The Five Levels of Culture

  Where Does Your Organization Live? I didn’t always understand what a great culture looks like. As a young West Point cadet and later as an Army officer, I only had a vague notion of what culture was at all. Throughout my journey as a Soldier, though, I came to understand that there is a … Read more

Level 1: The Nametag Culture

When people show up but never buy in, and the clock is already running. In We’re All In, I described several case studies where cultures had decayed to the point of causing serious harm — not just to their bottom lines, but to real people. One of them was Barclays Bank. Barclays was among the leading … Read more

Decision-Making in the C-Suite: Clarity Over Speed

What the military concept of tactical patience can teach executive teams about making sound decisions under pressure. Chaos Doesn’t Destroy All In Adaptive Leaders. It Reveals Them. I recently joined Frank Zaccari on the Bounce Back in Business and Life podcast, and the conversation took me somewhere I find myself returning to often: what separates … Read more

Compliance or Commitment: Understanding the Cultural Breakpoint

One gets people to show up. The other gets them “All in”. I grew up in a Culture of Compliance. As a young West Point cadet in the early 1970s, I had only a vague notion of what culture even was. We had a set way of doing things called “the military way.” Compliance was … Read more

From Compliance to Commitment: How Adaptive Leadership Transforms Organizations

The old directive leadership style no longer works. Discover why a culture of commitment and adaptive communication are essential for executive success. Recently I sat down with George Torok, host of Your Intended Message, a business communication podcast, to discuss how Adaptive Leadership and effective communication are inseparable. For decades, many business leaders operated under a … Read more

Why Adaptive Leaders Must Adapt Now

The world didn’t send us a memo. But it did send a message. When I was writing The Power of Being All In, I had the opportunity to interview a number of senior leaders across industries about the leadership challenges they were navigating in a changed world. One of those conversations has stayed with me. … Read more