CEO Blog Archive - Page 165 of 171

Recent Articles

The Power of the “Mission Focused” Team

The mission team I’ve been working with in Guatemala completed the regimen of surgeries yesterday. When all was said and done, 96 were completed. All successfully. That’s four surgeons full time and another working daily in a clinic turned to a mini surgery room. The team includes folks from Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas, California and Montana. Most knew somebody and several knew nobody as they arrived. In the morning after chapel session, the team

Howe Q. Wallace May 18, 2012

Being Indispensable to Our Customers

If your customer can live without you, they eventually will. That was the headline of an article I saw the other day. Its truth was so self evident, I didn’t even read the details. It should be a goal of each of us to be indispensable. We all have customers. If you drive a forklift, if you clean the bathrooms, if you maintain the equipment, if you buy the lumber, if you do the billing,

Howe Q. Wallace May 17, 2012

Good Advice from a Commencement Speech

It’s the season for commencement addresses. Colleges are wrapping up and famous people are being called upon to share inspiring words to graduates. In this day of the internet and YouTube, good speeches can be taken in. I watched one this morning by Aaron Sorkin. He is a screenwriter. West Wing, A Few Good Men and The Social Network are among his works. His speech to the graduates of Syracuse University had many good words.

Howe Q. Wallace May 16, 2012

Trying New Things

Traveling to a foreign country reminds me of the stimulation of trying something new. When you are in a strange environment, your whole body goes on alert. You don’t recognize the language. You don’t know the methods. It is disorienting. But, it’s fun. It gets the adrenaline going. It is a challenge. I was having a discussion about the different ways people process things. For some people, trying out something new is exciting. It energizes

Howe Q. Wallace May 15, 2012

Mission Trip This Week

I’m in Antigua, Guatemala this week serving on a mission team from an organization called Faith in Practice. It’s not associated with any particular church or denomination but it is a ministry organized around delivering medical services to the poverty stricken in Guatemala. The ministry occupies a suite of operating rooms 42 weeks a year and provides free medical care to people who otherwise couldn’t afford it. Our group has over 80 surgeries scheduled this

Howe Q. Wallace May 14, 2012

Listen First to Understand

Emily Schirpke of New London sent this to me today. (By the way, I’m always glad to receive your feedback.) “Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.” – Stephen R. Covey If you haven’t heard of Covey, he is one of the foremost leadership thinkers of our time. His book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People is classic. It’s well over 20 years old

Howe Q. Wallace May 11, 2012

It’s Not Always “Black and White”

At the Wal-Mart Sustainability Conference, I sat in on a session where vendors stood up to talk about success stories in becoming more sustainable. One of the speakers ran a company that sold pancakes, corn dogs and sausage on a stick. He described a situation where the price of pork increased three times in a year. The third time it increased, he gathered his team around him and asked them to come up with ideas

Howe Q. Wallace May 10, 2012

“Lean” Will Be a Constant Factor

I’ve been in Bentonville, Arkansas for a Wal-Mart sustainability conference. Sustainability has become a big word and Wal-Mart has embraced it. The idea follows closely our thoughts on “lean” – except it has an environmental twist. To operate our business in the most sustainable fashion, we should use as little material as possible, operate as efficiently as possible and minimize our impact on the environment by cutting down the use of fossil fuels and limiting

Howe Q. Wallace May 9, 2012

Observations on Leadership

I’m spending the day with some of our colleagues watching the Chick-fil-A Leadercast. It’s a day-long program of speakers crossing business, churches and athletics who are sharing their perspectives on leadership. I read about leadership a great deal. There are several things I have learned: There is no single best way to lead. Anyone who tries to tell you otherwise I think is misguided. But, leadership is a choice to influence others. It’s not how

Howe Q. Wallace May 4, 2012

National Day of Prayer

Today is the National Day of Prayer! It comes the first Thursday of every May and its purpose is to promote prayer – not just on this day but every day. I am sure that among our team there is wide opinion about prayer. Some don’t think it is important. Some pray unceasingly. There is a variety in between. As for me, I am confident that God hears our prayers and acts to help us.

Howe Q. Wallace May 3, 2012

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Articles About Leadership

THE JUICE IS WORTH THE SQUEEZE

“Everything you want is on the other side of ‘hard’.” – CJ McCollum, NBA player McCollum is a story of overachievement. He was undersized. Played college basketball at a non-descript school. Was a long shot to be an NBA player but worked his way to being a first-round draft pick and was a solid star in his 10th year in the league. I heard him describe his approach to the game and his development on a podcast called

Howe Q. Wallace March 25, 2024

HAPPENING TO THE WORLD – A SATISFYING WAY TO LIVE

PalletOne leaders “happen to the world.” What does that mean? A PalletOne leader is confident. Each situation creates an opportunity for service and contribution. We are talented and put those talents to work. We see those around us as having talent. We seek to unlock it. We realize that we can be called upon to take the initiative to improve things at any moment. We act when the situation calls for it. We inspire through

Howe Q. Wallace March 25, 2024

SUFFERING AND CHALLENGES

“Weep, trust, pray, think, shift, hope, grow. Ways to handle suffering.” – Tim Keller Tim Keller was a preacher from New York City. He passed away in 2023. I followed him on Twitter because he tweeted profound thoughts like the one above. You don’t exit life without tough things happening to you. It’s a fact. None of us are exempt. In specific order, Keller gave us seven verbs to consider when challenged: Weep – It’s

Howe Q. Wallace March 22, 2024