Remembering 9/11
By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth
On the eve of the nineth anniversary of the horrific tragedy that occurred on September 11th, 2001 I believe it should be incumbent upon us all to take pause and remember what happened on 9/11, to mourn those who were lost that day, and to reflect upon how the events of that day have forever changed our world. So rather than share my usual content, I want to encourage you to offer condolences to families of all those who lost their lives on 9/11, to our fallen heroes who have lost their lives since that day, and/or to send well wishes to our veterans or active duty service members. I would ask that you leave your comments below and to promote this post so that our heroes and their families will know how much we love and support them. Thanks in advance for your participation.
This may be difficult for some the get their heads around, but perfectionism is not a leadership trait. Leadership requires attention to detail and a commitment to quality, but rarely does it require perfection. While leadership doesn’t require being perfect, it does require doing what is needed and necessary. Perhaps one of the biggest flaws with the concept of perfection is found in who defines perfect – the definition of perfection will almost always vary radically from person to person. In today’s post I’ll share my thoughts on the myth of perfection.
Allowing gossip in the workplace is like encouraging your employees to swim with sharks. Let me cut right to the chase – real leaders don’t participate in gossip, and likewise they don’t tolerate gossip from others. Gossip destroys trust, undermines credibility, and is one of the greatest adversaries of a healthy corporate culture. While the emotional distress associated with gossip can be dealt with fairly easily, the political discord that can erupt in an organization can be nothing short of disastrous. In today’s post I’ll share my thoughts on how to control gossip in the workplace…
Over the years I’ve come to believe that there is only one sure fire litmus test for measuring leadership success, and to the chagrin of many reading this post, it has little to do with what happens on the job. Today’s post might push a few buttons and test the boundaries of your comfort zone, but if you stick with me, I promise you’ll be glad you did. I’m going to peel back the layers on your personal brand, question your priorities, and quite possibly put a big dent in your carefully crafted professional facade. We’re going to get very personal today – How’s your family life?
Even though few would dispute the value of being an engaged leader, many still do not practice what they preach. The harsh reality is that great numbers of leaders continue to operate in a vacuum by sequestering themselves away in the corner office and attempting to lead from afar. Trust me when I tell you that being out of touch is never a good position to find yourself in as the CEO. I rarely come across leaders who couldn’t benefit from being more meaningfully engaged on both a broader and deeper basis, and hope that today’ post will encourage you to do just that…ENGAGE.
My question is this: Is your intellect an asset or liability? All one has to do is watch a very bright person defend their position to understand what I’m driving at with today’s post. Observing intelligent people lecture, spin, posture, position, cajole, argue, rationalize, or justify their beliefs in order to “get the win” is often times entertaining, but it can also be exceedingly frustrating. I’ve come across more than a few self-proclaimed “intelligent” people who believe that their intellectual acuity is far superior to the discernment ability of their peers and co-workers. Not only are these intellectual giants wrong, but sadly, by the time they awaken to a state of reality it is already too late. In today’s post I’ll share the keys to leveraging your intellectual assets as opposed to having your intelligence serve as a barrier to your success… 
I read an intersting post yesterday by Gwyn Teatro (
Are you a bold leader? Have you been told that you have a bit of an edge? If so, you have likely found that it serves you very well. Let me be clear that when I refer to an edge I’m not talking about rough edges, or confusing candor with rude or arrogant behavior. What I am referring to is having a direct, no B.S. approach that allows you to get right to the heart of an issue in the shortest time-frame possible. So my question is this…how edgy are you?
Does perception matter? We’ve all heard the saying “perception is reality,” but is it true? Does perception never, rarely, sometimes, or always equal reality? While I long ago reached the conclusion that perception does in fact matter, it may not be for the reasons that you might think. I have found that the majority of people tend to be myopic with regard to perception…they understand their own perceptions, but are quite often either ignorant or intolerant of other’s perceptions. You see, the most important item to understand is that success as a leader has very little to do with your perception, but rather it has everything to do with the perception of others.
There are only a few certainties in life, and sadly, having the trust you’ve placed in someone be abused is one of them. Moreover, either intentionally or unintentionally we have all broken trust with others at some point in our lives. We know how it feels to be on both sides of the equation – betrayal hurts, it’s not fair, it can create bitterness and resentment, it has huge ripple effects, it can rock your world. All of this said, wise people learn from their own mistakes as well as the mistakes of others. They especially use the most tragic of circumstances as teachable moments and learning opportunities. In the text that follows I’ll share my thoughts on the topic of broken trust…