Author Archive
Where’s Your Woodshed?
Woodshedding is an old jazz expression – it means to go deep in isolation to build your chops, get your groove on, master your instrument. As the legend goes, in 1937, when he was only 17 years old, young Charlie Parker – before he became the great “Bird” Parker – would go down to the…
Do the Right Thing
It never really occured to me. It didn’t occur to my wife. Candy never thought of it either. The morning when Annie and I got in the car, it did cross my mind, but only briefly enough to send a quick text to Candy asking, “Do you think it’s OK if I bring Annie?” It…
Beat Your Own Awesomeness, Lead by Doing
First ask yourself, “Do I behave with high integrity?” The majority of us would respond that yes, we do. Now ask yourself, “Do my colleagues share my same high level of integrity?” A far fewer number of people would agree that their colleagues and peers possess our own elevated level of integrity. Why? Because we…
Day-glo 80′s ski tricks, Border Smashers, and Dinner Rolls
Before Roger Bannister broke the four minute mile, a group of runners had been working on it for a decade and many, including scientists, considered the four minute barrier physically impossible. But once the world saw Roger do it in May of 1954, within weeks his record 3:59 was beaten by John Landy of Australia….
Turkeys, Flash Freezing and Cafeteria Trays
In late 1953 the Swanson brothers had a glut of turkey. Swanson were turkey wholesalers and had overestimated the market. They thought they would make a killing that year on Christmas turkeys sales. Not so much. So now they had 235 metric tons of turkey riding around the U.S. in refrigerated rail cars and the…
Turn the small screws
Think big! Blue sky! Anything is possible! Let’s build the next iPhone. Or better, let’s disrupt our own business model with a seismic market change, like iTunes. No…wait, like Spotify! This kind of collaborative bluster is akin to throwing a Hail Mary in the waning seconds. Possible, yes. Probable, no. I was reminded of a…
The New Reciprocity: Give and Forget
I was listening to a podcast yesterday of Adam Grant talking about his new book Give and Take. If you’re familiar with the book, in it he writes about “Dormant Ties.” Dormant ties are those people whom you have known in your life – professionally or personally – but have fallen off your radar and…
Listen thoughtfully, carefully, mindfully…then do something
Success is not the result of spontaneous combustion. You must first set yourself on fire.
—Reggie Leach
Take a chance. Ask a question, express an opinion, build a prototype. Fail forward….
In the Name of Love
Michael Stallard told me this story of the band U2. From the beginning U2 has maintained a mantra of “music can change the world because it can change people.” The strength of the band’s identity and commitment to each other has driven its success. When the band’s members suffered one personal challenge after another, the…
No Regrets
If you’ve ever heard Marshall Goldsmith speak, you’ll know he has a signature bit near the end of his presentation in which he asks you to imagine you are 95 years old and preparing to die. But before you die, you can speak to your younger self and provide advice. In his talk Goldsmith advises:…
About Shawn
Shawn Hunter is currently Executive Producer & Vice President for Skillsoft's leadership video learning collections. For over a decade Shawn has engaged, collaborated with, and filmed, hundreds of business authors, executives, and business school faculty in an effort to produce video learning solutions, as both an entrepreneur and later as a product developer for Skillsoft.
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