By Julie Benezet: You dreaded this moment, and yet it has arrived. The leader to whom you report has launched another initiative to pursue a new client that has everyone charging down the wrong road. How do you know? You have been down that road before and what you found at the end of it […]
Dear Friends, After two years in the making (not counting four years of thinking), I can answer the question, “WHERE is the book?” with, “The Journey of Not Knowing: How 21st Century Leaders Can Chart a Course Where There Is None is currently available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble & eBooks everywhere.” I now understand what authors mean when they describe writing and […]
By Julie Benezet: The Dilemma The executive arrived on time for his coaching session, a sixteen-ounce cup of coffee in hand. He motored over to the window, stared down the street, then turned and lowered himself into the guest chair. So far, everything was typical of our sessions, including his opening remark. “Um, wow, where […]
By Julie Benezet: As I watch mesmerized at the fallout from the Brexit results I can’t help thinking about the power of anger and how it insulates people from its impact. In today’s landscape, there seems to be no shortage of anger and its omnipresence is deadening forward movement by leaders and their constituents. The […]
By Julie Benezet: You have decided that collaboration is an important company value and critical to its culture. However, what does that mean in practice to a leader? Consider the following scene: Leader: Okay, how are we doing on the Xerxes project? Engineer, how is the programming going? Engineer: It’s going, but it would go a whole […]
By Julie Benezet: “I know I have to work for him,” complains a young executive. “He runs our company but he seems so judgmental. Whenever we talk he just looks at me levelly as if waiting for me just to go away. That’s a problem when I need him to approve the restructuring of our […]
By Julie Benezet: Success for a leader requires embracing the unknown. Only by seeking out new ideas can leaders reach new strategic directions for their organizations. That is, after all, the job description of a leader. By their very nature, new ideas are untested. You will not know how they will turn out until you […]
By Julie Benezet: Before your high potential talent invests elsewhere. You may be familiar, or even said some of these typical comments we hear from senior executives: “She’s terrific on projects and magical with clients. In the meantime, her staff is hollering that they have no idea on what they are supposed to focus at […]
By Julie Benezet: You have heard them all, and then some: There are no bad ideas. The road to success is paved with failures. To win we have to innovate. Let’s think outside of the box… The list goes on. At the crux of said list lies the idea that to succeed in the 21st Century […]
By Julie Benezet: Humor is an underestimated tool in moving business conversations forward. One of the reasons is that making a witty observation involves risking that the audience might be offended, unimpressed or simply not amused. You do not know how it will go until you put your comment into the airspace. However, it is […]