Category: CiO Briefs

A Leader’s Relatability: Does Your Message Sound Too Scripted And Polished

June 28, 2019By CiOIn CiO BriefsNo Comment

Leadership Lesson: In order to avoid sounding too scripted and unnatural, a leader should tap into and refine their self-awareness when conveying the message of their mission, intentions, and plans.

The basis for this post was a conversation I had with a colleague a few years ago in the thick of the last presidential election, when Hillary Clinton was battling Donald Trump, specifically, in the final debates leading up to the 2016 election.

My…

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What People Teach Us: Lady Gaga And The Discipline For Passion

March 1, 2019By CiOIn CiO BriefsNo Comment

Leadership Lesson: Make sure you truly understand what goes into making your passion work for you, taking into consideration your circumstances and resources alongside your desires, before either pursuing it fully or walking away.

What does passion mean to you? How does your passion manifest itself? Is your passion guiding you to step out of your comfort zone and take something new and bigger on?

How is that working out?

Let me tell you why I ask.

A…

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What People Teach Us: Jocko Willink, Arguing For Your Point Yet Asking For Balance

February 22, 2019By CiOIn CiO BriefsNo Comment

Leadership Lesson: To be effective and credible, we should seek to balance what it is we support with conveying both that we understand its limitations, and that there are other considerations to be taken into account.

This piece by retired Navy Seal, management consulting firm founder, bestselling author, and burgeoning podcaster Jocko Willink is an article of defense. In what he writes,…

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The Leadership Lesson In A Song: You Can Be Your Own Worst Enemy

January 11, 2019By CiOIn CiO BriefsNo Comment

Leadership Lesson: Whether from a song or not, in order to learn from others’ experiences, make sure to listen to both the subtle and overt messages and understand what you hear and see in the words of others. 

You know how when someone points something out to you you hadn’t previously recognized or noticed, you tend to see it again? You tend to see it in places you wouldn’t have…

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What People Teach Us: James Mattis – Considering Everything Our Leaders Are, Not Just What Impacts Us

December 21, 2018By CiOIn CiO BriefsNo Comment

Leadership Lesson: We should consider everything that makes up our leaders — and which will probably contribute to our own legacy — so we’re not just loyal to our leaders’ loyalty to our own priorities.

So General James Mattis, our country’s latest Secretary of Defense, has had enough.

He has tendered his letter of resignation, effective a few months from now,…

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What People Teach Us: Michael Jordan – Never Judge Leadership By Its Cover

December 14, 2018By CiOIn CiO Briefs, General LeadershipNo Comment

Leadership Lesson: Much like the message in the adage Don’t judge a book by its cover, it’s important to never take a scene – or relationship – at face value when it comes to leadership presence and effectiveness, because everyone has their own ideas of what a relationship is supposed to look like.

Recently, during an NBA game between the Charlotte Hornets and the Detroit Pistons, Charlotte’s shooting guard, Malik Monk, was hit with a technical foul…

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What People Teach Us: Opinions & Protecting Yourself From…Yourself

September 14, 2018By CiOIn CiO BriefsNo Comment

Leadership Lesson: You should take into account how others may view you, as an exercise in considering all points of view—and their merits.

An anonymous op-ed by a alleged White House insider claiming to be part of a “quiet resistance within the administration of people choosing to put country first” appeared in the New York Times last week. An op-ed crafted and published in anonymity is a first…

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What People Teach Us: John McCain And The Leader’s Legacy

August 31, 2018By CiOIn CiO Briefs, General LeadershipNo Comment

Leadership Lesson: There are so many lessons we can learn from the leaders we’ve lost. Learning from their best attributes galvanizes their legacy and reinforces our own development and self-reflection.

It’s always sad to lose a great leader. Every day they lived they added strength to their reputation and resolve to their message. They knew how to live their life, espouse and live their values, and work for the betterment of the group. And, although…

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What People Teach Us: Randi Zuckerberg And Calling Out Those Closest To Us

August 3, 2018By CiOIn CiO BriefsNo Comment

Leadership Lesson: If done right, challenging those closest to us in a public forum has benefits and demonstrates a credibility that might not be so obvious at first.

Recently, Randi Zuckerberg called out her brother Mark Zuckerberg, the billionaire founder and CEO of social media giant Facebook, on his comments regarding Holocaust deniers using Facebook to power up their platform and spread their claims about the…

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What People Teach Us: Rex Tillerson – Taking The Pulse Of The Organization You Lead

December 12, 2017By CiOIn CiO BriefsNo Comment

Leadership Lesson: We need to listen for and understand what those in the organization, those committed to the mission, need in order to make the mission an ongoing success.

A United State diplomat, in a scathing resignation letter, chided Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and outlined both the deterioration and dysfunction of the U.S. State Department during his tenure, charging that he’s caved under the irresponsible…

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What People (Can) Teach Us: The Democrats – Respect, Understanding, and Preparation

November 10, 2017By CiOIn CiO BriefsNo Comment

Democrats swept political seats across the country earlier this week on Election Day, picking up seats and taking control of state legislatures, governor’s mansions, city councils, etc.

Elections sweeps, some may say, in general, are eventually par for the course when one party takes the majority in each of the political landscapes at the federal, state, and local level – the next time around, the pendulum swings the other way to make…

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What People Teach Us: Jeff Flake – Environment vs. Principles. How Much Is ENOUGH?

October 27, 2017By CiOIn CiO BriefsNo Comment

When is enough enough for you?

This week, Arizona junior United State Senator Jeff Flake, a detractor of the President’s since early on in the presidential campaign season, gave an impassioned speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate in which he came out against and denounced the current state of U.S. politics and the President’s role in perpetuating the negativity, telling the President “ENOUGH!”

In…

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Do You Ever Become Tone-Deaf, Insensitive, Or Even Negligent To Your Constituency?

September 30, 2017By CiOIn CiO Briefs, General LeadershipNo Comment

Could you ever do something today for which you blasted – yes, “blasted” – someone else in the past?

Is that bold? Is it ignorant? Is it being tone deaf? Is it being oblivious? Doesn’t it demonstrate entitlement?

Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price is being blasted himself for flying on private jets using federal dollars while conducting federal business – a behavior similar to which he berated…

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What People Teach Us: John McCain – Respecting Those Who Don’t Share Your Ideology

July 22, 2017By CiOIn CiO BriefsNo Comment

In light of Senator John McCain’s medical prognosis of having brain cancer, which was confirmed during surgery to remove a blood clot which had formed behind his eyebrow, appreciation for the Senator’s political demeanor and overall character has poured out from all over the world of politics and beyond.

The support and admiration for the Senator – a former navy pilot, who was a prisoner of war for…

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What Percentage Of Your Organization Do You Own?

July 22, 2017By CiOIn CiO BriefsNo Comment

That question isn’t meant to be answered in terms of legal ownership or number of shares owned. The question means to ask specifically, How much of the outcomes of your organization, team, group, or mission are you invested in?

And, again, “investment” isn’t meant in financial terms, but instead indicates commitment.

The results borne out of the work of your organization or group — how much of that…

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