Level 4: The Coalition of the Willing

You can feel the difference here. Most leaders stop too soon. In We’re All In, I described one of the most instructive cultural turnaround stories I have come across: the New Aetna. In the early 2000s, Aetna Healthcare was in serious trouble. It was losing roughly a million dollars a day. Its relationships with customers and … 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

When Corporate Values Mean Something

“Values are like fingerprints. Nobody’s are the same, but you leave them all over everything you do.” —Elvis Presley Values drive everything. That was true in the Army, and it’s true in every business I’ve worked with since. In The Power of Being All In, I describe Adaptive Leadership as the compass leaders need in … Read more

Tools For Your Toolbox During Times of Isolation: Adaptive Leadership, Part 9

“Tools For Your Toolbox During Times of Isolation” — This is the ninth in a series of blogs on adaptive leadership. It is my belief that foundational leadership principles give leaders the ability to build teams capable of handling whatever might come their way. This series is based around what we at Level Five Associates … Read more

Lessons of 2020

“History is who we are and why we are the way we are.” – David McCullough I don’t think we’ll find many people who disagree with the notion that 2020 has been a truly historic year. To say that it has been transformational is probably an understatement.  We could go on and on about what’s … Read more

Leadership Succession: Who’s Next Up?

“A leader’s lasting value is measured by succession.” – John C. Maxwell In my younger days, I was an aspiring baseball player, relegated initially to the bench for a couple of seemingly endless seasons.  One coach I remember distinctly used to tell us ‘bench-riders’ that we could never just sit there if we really wanted … Read more