1: It’s Saturday night. We are at a chamber music recital, listening intently as the musicians play one of Mozart’s string quartets. When they finish, we join other audience members clapping with genteel applause.
The following day, we attend an NFL football game. On a last-second play, the quarterback finds an open receiver who scores a touchdown, and our team wins the game. We leap to our feet, screaming and … continue reading
“Culture is coded wisdom.”-Wangari Maathai
1: Seen the movie City Slickers?
At the heart of this classic 1990s comedy is the relationship between Mitch, a Manhattan yuppie played by Billy Crystal, and Curly, a tough, wizened cowboy played by Jack Palance.
Curly tells Mitch, “It all comes down to one thing. You focus on that, and everything else don’t mean s#&t.”
Mitch is confused. He asks Curly … continue reading
1: The bad news?
“Once a CEO sets a direction for the company’s future, the probability that the plan will become reality is low,” Carolyn Dewar, Scott Keller, and Vikram Malhotra write in CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest.
“Many studies, including our own research,” the authors note, “conclude that only one in three strategies is successfully implemented.”
2: What’s … continue reading
1: Getting better at getting better is what RiseWithDrew is all about.
Monday through Thursday, we explore ideas from authors, thought leaders, and exemplary organizations. On Friday, I share something about myself or what we are working on at PCI.
One of my goals for the year is to experiment with different approaches and tools to strengthen my relationships with the people I love and care about.
We will revisit … continue reading
1: “Just as every object can be measured in length, width, and depth, every organization can be measured in terms of It, We, and I,” Fred Kofman writes in The Meaning Revolution: The Power of Transcendent Leadership.
We begin by imagining a company as a three-dimensional space. We call the three dimensions “It,” “We,” and “I,”
The “It” dimension refers to the tasks, systems, and processes that make up … continue reading
1: Life can change in a minute.
It was February 18, 2004. Mark Bertolini, a senior executive at Aetna, the giant health insurance company, was skiing with his family in Killington, Vermont.
Mark lost control of his skis, crashed into a tree, and then fell into a ravine, breaking his neck.
While Mark healed rapidly from the fall, he was in constant pain.
“His doctors prescribed traditional painkillers that … continue reading
1: The trouble began when Bill was given a new assignment.
He traveled extensively around the world as part of his job. He would be in charge of a project in the Far East.
“The CEO had begun paying special attention to me, calling me directly, often bypassing my boss.” Bill recalls in Fred Kofman’s book The Meaning Revolution: The Power of Transcendent Leadership.
“Before this project,” Bill explained … continue reading
1: Getting better at getting better is what RiseWithDrew is all about.
Monday through Thursday, we explore ideas from authors, thought leaders, and exemplary organizations. On Friday, I share something about myself or what we are working on at PCI.
Imagine a sheet of paper.
At the top of the page is the word “Ideal.” At the bottom is the word “Start.”
The word “Achieved” is in the middle … continue reading
1: Getting better at getting better is what RiseWithDrew is all about.
Monday through Thursday, we explore ideas from authors, thought leaders, and exemplary organizations. On Friday, I share something about myself or what we are working on at PCI.
Let’s say our goal is 30.
We start at 1. Now, we are at 22.
If we measure ourselves against our goal of 30, we are eight short.
However, … continue reading
1: The team of researchers from Stanford, Yale, and Columbia discovered something surprising.
They ran an experiment with middle school students who were instructed to write an essay. Afterward, teachers provided different types of feedback to improve their work, Daniel Coyle writes in The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups.
There was “one particular form of feedback boosted student effort and performance so immensely that they deemed … continue reading
