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So How Do You Manage People You Never (or Even Rarely) See?

Posted on by Jeremy Lurey

You don’t! OK, that’s sort of a trick question because I don’t believe in managing people per se. In my experience, management is all about planning, budgeting, directing, and  controlling work efforts. Leadership, on the other hand, is more about clearly articulating the vision, setting appropriate performance expectations, helping employees develop their abilities in line with those expectations, and providing guidance as needed to keep people on track. And yes, I’m a huge advocate for virtual leadership and remote coaching for those team members who are not present in and do not work from co-located facilities. 

I actually completed my doctoral research on best practices in designing and supporting effective virtual teams back in ’98 (click here for the Cliffs Notes version), and surprisingly not much has changed since then. Read more ›

Posted in Management, Remote Coaching, Remote Workers, Virtual Leadership, Virtual Teams Tagged with: , , , ,

Don’t Mess With Texas Y’all!

Posted on by Jeremy Lurey

I just spent three days in the glorious state of Texas last week visiting one of our favorite clients and meeting with a few of our consulting partners. While those meetings were all successful and I’m glad I had a chance to reconnect with everyone, what made my journey to Lubbock and Houston most memorable, simply put, was the people…

I’ve never been called “sir” more often in my life, and I’m quite confident that I don’t deserve it any more now than I ever have before. And as silly as it sounds, it’s so uplifting to be walking through the “corporate halls” at our client’s hospital facility with the Vice President of Human Resources and have everyone ask, “How y’all doin?” with a big smile on their face. Read more ›

Posted in caring, Compassion, customer service, gratitude, hospitality, hospitals, Houston, Lubbock, Nickelback, people, Texas Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , ,

Remembering and Living all Three Speeds of Life

Posted on by Jeremy Lurey

I’ve never really thought of it this way, but I suppose there really are three speeds of life – Idle, Cruising Speed, and Full Throttle! As you might expect of a Type A entrepreneur who has been honored as one of the “Top 40 Under 40”executives of the year for the past 2 years, I tend to run at Full Throttle much of the time. This serves me – and our firm – quite well at times. At other times though, not so much… 

The upside of running at Full Throttle is that I get a lot done! I pour tremendous amounts of energy into serving my clients and running – and growing – my business. That last part is key because even when things are going well, I still drive that extra mile to develop new marketing campaigns or position the firm to take on more work.  Read more ›

Posted in Balance, Entrepreneurship, Health, Indy 500, Life, Nascar, Vitality Tagged with: , , , , , , , ,

The Complexities of Large-Scale Organizational Change a la the “Far Side”

Posted on by Jeremy Lurey

There was a great Far Side cartoon once about Rex the Dog and his journey across a tightrope. You see, as the caption read, “Rex was an old dog, and this was a new trick!”

The graphic above barely does Rex justice, but at least you’ll get the point. Rex wasn’t just walking across the high wire. He was doing so while riding a unicycle, twirling a hula hoop, juggling several balls, balancing a fishbowl on his head, and holding a cat in his mouth. Oh yes, and let’s not forget the hushed crowd of spectators below who probably weren’t very hushed… Clearly not your every day feat for Rex. Probably not your every day feat for your senior leaders either! Read more ›

Posted in Change management, Far Side, Leadership, organizational change

Three Easy Steps to Ensure Your Success: S.O.S.

Posted on by Jeremy Lurey

Oftentimes, when I’m not able to achieve the results I want in my life, it’s because I get wrapped up in my self-centric views of the world and quite frankly don’t get along with others. Success rarely happens when acting alone. Sure, I can produce some phenomenal results when I bear down and “get’r done”! That isn’t practical in most areas of my life though – I’d hazard a guess yours either.

True success comes from our ability to interact with others and work together such that two heads are better than one. The inherent challenge with this though is that two people don’t always see things the same way or agree on how best to partner together. When you know that you are dependent upon others to succeed, just follow the S.O.S. model for success:

  • Self-Awareness: The foundation for your success – not to mention the success of those around you! – is knowing who you are and how you act in any given situation. You have natural tendencies that play to your individual strengths and compensate for any weaker areas you may have. You must be crystal clear of your preferences and individual style first before considering anything else. Only then will you know if your natural strengths will serve you well or if you might need to adapt and try a different approach when partnering with others. Read more ›

Posted in Newsletter Features

The Four Fundamentals of Leadership Excellence. Do You Have What it Takes to Succeed?

Posted on by Jeremy Lurey

Tenacity. Perseverance. Courage. Compassion. I’ve seen and heard numerous definitions of leadership over the years. Some motivational, some inspirational, some purely functional. In my experience, these four traits sum it up best if we’re going to distinguish what it takes to be a phenomenal, hit-it-out-of-the-ballpark leader every time you step up to bat.

1. Tenacity – Tenacity takes a commitment to digging in your heels and holding your ground when you believe in something. Now I’m not talking about being a pompous jerk every time you have an idea about something. I’m referring to those times when you have a clear vision for a possible future even when others might not see it yet. Read more ›

Posted in Christopher Columbus, Compassion, Courage, Leadership, Leadership definition, Leadership excellence, Perseverance, success, Tenacity, Thomas Edison

So How Do YOU Define Success? The Answer Might Surprise You!

Posted on by Jeremy Lurey

I recently had the pleasure of attending a Vistage presentation led by Bill Hawkins on success. As with many a Vistage presentation, I started this one off a little arrogant and close-minded (as I can be from time to time) thinking, “Oh great! Another leadership guy telling me – a successful leadership coach – what I need to know about being a successful leader…” Well, I guess I was right because boy did I have a lot to learn!

The presentation was actually much less of a presentation than individual activity with group sharing. Bill gave us a deck of custom cards – he actually calls it the CEO Personal Success DeckTM – that had various words defining potential areas we might use to define our life’s success. If I would have completed this task even a few years ago, I’m confident I would have responded with the not-too-uncommon American dream of “stuff” – including money, fame, fortune, great professional accomplishments, etc. While all of that may still be on my list somewhere, I was amazed that it was much further down than I ever would have expected. Instead, my final 7 were a complete surprise. 

Read more ›

Posted in Bill Hawkins, CEO, Leadership, Priorities, success, Vistage International, Work, Work/Life Balance

Everything I’ve Learned as a Consultant I First Learned as a Camp Counselor

Posted on by Jeremy Lurey

As funny as that may sound, it’s really true! I have a PhD in Organizational Psychology, and I’ve been consulting to organizations large and small – not to mention coaching senior executives and business leaders in those organizations – for nearly 20 years. None of it though seems nearly as useful to my work these days as my many years I worked as a camp counselor!

When I was a camp counselor from the age of about 16 to probably 26, I spent much of my time trying to get the kids in my groups to “play nice” together. When riding the go carts, I needed them to take turns and wait patiently while their fellow group members took their turns. When shooting bb guns, it was the same thing – share the equipment with one another and cheer on your fellow campers when they did well and/or console them and say “You’ll get it next time!” when they didn’t. Well, guess what… It’s the same in just about every organization I work in these days. In general, senior executives and business leaders simply need to learn how to play nice in the sandbox and share their toys with one another. Read more ›

Posted in Consultants, Consulting, Consulting Skills

Mourning the Loss of Steve Jobs: An American Icon and One of the Greatest Leaders of All Time

Posted on by Jeremy Lurey

Never met him myself. Have a few friends who worked with and for him until the day he died. Wrote a paper about him and the impact his leadership style had on Apple’s organizational culture once in my first year of grad school. I can’t imagine that makes us close though, so why is it that I’ve been taking Steve Jobs’ passing so hard. Maybe it’s because he is arguably the greatest leader of all time!

Inventor. Innovator. Visionary. Rebel. Icon. Oh yes, let’s not forget Micro-Manager of micro-managers. All of these are labels I’ve heard used to describe the genius that was Steve Jobs. Sure, Steve Jobs probably wasn’t a treat to work for 24/7, and he absolutely had a “particular” way of wanting things done. There is no question about that. With that said, he accomplished what no one before him ever has and quite likely what no one else ever could or will again. Steve Jobs was all but walked out of Apple – a company he envisioned and co-founded and truly loved to his core – at a time when its demise seemed likely. Since returning to the company years later when its total demise was all but imminent though, he rebuilt Apple into being one of the most successful businesses to ever exist – in America and throughout the world.  Read more ›

Posted in American icon, Apple, George Lucas, Henry Ford, Innovator, Inventor, Jim Cramer, Leadership, Mad Money, micro-manager, mourning, Pixar, rebel, Sam Walton, Silicon Valley, Steve Jobs, Thomas Edison, Visionary Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

What I Had I Gave. What I Kept Was Lost Forever.

Posted on by Jeremy Lurey

I’m a huge Foo Fighters fan. Have a signed picture of the guys on my family room wall, and can’t wait for their upcoming concert at the old Great Western Forum later this week here in Los Angeles. Well, I was listening to one of my favorite songs “Best of You” recently, and I got inspired. “Is someone getting the best the best the best the best of you?” sings Dave Grohl.

Life is just too short to hold back. OK sure, there are times when you need to pace yourself or keep a little something saved up in your reserve tank. You can’t go all out and run marathon after marathon forever. No matter how fit you are, that’s not healthy or sustainable! In general though, you need to give it all you’ve got while you still can. Read more ›

Posted in Best, Canoes, Dave Grohl, Foo Fighters, Motivation, Personal commitment, Summer camp, Teamwork Tagged with: , , , , , , ,

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