CEO Blog Archive - Page 161 of 162

Recent Articles

What Will Your Legacy Be?

Nathan Whitaker is an author. Most recently he helped Tim Tebow write his bestselling autobiography. Recently Whitaker wrote a guest column in The Orlando Sentinel about the Tebow phenomena. This note isn’t about Tebow but it’s about an assertion Whitaker made in the column. He said this: “The question isn’t whether we will have a legacy – we all will. Rather, the open question is whether that legacy will be positive or negative. Are we

Howe Q. Wallace January 17, 2012

A Renewed Commitment to Safety

I have a confession to make. A couple of years ago, I wrote in one of these notes that I was going to make my effort towards safety be slowing down on my driving. So far, so good. No tickets. But, after a good, long road without attracting “blue lights,” I have been pulled over twice since Thanksgiving. Gratefully, neither stop resulted in a ticket. In the safety world, those are called “near misses.” A

Howe Q. Wallace January 13, 2012

Help Educate and Encourage Your Teammates

We each have the ability to be a positive influence on those we encounter. The challenge is believing it really makes a difference. There was an article recently that underscored the idea. It discussed research where a group of students had been followed from the time they entered school. They are now adults. The results of the study revealed that adults who reported they had a teacher in middle school who made a difference in

Howe Q. Wallace January 11, 2012

You Haven’t Failed Until You Quit Trying

Here’s a brief thought for the day: “You haven’t failed until you quit trying.” Some folks are more easily frustrated than others. When something doesn’t come easily, they quit trying. When something involves a long time to learn or to master, they quit trying. When something is done “good enough,” they quit trying. As we take on “lean” projects in our plants, we are trying to take the bad and make them good. We are

Howe Q. Wallace January 6, 2012

Purposefully or Inadvertently?

Did you see where Chelsea Clinton, the daughter of former President Clinton and Secretary of State Clinton, has taken on the assignment of being a newscaster on NBC? I was reading an article and was struck by her story of what motivated her to move into such a career. She said her grandmother, Dorothy Rodham, had challenged her shortly before her death. She told Chelsea, who until that point had dodged any public profile, that

Howe Q. Wallace January 3, 2012

Happy New Year!

In another few hours, 2011 will be done. I want to thank each of you for the effort you put forth toward strengthening our enterprise. There is not one of our many teams who has not made progress this year. I am excited about what 2012 can mean for us. As we continue our path on improving our processes and practices through “lean” thinking, we have the chance to continue to build momentum. So, best

Howe Q. Wallace December 30, 2011

Tips on Giving Feedback

I found a management tip by Harvard Business Review on “giving feedback” that I would like to share with you. Here are the guidelines: Be specific. Feedback needs to be actionable. Use concrete examples to back up your conclusions. Avoid generalized character attacks. Instead, describe the behavior. (My thought: We usually classify the people around us simply. Good, bad. For us, against us. Friend, enemy. Thus, our feedback tends to be simple. The advice to

Howe Q. Wallace December 29, 2011

Merry Christmas

I’ve been saying “Merry Christmas” with purpose this year. My faith is rooted in the birthday of Jesus. I determined this year to not default to a cursory Merry Christmas, a seasonal substitute for “have a good day” as I move on. Instead, I’ve been striving for a bit more connection. This year, when I tell someone Merry Christmas, I want them to feel like they’ve been engaged. First, I’ve been looking at them when

Howe Q. Wallace December 23, 2011

Growth Comes from Being in a “Low” Place

I was listening to a sermon this morning. Pastor Matt Hudson of Journey Church in Mocksville had a guest speaker, Mary Hendrix, with him. Mary had learned twelve weeks earlier that she had a brain tumor. She was describing how her faith was sustaining her. The whole message was chock-full of wisdom. If you would like to listen, go to http://www.thejourney.info/. Remember it’s a sermon, so don’t be surprised about the biblical and God references.

Howe Q. Wallace December 15, 2011

Scrutinize the Reports You Receive

Here’s a lean exercise for you. Many of us get reports via email or by paper on our desk. Do you look at them? Why or why not? I was in a meeting recently where I made reference to a report I was looking at regularly. Immediately, someone told me, “That report doesn’t tell the whole story.” Quickly, we discussed how the report could be improved to tell the whole story. It reminded me. Every

Howe Q. Wallace December 14, 2011

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Articles About Leadership

IMPACTING YOUR ENVIRONMENT

Leaders create environments bound and energized by loyalty, affection, and mutual support. One of the best ways to “happen to the world” is to be intentional about having an impact on your environment. Environments come in all shapes and sizes. We work in small groups. We all have families. If you lead, you’re always involved in the state of your environment. If you are the leader and don’t work on your environment, it will be

Howe Q. Wallace December 6, 2023

THE IMPORTANT ROLE OF A DAD

My music genre of choice is Country. Lyrics are frequently laugh-out-loud funny but sometimes they’re poignant. I heard performer and writer Billy Currington sing a song yesterday. The refrain went like this: Walk a little straighter, daddy You’re swaying side to side. Your footsteps make me dizzy And no matter how I try, I keep tripping and stumbling. If you’d look down here, you’d see. Walk a little straighter, daddy You’re leading me. We have

Howe Q. Wallace December 6, 2023

THREE SIMPLE RULES IN LIFE: GO, ASK, AND STEP FORWARD

A colleague sent me this meme yesterday. It was titled – “Three Simple Rules in Life.” If you don’t ever GO after what you want in life, you will never have it. If you don’t ever ASK, the answer will always be NO. If you do not step forward, you will always be in the same place. One of the goals I have for all teammates in our enterprise is that we make a difference.

Howe Q. Wallace December 3, 2023