The public has had enough of canned, cold statements from faceless companies. They know now when they are being stonewalled by a statement that says almost nothing, exhibits no empathy or humanity, and is mainly about minimizing liability.

Leaders, teams, and organizations all claim to desire clarity in their strategies, plans, and communications. Yet, while clarity is universally praised, it is far less frequently practiced. The courage to follow through — to do what must be done — is often missing.

Too many professional services firms rely almost exclusively on only their most senior executives to bring new business into the firm. But with persistence and a long-term view, they could make business development a thriving part of their company culture in which every professional staff member participates.

Branding is a sham. At least what most people now call “branding.” Because the way most companies approach it, their “brand” is basically a magic trick. Like the entertainer on stage who uses fast-moving hands, pithy jokes and clever distractions to get you to look at what they want you to look at and ignore the stuff they don’t want you to see as they execute the trick.

Valuing all people is what matters, not the dogma that DEI has become.

Ask yourself: Is it worth it for me to give up a significant level of control over the business to get the benefits of accepting the investment cash?

If you’re in business – everyone with a job is – this hunger to learn and understand is priceless. Yet for too many people, the yearning for learning they had as a toddler is severely eroded by the time they are 35.

Every leader needs trusted, experienced advisors to help them navigate the relentless and high-stakes flow of critical decision points. Here are some important factors to consider when retaining outside advisors.

Brand can be meaningfully measured in countless ways. Companies should be willing to hold themselves accountable for how well their actual performance measures up to the things they claim when they write down brand attributes as well as missions, visions, values, positioning statements, taglines, and the like.

Knowing exactly who your biggest, most valuable clients or customers are is critical to long-term, sustained success. They have a huge impact on the company's revenue and should be treated specially because you cannot afford to lose them. It starts with diving into your data.

We live in a data-driven, quantitative world, like it or not.  But the qualitative side of life, sometimes dismissed as “squishy” or “soft,” still has a powerful role in business and public policy.

The search for the next leader of any organization is fraught with risks — all the more reason to get started now.