GIOA Blog

Leaders love the parking lot. Leaders who learn to know the details and love the little things will go further than those who rest solely on big dreams. Big dreams are built on little things. Stephen Bruner loved the little things and loved people. These two things drove his results greater than anything else I observed. He loved the parking lot. I think he still does. Every day if I couldn't locate him (and he didn’t bother answering his phone), he was outside picking up the smallest pieces of trash - not only in the parking lot, but in the flower beds, the public sidewalk, and even our neighbor's property. ...

Criticism and correction are two different things. Criticism identifies the problem. Correction provides the solution and the timeline needed to execute the improvement. Criticism is easier than correction. Correction requires rectification. Criticism simply requires identification. For a leader, a few highly self-aware followers or subordinates can make the needed adjustments. However, for the vast majority of those subordinates, a system or plan of correction is required to improve the production, behavior or outcomes. Criticism measures the negative gap. Correction sets a system to measure the positive growth gap needed. This is why many ...

Unless you work closely over a long period of time with a leader, the secret qualities of that leader are not always visible, evident or apparent. Appearance is always evidence of those things that are hidden or secret. I have worked closely and studied leaders for nearly four decades from my first high school football coach to a Texas Hall of Fame football coach to a perennial national powerhouse college program coach to one of the greatest American success stories in Chick-fil-A founder Truett Cathy and the outstanding phalanx of leaders that built the largest chicken chain in the world. I have seen these elements and principles in their lives day ...

Leadership means leaning into the hard things. Hard things are situations, challenges or circumstances that do not have quick or inconsequential solutions that often predicate significant consequence for individuals or organizations. “Now therefore, do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man. You know what you ought to do to him to bring his gray head down to Sheol in blood.” 1 Kings 2:9 The measure a leader’s ability to lead is often revealed in a crisis , under sustained trail or when faced with hard things. Leaders have to lean in during such times to learn what the best course of action is for the organization they ...

Leadership can be lonely … but that is most often a choice. Leaders must not only surround themselves with great people, they must spend time with those people. Too many leaders lead and live in isolation. Isolation is a lonely place. When you lead from a lonely place doubt, self-reliance, suspicion, fear, and pride all grow. Sure, there are often problems that only you as ether leader can solve, but this doesn’t mean you don’t share the burden of your leadership with a small, trusted group of your closest followers. Lonely leaders are rarely life-giving leaders. It’s very difficult for a lonely leader to truly be life-giving ...

As data becomes more valuable, it often feels as if the customer experience is quickly becoming a casualty in the process. Customer service doesn’t have to be an afterthought when businesses prioritize their need for privacy and security. To have sustained success in today’s market, businesses must utilize effective strategies that create a double win for both the customer and the business. Necessary Barriers Impact Customer Experiences Recently, I was on a trip with my family. We ended up at a high end shopping area with many leading name brand designer shops- Like Louis Vitton, Coach, Gucci and Tiffany’s. As we went to check out “the purse they are going ...

L eadership has a dark side. In the heart, mind, and soul of every leader is a struggle. A struggle between who the leader wants to be and between who their followers need them to be. Most contemporary leadership books, articles, and expositions focus on the positive or bright side of leadership. However, because leadership is composed only of leaders and followers, humans, there is a negative and dark side. Leaders must lead themselves effectively in order to lead others productively. Leaders that fail in this regard will fade, falter, and fail in the task of directing others. A position does not make a leader. Power does not make a leader. What makes ...

A job no one can do other than the leader is to find the best talent . The best talent is called top talent . As a leader, when you farm selecting the best talent out to someone else, then you will never get the greatest talent you can find. Leaders most devote targeted, specific, and intentional time to discovery, recruitment, cultivation, and selection of the best talent. If you are not the best talent selector in your organization, then you are not doing all of your job. A leader’s job is not only to cast the vision, set the course, and energize followers, but find the best talent and spread them throughout the organizations. There are no shortcuts to ...

A Bad Attitude Makes a Bad Job A job is what you make of it. A job is assigned work or tasks that require your energy and effort to complete. Many people make their job harder by bringing a bad attitude with them. A bad attitude makes every job a bad job. A bad attitude is when an individual allows negative thoughts about a person, situation, circumstance, or job to guide their efforts, energy, and actions regarding that thing. It’s been well said that a bad attitude is like a flat tire, you can’t go anywhere until you change it! No Job is Easier with a Bad Attiude Several years ago, one of my children was recruited to play on a travel team ...