly been more separated from that audience. I realized that to them, I was checked out. Not on purpose, but I did it myself. That’s when it hit me. It…

In my home sits an old handcrafted oak and cedar chest. It’s nice and is one of our prized possessions. That cedar chest is special because my grandfather and I made that cedar chest together over 30 years ago. Memories of Grandpa While we were making that cedar chest together, which would become my wedding…

I simply spoke these words, “I will never trade your health and well-being for getting the lights back on or generating electricity.” I don’t know exactly where those words came from. I didn’t plan to say them. They weren’t formed during an executive off-site strategy session and I certainly didn’t write them out for a…

Most leaders say they have an open-door policy. But how many people want to wear out the path from where they work to your office? Don’t just have an open-door policy and expect people to come running to your office to see you. Instead, go and see them where they work. When you get out…

Our world is about numbers. We all know that everything in business is measured in numbers: reliability numbers, financial numbers, productivity numbers, and so on. It’s how we keep score. Numbers help us determine how well the business is doing, how well the operations are working, and yes, how effective the safety program is. As…