Moments
With
Marty

It’s important to understand that the object of the exercise, at any level, and in any organization, is to get the best results you can with the resources you’ve been given (money, assets, people, time). And, at each new leadership level that you’re promoted to, the term best results is defined differently. In broad terms, […]

I know that the phrase, it’s a marathon, not a sprint, is a tired old cliche… but it just seemed to be appropriate for this moment.  And I can speak with some authority on the matter, at least, because I ran a few marathons back in the good old days: I’m talking about the days […]

Have you ever questioned your boss about a particular task, and at the end of a brief exchange, he simply says: “Look, just do it, OK?”  I call these leaders “Nike bosses”, for obvious reasons. Although I’m sure no one sets out to become a Nike boss, sometimes it’s simply the product of a leader […]

It can be a little daunting to take on a new role, especially when it’s at a higher level than the roles you’ve previously held.  And it doesn’t matter whether you’ve been promoted internally, or you’ve been appointed from outside the company: you need to set strong expectations right from the get go. It’s really […]

There are many ways to end up in the C-suite. Probably the most common, and the most reliable, is to join a company where you start in a technical role as say, an accountant, lawyer, or analyst etc. and work your way up.  So you just work hard, and wait for your promotions.  In larger […]

They say that the best disinfectant is sunlight, and I’m a huge believer in that principle. If my direct reports in corporate heard it once they heard it a thousand times: transparency is everything.  When there’s any bad behavior behind closed doors, bringing it into the light and dealing with it appropriately is critical to […]

What are the drivers that make senior leaders so prone to believing their own bullshit? There are several psychological factors at play.  The first factor is that we all want people to think that we’re capable and competent. We want to seem as though we have the answers. And we want to appear noble and […]

I talk quite a bit about strong leadership, a term that typifies the style of leadership that I advocate on the NBL podcast. It’s not arrogant, controlling, or aggressive… rather, it’s compassionate and empathetic. But, unlike many new-age leadership philosophies, it requires leaders to do the hard things that stretch themselves, and their people to […]

A great documentary was made several years ago called Back and Forth, which chronicled the formation and rise to stardom of the rock band, the Foo Fighters. Dave Grohl, the band’s founder, and the former drummer of legendary grunge band, Nirvana, had transitioned to front man. He was the Foo Fighters lead singer and guitarist. […]

Do management teams actually become stale? Absolutely. High-performance is fragile. There’s a few reasons why teams sometimes lose their lustre.  The first is personalities. If you’re hiring really good people, you’ll have a bunch of rugged individualists, and there will be disagreements. When people are consumed by a drive for excellence, it can be tricky […]