Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast Zach on Leadership
| Titre | Date | Durée | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leadership Lessons from Boston’s ‘Peace of Mind’ | 08 Nov 2024 | 00:06:22 | |
I love to teach leadership lessons inspired by pop culture references. Last week I drew leadership lessons from Napoleon Dynamite. That lesson was targeted at people my age and younger. Some of my older readers may not have gotten much out of it. I’d like to balance that out with an article that will likely resonate with people my age and older. In 1976, Boston released their debut self-titled album, with the hit, “Peace of Mind.” Fast forward 20 years,... The post Leadership Lessons from Boston’s ‘Peace of Mind’ appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| Leadership Lessons from Napoleon Dynamite | 01 Nov 2024 | 00:08:20 | |
Napoleon Dynamite was released 20 years ago and was wildly successful, especially considering its tiny budget. The first time I saw it, I thought it was pretty dumb. But I must admit, it’s grown on me over the years. I recently watched it with my family and thought it was hilarious. I declared right in the moment, that I would be Napoleon Dynamite for Halloween. And, of course, you all know I like to draw leadership lessons from pop culture, and I... The post Leadership Lessons from Napoleon Dynamite appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| Leadership Lessons from Losing the BlackBerry | 18 Oct 2024 | 00:05:09 | |
Roughly 12-14 years ago, a war raged in every corporate IT department. The people wanted iPhones at work. Corporate IT clung to their BlackBerry’s. This is most certainly old news. Why bring it up now? I think time gives us perspective. There are lessons to be gleaned now that were hard to see then. We love to talk about the hot new tech trends. Do we ever look back and evaluate our previous positions? What did we get right? What... The post Leadership Lessons from Losing the BlackBerry appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| Bring me Problems, not Solutions | 11 Oct 2024 | 00:05:03 | |
There’s a meme circulating on the internet called the bell curve meme, or the midwit meme. It points out funny things that newbies do, compared to the prevailing wisdom of the masses, compared to the insight of the experts. The joke is that the experts often mirror the newbies. I haven’t seen the meme applied to technology leadership, but I thought I’d give it a try. “Don’t bring me problems. Bring me solutions,” says the leader, feeling smart, strong, and... The post Bring me Problems, not Solutions appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| What’s the Difference Between a Director and a Vice President? | 04 Oct 2024 | 00:06:45 | |
Eight years ago when I started Zach on Leadership, some of my first blog articles were about helping people advance in their careers. I love techies. I’m one of them. I spent years of my career as a technician and engineer. Then I advanced and started climbing the corporate ladder. I truly believe that techies make the best technology leaders, but few of them are equipped to succeed in leadership. That’s where I come in. I detailed the pathway that... The post What’s the Difference Between a Director and a Vice President? appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| Reimagining the Buy vs. Build Process | 06 Sep 2024 | 00:06:28 | |
One of the most fundamental questions a tech executive must answer is, should we buy or build our software solutions? On the surface, this seems like a pretty straightforward question, but it can get complicated in a hurry. The basic line of reasoning works like this: Is there a commercial solution that meets my needs? If so, I should probably buy it, because why would I reinvent the wheel? That would be dumb. On the other hand, if I have... The post Reimagining the Buy vs. Build Process appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| The Balancing Act of Innovation and Operations | 09 Aug 2024 | 00:05:04 | |
Mark Zuckerberg famously started Facebook with the motto, “Move Fast and Break Things.” Eventually, they abandoned that motto after they broke a few too many things. I relate to this struggle more than most. Some lean more toward operational stability. Some lean more toward disruptive innovation. I’m squarely in the uncomfortable middle. Operations I’ve been accountable for operations my whole career. Twice now, I’ve been explicitly hired into a company because they really needed some operational rigor. Things were breaking... The post The Balancing Act of Innovation and Operations appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| Leadership Lessons from Volunteering for Extra Work | 02 Aug 2024 | 00:04:36 | |
Last week, I shared some leadership lessons from our company’s response to the global outage caused by a CrowdStrike update. Upon further reflection, there is an additional lesson to be shared. If you missed last week’s article go back and read it, then continue on here. After the initial recovery of our critical workloads, we took stock of the enormous job ahead of us to recover a large number of individual end-user computers spread across the globe. By then, we... The post Leadership Lessons from Volunteering for Extra Work appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| The Day 8.5 Million Computers Died | 26 Jul 2024 | 00:05:04 | |
I awoke on Friday, July 19th to a phone full of missed calls and texts. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I went to my work computer, and jiggled my mouse to wake it up, only to see the blue screen of death. I returned the calls and quickly got up to speed on the technical carnage impacting the planet. Some of you never heard of CrowdStrike before last Friday, but most of us in enterprise technology know it well.... The post The Day 8.5 Million Computers Died appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| Servant Leadership Isn’t for Wimps | 12 Jul 2024 | 00:04:46 | |
If you’ve been following Zach on Leadership for any amount of time, you know that I’m all about servant leadership. It’s a regular theme on this blog. If you’d like an overview of my views on servant leadership, check out this article. I’m in favor of it because it yields such good outcomes for everyone involved. The employees win, the customers win, and the leaders win. There aren’t any downsides. Yet, some still resist this leadership philosophy. Some argue that... The post Servant Leadership Isn’t for Wimps appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| The Meeting Cascade: A Small Tweak to Improve Communication Speed and Cross-team Collaboration | 21 Jun 2024 | 00:04:55 | |
Don’t you love it when you find a small tweak that makes a big difference? That always feels like a win because so much of what we do requires tremendous effort and the benefits are not always realized. We experienced one of these low-effort, high-reward changes this past year, and I thought I’d share our insights. Problem #1: Like many organizations, we rely on the timely cascade of relevant, contextualized information. Discussions at the executive level get shared with the... The post The Meeting Cascade: A Small Tweak to Improve Communication Speed and Cross-team Collaboration appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| Can You Really Take a Two-week Vacation? | 14 Jun 2024 | 00:04:09 | |
I just got back from a two-week vacation. A common reaction I get is, “Wow. How did you pull that off?” I didn’t always do this. I started taking 2-3 week vacations annually about 9 years ago. The thing that triggered it was the purchase of an RV for our family of six. Sure, you can take your RV out for a weekend, and we do, but if you really want to use it for what it’s capable of, you... The post Can You Really Take a Two-week Vacation? appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| Leadership Lessons from Seeing the Northern Lights through a Camera Lens | 17 May 2024 | 00:03:57 | |
This past weekend, the world got one of the best-ever looks at the Aurora Borealis, aka the Northern Lights. Personally, I was in northern Minnesota at the time. I forgot my DSLR camera at home but managed to snap some decent shots with my iPhone. I took in the beautiful sights with several friends, who were also feverishly taking photos of the sky with their phones. This is what I experienced last weekend. Many of you probably experienced something similar:... The post Leadership Lessons from Seeing the Northern Lights through a Camera Lens appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| Recreating Engineering Excellence as a Leader | 10 May 2024 | 00:06:28 | |
Note to my non-techie audience: This article is a bit more technical than usual, but as always, there’s a leadership lesson. This week, I’m reflecting on my time as an engineer and am considering what that means for my leadership practice. There are things that I did back then, that I now oversee. The technologies and times have changed, but a lot of the principles have not. 20 years ago, I worked as a senior systems engineer for a financial... The post Recreating Engineering Excellence as a Leader appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| Leadership Lessons from Serving on a Church Board | 03 May 2024 | 00:05:13 | |
Is leadership a general skill, or is it context-specific? In other words, does it help to have domain knowledge in the area you are leading, or can a skilled leader lead anything effectively? I’ve spent 100% of my professional career leading in the technology domain. I’ve never led a business unit, sales team, marketing function, or anything else. I generally consider my technical knowledge a huge asset when leading technology teams. It gives me credibility and empathy with my team... The post Leadership Lessons from Serving on a Church Board appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| How to Get a Job in 2024 | 19 Apr 2024 | 00:04:34 | |
My 16-year-old son, Nathan, got a job this week at a local fast-food restaurant. His experience reminded me of the stories I hear every week from “open-to-work” technology professionals looking for their next opportunity. While there are differences, there are more similarities than you might think. I’ll tell you his story, and then we will see what lessons apply to the rest of us. Originally, Nathan had no interest in working in fast food. He wanted to work at our... The post How to Get a Job in 2024 appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| I Need More Staff! | 05 Apr 2024 | 00:07:14 | |
“I need more staff,” says the manager, with a look of panic and exhaustion in his eyes. What happens next varies from leader to leader, but usually winds up in the same place: “No.” This experience is demotivating for the manager, aggravating for the overworked team, and is no picnic for those up the management chain either. In this article, I will unpack this dynamic a bit. A lot is going on here. I’ll even offer a few suggestions for... The post I Need More Staff! appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| Exploring the Disconnect Between Leadership Communication and Reality | 22 Mar 2024 | 00:06:03 | |
You are a fantastic leader. You’ve got a great team. You gather everyone together in an all-team meeting. You carefully announce and explain your new innovative and strategic initiative. It’s inspiring. People nod their heads. They even clap at the end. Then the meeting ends and everyone goes back to their desks and does what they’ve always done. Despair This doesn’t really happen, does it? Your team members are good people. You are the boss. Of course, they listen to what you have to... The post Exploring the Disconnect Between Leadership Communication and Reality appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| A Legacy of Innovation: Happy 60th Anniversary to the CHS IT Department | 15 Mar 2024 | 00:05:50 | |
I love the future, but sometimes, it is important to recognize the past. More than most, I pay attention to company history. I love our origin story and the twists and turns along the way. Understanding our past can help us make sense of our present and realize our future. CHS is a 95-year-old company. That history is filled with a lot of mergers. The most significant merger happened in 1998 when Cenex and Harvest States joined to form CHS. CHS’... The post A Legacy of Innovation: Happy 60th Anniversary to the CHS IT Department appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| How to Use Your Leadership Lenses | 02 Feb 2024 | 00:03:51 | |
Ever had a leader who was too involved in all of the details? We call that leader a micromanager. It can feel suffocating and unempowering. Ever had a leader who was aloof, uninvolved, with their head in the clouds? I’ve not heard “macromanager” as a commonly used term, but it seems like the appropriate semantic. This leader makes you feel unsupported and alone. Have you ever heard someone describe themself as detail-oriented? Have you ever heard someone describe themself as... The post How to Use Your Leadership Lenses appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| Building Your Leadership Brand | 26 Jan 2024 | 00:06:30 | |
Each week on this blog, I build my leadership brand. Whether you know it or not, that is what I’m doing. I spend more time doing it than talking about how or why I do it. It occurred to me recently that my readers may want to build their leadership brands. First, a caveat: What I do works for me because I’m me. How much of this is transferrable to you depends on so many factors. So, I’ll tell you... The post Building Your Leadership Brand appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| What You’ve Learned Matters a Little. What You’ve Learned Lately Matters a Lot. | 19 Jan 2024 | 00:04:11 | |
I was cleaning out my desk over the weekend and found some old relics of my professional past. I found a mix of trinkets, awards, business cards, certifications, and some old floppy disks. I flipped through the disks and found this exam preparation software for the Networking Essentials exam, which was part of the Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer NT 4.0 certification. I passed this exam back in 1998 and completed the entire certification for MCSE in 1999. That was 25... The post What You’ve Learned Matters a Little. What You’ve Learned Lately Matters a Lot. appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| Leadership Practices for Technology Vendor Management | 12 Jan 2024 | 00:04:59 | |
One of the biggest themes in Zach on Leadership is leading teams. That’s the core part of the job where most leaders need the most help and encouragement. However, that’s not all there is. Another big piece, especially for technology leaders, is vendor management. I’ve written plenty about the technology sales process. In case you missed those articles, you can check them out here, here, here, and here. I’ve even written specific articles about price negotiations and sourcing. So, what... The post Leadership Practices for Technology Vendor Management appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| Leadership Lessons from Community Tech Support | 05 Jan 2024 | 00:05:24 | |
This is an article for all of you who spent Christmas and the ensuing days setting up and fixing all of the electronic gadgets that your friends and family received. If you’re that guy or gal, you know exactly what I’m talking about. This used to mean installing computers, televisions, and sound systems. Also, setting the clock on Grandma’s microwave, but times have changed. Now, so much has a digital component to it. Gaming systems, online services, internet of toys,... The post Leadership Lessons from Community Tech Support appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| Leadership Lessons from the Christmas Story | 22 Dec 2023 | 00:05:31 | |
I love to look at the world around me and glean leadership lessons to inspire myself and others to rise to our calling. It’s Christmas. In years past, I’ve drawn leadership lessons from pop culture movies. If you are in the mood for that, please check out my series on Elf. Some of you read the title and guessed that I’d be writing about Ralphie from the movie, A Christmas Story. But this isn’t about “a” Christmas story, but “the”... The post Leadership Lessons from the Christmas Story appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| Leadership Reflections on the 250th Anniversary of the Boston Tea Party | 15 Dec 2023 | 00:04:01 | |
On the evening of December 16, 1773, the brave patriots of Boston stood against tyranny. My Great Great Great Great Great Great Grandfather was among them and played a key role that changed the course of human history. Benjamin Edes Benjamin Edes was a member of the Sons of Liberty and publisher of the Boston Gazette. The Boston Gazette was the most radical of Boston newspapers often expressing a patriotic and revolutionary point of view. Some of the conspirators met... The post Leadership Reflections on the 250th Anniversary of the Boston Tea Party appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| Leadership Lessons from Driving an RV Backward up Mountain Switchbacks | 08 Dec 2023 | 00:04:20 | |
A few years ago, I took my family on an RV trip to the Canadian Rockies (Banff, Jasper, and Yoho). It was one of our most epic trips, and I’d love to do it again. If you’ve been there, you know what I mean. Some of you know that I’ve taken my family on a lot of epic RV trips. I’ve written about it before here. Since I’ve camped in 49 states, 5 Canadian provinces, and 37 national parks, people... The post Leadership Lessons from Driving an RV Backward up Mountain Switchbacks appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| Hello Computer: The Opportunity for Generative AI to Modernize Computing | 01 Dec 2023 | 00:05:19 | |
When I was a kid, I remember watching Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. In this film, the crew of the Enterprise traveled back in time from 2286 to 1986. Scotty tried to use a MacIntosh computer by speaking to it, “Hello Computer”. Of course, it didn’t respond. Bones handed him the mouse, and Scotty spoke into it as if it were a microphone. Of course, that didn’t work either. If you need a refresher, check out the scene here:... The post Hello Computer: The Opportunity for Generative AI to Modernize Computing appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| Dealing with the Ups and Downs of Leadership | 17 Nov 2023 | 00:05:14 | |
Fell off the jetway again This is a reference to the opening scene of the 1994 film, Dumb and Dumber. Lloyd is a limo driver who drives Mary Swanson to the airport. It was the best day of Lloyd’s life because he met the girl of his dreams. It was also the worst day, because he got in an accident, got fired, and ran off the jetway trying to return her Samsonite briefcase. Being a leader often feels this way.... The post Dealing with the Ups and Downs of Leadership appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| Leadership Lesson from Deer Hunting – Part 2 | 10 Nov 2023 | 00:05:45 | |
Four years ago, I wrote “Leadership Lesson from Deer Hunting.” It’s one of my better articles. I wrote about the lessons learned from the preparation required to hunt and the stillness and patience in the woods. I also reflected on my experience passing on this sporting tradition to my two older boys. If you haven’t read it, please check it out, then continue on here. 4 years later A lot has changed in 4 years. My oldest son, Caleb, harvested... The post Leadership Lesson from Deer Hunting – Part 2 appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| Leadership Lessons from Building a Mandalorian Suit | 03 Nov 2023 | 00:05:59 | |
In retrospect, had we known how much work it was going to be, we probably would have never done it. That’s how it is with ambitious endeavors. It starts with a vision. Then, we commit. Then, we nearly fail in a hundred different ways, yet we persevere to the end. This year, my 17-year-old son, Caleb, and I made a Mandalorian suit for Halloween. I wore it to work. He wore it that evening. This story starts about a year... The post Leadership Lessons from Building a Mandalorian Suit appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| Hey Tech Leaders: How Often Do You Get Your Hands Dirty With Technology? | 20 Oct 2023 | 00:05:11 | |
Last week, I published a big article about ZachGPT: My little side project to build an artificial intelligence in my likeness. If you missed it, check it out here. In the week since, I’ve been reflecting on that experience. It felt really good to get my hands dirty with emerging tech. It occurred to me that the reasons why, how, and to what degree I do this have important leadership implications. That’s the topic we will discuss this week. Letting... The post Hey Tech Leaders: How Often Do You Get Your Hands Dirty With Technology? appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| Introducing ZachGPT: Your AI Leadership Chatbot | 13 Oct 2023 | 00:06:29 | |
So, I did it. I merged with AI. I jacked in. My consciousness is in the machine. Well, sort of. I read and watch plenty of Sci-Fi. This sort of thing fascinates me. While my opening statement is an exaggeration, it’s as close as I can get with today’s technology. And it was easier than I thought. Let’s back up a bit. I’ve been preoccupied with Generative AI as of late. Yep. Me and everyone else, I know. About six... The post Introducing ZachGPT: Your AI Leadership Chatbot appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| Leadership Lessons from Servicing Candy Machines as a Teenager | 06 Oct 2023 | 00:06:10 | |
When I was 13, I got my first job. I was a newspaper carrier. I learned a ton of formative personal leadership lessons from that experience and I wrote them all down here. With that job, I was my own boss. I worked alone. When I turned 16, I got a second job, in addition to the paper route. My next-door neighbor, Bruce, ran his own candy vending machine business. These were the small pedestal machines with bulk candy in... The post Leadership Lessons from Servicing Candy Machines as a Teenager appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| From Engineer to Owner | 29 Sep 2023 | 00:07:35 | |
Ownership. It means, “I’ve got this.” It’s the words, actions, and attitude. It’s the competence and the confidence. It’s not associated with any particular job title or level. When it’s there, we feel good. When it’s not, we’re lost. In the world of information technology, ownership can be elusive. Development blames operations. Operations blames development. The business blames IT. IT blames the vendor. The vendor blames the other vendor. People suffer. At the end of the day, all we want... The post From Engineer to Owner appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Technology Leaders | 22 Sep 2023 | 00:07:09 | |
True story: Generative AI recently hallucinated, claiming that I wrote an e-book entitled, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Technology Leaders.” That was totally made up. But I liked the idea, so I decided to defictionalize it. Or here’s a creepier explanation: GenAI knew the future… Never mind. Let’s not go there. Back in the day, when I started my career, Stephen Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” was hot. I remember taking a corporate classroom course on... The post The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Technology Leaders appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| What Happens When You Go for a Big Leadership Role and Don’t Get It? | 15 Sep 2023 | 00:03:48 | |
I was just talking to a friend recently who didn’t get a leadership role he applied for. In this particular case, the fact that he went for it was very public among his peers. It was a long shot. There was an incumbent with a clear advantage. My friend was the underdog. He put all he had into it, but it didn’t work out. Not this time, anyway. This story stuck with me, not because it’s a unique story. I’m... The post What Happens When You Go for a Big Leadership Role and Don’t Get It? appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| Leadership Lessons from the Jungle Cows of Costa Rica | 08 Sep 2023 | 00:02:59 | |
I just got back from a two-week vacation with my family and another family that we are close friends with. There were 13 of us in all, exploring the beauty of Costa Rica. Early in the trip, I earned the nickname, “Nature Guide.” When we went on hikes in the jungle, I naturally looked at the map, figured out the path, and pointed out interesting flora and fauna along the way. No one asked me to do that. It just... The post Leadership Lessons from the Jungle Cows of Costa Rica appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| Walk the Path: Use Viva Insights to Reinforce Good Meeting Habits | 18 Aug 2023 | 00:07:38 | |
In the 1999 film, The Matrix, Morpheus tells Neo, “There’s a difference between knowing the path and walking the path.” As leaders, we do all sorts of things to develop better productivity for ourselves. We read books, listen to podcasts, and discuss best practices with each other. That’s all great. It’s a necessary first step in the process. It’s hard to improve if we are ignorant. But what if we find a gap between our newfound knowledge and our actual behavior?... The post Walk the Path: Use Viva Insights to Reinforce Good Meeting Habits appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| To Commute, or Not to Commute: That Is the Question | 11 Aug 2023 | 00:04:29 | |
Have you ever commuted to the office to attend a meeting, only to wish you hadn’t? Have you ever joined a meeting remotely, only to realize that you should have been there in person? If you answer yes to those questions, this article is for you. We are more than a year into full-blown multi-persona flexible work. I’ve written about the topic on many occasions already. The article will go deep and attempt to solve a very specific problem. But... The post To Commute, or Not to Commute: That Is the Question appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| Working Genius: A New Tool in the Toolbox | 04 Aug 2023 | 00:05:59 | |
I am a personality & leadership assessment junkie. I’ve written about MBTI and StrengthFinder on this blog. I’ve also taken DiSC, InColor Insight, Enneagram, and countless others. I take Greek philosophy’s maxim, “Know Thyself” very seriously. I also believe that there’s no such thing as a well-rounded person. Sometimes our performance management and education systems are designed to create well-rounded employees, but that’s a fool’s errand. People aren’t well-rounded. But teams can be. This has been a theme on this... The post Working Genius: A New Tool in the Toolbox appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| Help Others Achieve Their Goals | 28 Jul 2023 | 00:03:41 | |
I am here to help. I like being helpful. It makes me feel useful. I like doing for others what they cannot do for themselves. This may not seem like much of a leadership attribute, at least not in the traditional sense. You may think that leaders don’t give help, they get help. In many ways, that’s true. They hire people who help them achieve their desired tasks. However, when adhering to the principles of Servant Leadership, leaders take the... The post Help Others Achieve Their Goals appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| I ♥ Busy Managers | 21 Jul 2023 | 00:03:22 | |
I caught myself saying something peculiar this week. I said, “I like busy managers.” At first, that may give you pause. It may seem a bit odd, and perhaps even a little cruel. After all, managers tend to be some of the hardest-working people at a company. They often show up before their team, leave after everyone is gone, and carry the burden of stress on top of it all. So, why would I take pleasure in the massive workload... The post I ♥ Busy Managers appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| Email is the New Fax | 14 Jul 2023 | 00:05:57 | |
I am from the email generation. I came of age and joined the workforce in the late 90s right around the time that email became the standard-issue, de facto communication standard. When I attended college, students were issued email addresses. When I got my first professional job, it came with an email address. Folks a few years older than me didn’t have that experience. I was right on the edge of it. Faxing and inter-office memos were on their way... The post Email is the New Fax appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| Leadership Lessons from a Really Fun Company | 30 Jun 2023 | 00:05:39 | |
Most people get varsity letter jackets from their school, not their company. I didn’t realize it at the time, but my first corporate job was more like a school for me, than just a job. Like a good school, I learned how to lead. I learned good habits. I learned the right way to do things. It’s easy to be nostalgic about the past, but more than that, I want to share what I experienced because it was rare and... The post Leadership Lessons from a Really Fun Company appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| High-Tech Work Needs an Antidote: Wildness Is a Necessity | 02 Jun 2023 | 00:04:56 | |
For 24 years now, I’ve worked full-time in the tech sector. My work draws me into the inner workings of digital technology. I love my work. I get absorbed in it. That’s good, but too much of a good thing isn’t good. Dirt and its derivatives Early in my career, roughly 20 years ago, I remember taking a customer service training class. Sometimes, IT folks are known for being rude, arrogant, impatient, and disengaged. This class covered the basics of... The post High-Tech Work Needs an Antidote: Wildness Is a Necessity appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| Leading Through Intense Opposition | 19 May 2023 | 00:05:02 | |
In the past month, I’ve been going through one of the most intense and difficult leadership challenges of my life. The context is a leadership role completely outside of my duties at CHS. I’ve had to make some unpopular but necessary decisions. Since it’s still very fresh, I’m going to be intentionally vague on the specifics out of respect for those involved. However, I can be very transparent with my experiences and the lessons that I’m learning. As always, I’m... The post Leading Through Intense Opposition appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| I ♥ Salespeople | 12 May 2023 | 00:03:58 | |
Confession time: I’ve become known on this platform as one of those tech leaders that is hard on salespeople. Some of my most successful blog articles have poked fun at the peculiar and annoying things that salespeople do to try and earn our business. You can read them here, here, and here. I’ve been told that some sales managers use that blog series as a training manual when they assign new salespeople to my account. I’ve taken plenty of shots.... The post I ♥ Salespeople appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| How My Digital Presence Creates an Advantage in Real Life | 05 May 2023 | 00:03:59 | |
About seven years ago, I started intentionally developing my online presence as a tech leadership figure. There are a whole lot of factors that motivated me to do that, but I’ll cover just a few. Back in 2014, I wrote my Master’s thesis on the opportunity to leverage social media as an organizational leadership tool. Also, as a tech-savvy introverted leader, I figured I could probably do better and make a bigger impact online than in real life. Back in... The post How My Digital Presence Creates an Advantage in Real Life appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||
| The AI Article | 14 Apr 2023 | 00:07:42 | |
I’m not the quickest to comment on the latest tech trends. I read. I pay attention. I experiment. I take it all in. I read the hot takes just like everyone else. Artificial Intelligence is a hot topic, to say the least. I’ve intentionally waited a while to give my opinions some time to settle into shape. Enough time has passed, and now I’m ready to share my insights. Of course, as always, this is more about the technology leadership... The post The AI Article appeared first on Zach on Leadership. | |||