Mark Miller's Blog, page 8

Snowpocalypse in Atlanta – A Gift in Disguise?

Last week, Atlanta was paralyzed by snow and ice, mostly ice. To my friends in the northern part of the country, this must have looked ridiculous. After all, I think the maximum snowfall occurred miles north of the city and totaled 3 inches. Yet that’s all it took for me to spend more than 8 hours on my ride home… and I was one of the lucky ones.

What do you do when you’re in your car for 8-plus hours? If you have food, you’d probably eat it. If you have enough gas, you’ll try to keep moving....

Super Bowl XLVIII – Leadership Lessons from a Blowout

Although Super Bowl XLVIII wasn’t much of a game, Seattle’s big win over the Broncos provided enough leadership lessons to give you an MBA. Following are my top five observations from the game and a few questions to stimulate your thinking about personal application…

Every Team Needs a Leader – There is no debate, Peyton Manning is the leader of the Denver Broncos. But, what became increasingly clear Sunday night in Seattle’s victory was the leadership of Pete Carroll. For those who’ve followe...

Today’s Challenge: The Survey Says…

As many of you know, each Friday I answer a question submitted by a reader. Several weeks ago, I asked you to complete a survey to help me improve this site. Today, I’ll answer the question some of you have asked, “What did the survey say?”

I want to start by saying thanks to all of you who participated. Now, here’s a quick summary of what you said…

Most of you are men between the ages of 35 – 64. If you have women and young leaders in your sphere of influence, I’d appreciate it if you’d share...

Productivity is not the Goal

There’s a lot being written these days about being productive. I read several posts this morning containing ideas on how to Hack Productivity. These articles contained many useful ideas. My concern is that most were about form not substance.

Many of the ideas I encountered would certainly increase my output – get up at 4:00 so no one will interrupt; stop having coffee with people because it takes too much time, etc. My concern with this ideas: Doing more is NOT the same as adding more value.

I’...

I Was a Lousy Student

I met my wife in 11th grade; we were in Trigonometry together. I’m glad I was there; however, I shouldn’t have been. It became obvious fairly quickly that I was in over my head. Our first ever conversation occurred while looking at the results of our first test. I made a 16… Donna made a 96! She asked me how I got a 16 – I said, “I think they gave me points for getting my name right.”

Thankfully, she took pity on me that day. This year we celebrated our 31styear of marriage. Obviously, many th...

Today’s Challenge: We’re Stuck! (Part 2)

Last week, I wrote about some of the reasons teams get stuck. Today, the balance of my top ten list. I hope one or more of the items will stimulate a thought or shine light on a blind spot that’s been holding your team back.

So, what if your problem is not: Lack of leadership, wrong players, unclear goals, lack of focus on performance, or poor decision-making practices, what else could be impeding the performance of your team? Here are a few more common maladies to consider.

6. Ineffective meet...

Purpose Matters

From time to time, I have the opportunity to help a team, business or non-profit agency answer the question: Why do we exist? I’m always delighted to help, but the irony is that I never know the answer to the question. All I can do is poke, prod and ask a few questions along the way.

I also find it interesting the number of organizations I’ve encountered over the years who have no purpose – or at least they’ve not stated one. I’ve even met leaders who’ve said, “We don’t need a purpose.” When I...

Today’s Challenge: We’re Stuck!

Have you ever been on a team that was stuck? I have – it’s no fun. However, it can happen, whether you’re playing on a recreation league softball team, serving a non-profit organization, or working on a team at the office. Today’s question is: How do you get your team unstuck?

If your team is stuck, I can’t offer you a quick solution; however, the best place to start is to diagnose the problem. Here are ten most common issues I’ve seen over the years that prevent teams from realizing their pot...

One Word… Momentum

We see it in all around us – an almost inexplicable energy that propels a team to victory, a company to higher levels of performance and individuals to accomplish more than anyone thought possible. What is this force and how can we marshal it for our purposes?

We know momentum when we see it, but what is it? I described it in the opening paragraph as an energy and a force – it is both. It is also a belief in yourself and your team. It is a confidence in your ability to perform and prevail. It...

Ugh… I Made a Bad Decision

How often are you wrong as a leader? Let’s not kid ourselves; we’re not perfect. We make a lot of bad decisions over the course of our career. I’m dealing with a situation now in which I made a bad call – it happens. What do you do when you miss it? Your answer to this question will have a tremendous impact on your long-term success as a leader!

One of the leaders I admire challenged me years ago, not to deliberate too long when making a decision. He said, “Half the time you’ll be wrong regard...