1: The news about employee engagement is distressing.

“For more than thirty years, the Gallup Organization has run in-depth behavioral economic research on more than twenty-five million employees across hundreds of U.S. organizations,” Fred Kofman writes in The Meaning Revolution: The Power of Transcendent Leadership.

First, the good news.  The Gallup data shows that workgroups in the top quartile of engagement achieve strong financial results.

“Their profitability and productivity … 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.

This week, we’ve been exploring ideas in Fred Kofman‘s book The Meaning Revolution.  Fred believes that to be a truly successful leader, “We need to make our lives … continue reading

1: We are finishing up another school year.

As parent-managers, we want our children to do their schoolwork before they play.  So, we try to motivate them. 

“I incentivize them by threatening to take away their iPhones if I see them using them before their work is done,” Fred Kofman writes in The Meaning Revolution: The Power of Transcendent Leadership.

“I add a carrot to the stick, promising that … continue reading

1: “People with targets and jobs dependent upon meeting them will probably meet the targets, even if they have to destroy the enterprise to do it,” observed W. Edwards Deming, the eminent scholar and management theorist. 

Our “real job” is to help our company win, Fred Kofman writes in The Meaning Revolution.  “That is, to accomplish its mission profitably and ethically.”

But that’s not what we … continue reading

1: In 2014, Veronica Block called Comcast.   She wanted to cancel her internet service. 

“She was immediately transferred to a ‘customer retention’ representative who argued with her for ten minutes about why she wanted to cut off the service,” Fred Kofman writes in The Meaning Revolution: The Power of Transcendent Leadership.

“Every time Veronica asked the representative to simply terminate the service, the rep argued with her,” Fred notes.  … continue reading

1: It was a brutally hot day in Las Vegas.

The conference room where the meeting was being held was freezing, however.

“The participants of my ‘Conscious Business’ workshop pulled their jackets tight and grimaced. They weren’t just cold; they were pissed off,” Fred Kofman writes in The Meaning Revolution: The Power of Transcendent Leadership.

“They looked at me icily,” Fred remembers.  “I’ve been in situations like this many … continue reading

1: “Very few people start out their careers thinking, I don’t give a damn about people, so I think I’ll be a great boss,” Kim Scott writes in Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity.

To create a radically candid environment, Kim believes we must do two things: Care personally and challenge directly.

And yet, many bosses fall short in caring personally for the people on … continue reading

100 years.

2021 marks the 100th anniversary of my grandfather founding our predecessor firm. 

What can we do to build and sustain an organization for the long haul?

Focus on workplace culture, Fred Kofman writes in his brilliant book Conscious Business.

It begins with leadership. Fred tells us the strongest determinant of an effective, healthy culture is conscious leadership. The most efficient way for an organization to improve is … continue reading

I currently have the privilege of participating in the Stagen Leadership Academy’s Advanced Leadership Program.  The name of the program is “The Dragon’s Gap” which refers to Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey.  Each of us in the program is encouraged to embark on our own hero’s journey.  The first step is “the call to adventure.”

In the Stagen program, we are assigned a coach who we meet with once … continue reading

In his book Conscious Business, Fred Kofman explains there are two requirements to answer the question above:

1: Demonstrate the necessary cognitive and technical competence.  To clarify, earning trust is not about leaders showing we can do the jobs of those on our teams.  Rather, we must show we can do our job – i.e. managerial functions such as selecting the right people, assigning tasks appropriately, and providing the … continue reading