Mark Miller's Blog, page 10

Do the Right Things vs. the Nice Things

If you’re a regular visitor to this site, you can easily discern a pattern over last few posts. I’m thinking about next year. It happens every year during the fourth quarter – I want to figure out how to have more impact in the upcoming year. I believe every leader should struggle with the same issue.

My assistant shares my passion for continuous improvement. Recently, Teneya shared an idea that challenged me in a profound way – she has a habit of doing that.

While talking about how both of us...

10 New Year’s Resolutions for the Servant Leader

As this year winds down, I’m preoccupied with the question of how I can be more effective next year. My historical method, and the process I’ve started for 2014, has been to create a plan – complete with goals, strategies and tactics. However, someone challenged me recently with the idea of establishing resolutions. She said, “If you were going to create resolutions for the New Year to be a better servant leader, what would you include?”

Here’s my current thinking on the top ten New Year’s res...

Are You a Thankful Leader?

I’ve been thinking about my heart a lot lately. In part, due to the launch of my latest book, The Heart of Leadership. Also, because, as I shared in Monday’s post, I want to continue to grow in the year ahead. But I think it was the approaching holiday season that prompted me to reflect on another facet of my heart - gratitude.

Over the next few weeks, I hope you’ll get a break in your routine. During your break, let me encourage you to find a few minutes to be alone. Turn off your phone, turn...

Create a Better New Year

Have you begun you planning for 2014? If you lead an organization, I’m guessing you started months ago. How about your personal plan for a better 2014 – have you begun creating that yet? If you haven’t, now is a great time to start!

I’ve been a fan of individual development plans for many years. I feel the process has helped me grow in all areas of my life. I’ve written before about some of the tips and techniques that have served me over the years if you’re interested. Here are links to a few...

Today’s Challenge: 7 Questions

If you’ve read my blog for awhile, you’ve probably noticed that every Friday I respond to a question from a leader somewhere in the world. The series is called Today’s Challenge. This week, I want to do something a little different. Instead of providing answers, I would like to ask you a few questions.

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I’ve been fascinated by the power of questions for many years. So much so, I’ve spent decades trying to cultivate the skill of asking the right question at t...

One Word… Vision (Part 3)

After more than 300 posts, this is the first one that I felt compelled to turn into three! When I started writing this, it was only going to be one – The importance of vision. Then, it turned into two – How to create a compelling vision. And now, what I believe to be the final installment – Why do so many leaders fail to turn vision into reality?

Turning vision into reality is the essence of what leaders do. Why then, do so many leader fail at this core responsibility? I’ve listed below my Top...

How Do You Make A Bad Decision Better?

Last week, I confessed the obvious – I don’t always make the right decision. I also shared some ideas for how we could try to help our boss avoid a bad decision.Certainly, we can’t always prevent a bad decision. This post is about how we can attempt to make a bad decision better.

After the decision is made and hopefully before the consequences are felt, I change my strategy completely. Rather than influence the decision, I attempt to SHAPE the decision. At this point you’re not trying to chang...

One Word… Vision (Part 2)

Last week, I began a post on Vision. I shared my working definition and my case for why it matters. Realizing you probably already know it matters, I wanted to follow up with a few ideas on how to create one.

So, let’s assume you get it – conceptually, but you don’t have a compelling vision for your team or organization. As you begin to craft your picture of the future, how do you know if you’re on track? Here are a few characteristics of a vision that works.

It must create passion in you. Does...

How Do You Keep Your Boss From Making a Bad Decision?

Sometimes, I make bad decisions. I hate it, but I still do it. Not intentionally, of course. But for any number of reasons, my batting average is far less than perfect. Now, I feel better having stated the obvious; however, this post is about a slightly different view of this issue – how do you keep your boss from making a bad decision?

One of the techniques some Native Americans used to hunt buffalo was to identify the head buffalo, the alpha male (a.k.a. the leader) and run him off a cliff –...

Today’s Challenge: People Don’t Care

Each Friday, I respond to a question from a leader. Today’s question addresses a real challenge in today’s world – engagement, or lack thereof. Specifically, how do you create a workplace where people care deeply about their work?

The statistics are staggering. According to Gallup, the level of disengagement in the American workforce is approaching 70%!

You can do your own math. Imagine the lost revenue and untapped potential in an organization, and a nation, in which the majority of workers do...