The COVID-19 crisis presents CEOs with a remarkable leadership opportunity. Employees and clients alike are looking for leadership and reassurance. We must all rise to the challenge. While the pandemic is something none of us have experienced in our lifetimes, the havoc it is causing bears some similarities to other major disruptive events of the […]Read More
This is a time when leadership is being tested. This is also a time when effective communication can make or break a leader. In moments of crisis, strong leaders who have the ability to effectively communicate rise to the occasion. They use words as a calming salve to reduce anxiety and heal wounds. They provide credible information, realistic responses, and a course of action. They offer a clear […]Read More
Lessons from the Transportation and Logistics Business As recent events have demonstrated, business owners must always be alert, agile, and prepared to adapt to a changing environment. We must call upon the entrepreneurial drive, discipline, and character that helped us build our businesses in the first place to guide our companies through times of turbulence. […]Read More
Three tips for weathering the storm Coronavirus is just the latest, and certainly won’t be the last, global threat to humanity. But have you noticed a certain predictable, highly flawed pattern of response? Hint: It’s pretty much the same pattern of response we see to any impending disaster. We humanoids seem to have a distinct […]Read More
As we forge through uncertainty, it’s helpful to know that you’re not alone. We asked your fellow Texas CEOs to share their thoughts on how they have led and managed the business through the pandemic and its fallout. Katy Messersmith, CEO, Katydid Wholesale — Dallas, Texas We are using this time to focus on alternative […]Read More
During times of economic uncertainty, the CEO’s burden of command becomes heavier than ever. As always, we are asked to make the tough decisions and meet the needs of employees, customers, and shareholders—only now we are doing it with fewer resources, in a climate of fear, and under a harsh spotlight. This special issue of […]Read More
Leadership requires fearlessness, and that’s never truer than in a crisis. When problems and setbacks occur, everyone looks at you, the leader, to see how you are going to react. As the leader, you have to steer the ship and prevent yourself—and others—from panicking. Panic-stricken people do not make good decisions, nor do they inspire […]Read More
Don’t assume that becoming a jerk is something that only happens to others. There has been and will always be a place for inspired business leaders who seek to do things in a new way. Thomas Edison and Edwin Land—cofounder of Polaroid Corporation—were visionaries who broke rules, challenged the status quo, and reconfigured industries in […]Read More
It was December 7, 1941, when a young army recruit walked out of a movie theater in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and turned on a portable radio to hear that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor. That young army recruit was my father, and the army quickly rushed him off to Panama to defend the Panama Canal. […]Read More
Former Texas Rangers chief Hank Whitman on his transition from law enforcement to head of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. In his long career, Hank Whitman not only spent eleven years with the Texas Rangers, rising to become chief of the agency. He also, most recently, held what he describes as an […]Read More