WOW! Our 1,000th Blog With You!

Resources

FlipboardTwitterLinkedInFacebook

 

Thank you all. The reason we have been around to share 1,000 blogs is because of your support and encouragement. Over the years, we have had so many people tell us that our shared thoughts helped in some way. Occasionally our viewpoint has helped someone with a decision. At other times, we inspired a personal action or self reflection. You have always been so kind, generous and respectful. Even if a reader disagreed, I can honestly tell you that we can’t recall ever receiving a mean spirited comment in response to a blog. You have been overwhelmingly positive, and have made every post a joy to create. Garrett and I genuinely look forward to continuing this. 

I also want to thank my family. Kathleen, my wife and friend, has been so patient on the Sunday and Wednesday nights when I’ve typically created a first draft. Countless times she kindly put aside what she was doing, to put on her reading glasses and give a review or a much needed first edit. Our wonderful daughters, great professionals and leaders themselves, have done the same and of course there is my son Garrett. The blog became way more fun for me and interesting for readers when he joined with his One Millennial View. Readers who know me personally often ask to say hi, although they’ve never met him. And as many of you know, he edits, publishes and manages the blogs, vlogs, website and all of my socials. Our time together is the best thing a Dad could hope for. It’s like playing catch in the backyard everyday. Lucky me. 

It is a bit daunting to adequately summarize the essence of 1,000 blogs. However, a number of themes have been “golden threads” over the years, and have earned maxim status with us. 

Rubis Maxims: 

1. The core values underlying personal character are found in the “Character Triangle”: Self Accountability, Respect and Abundance. 
2. Think Big, Start Small, and Act Now. 
3. People deserve great (not perfect) leaders, and leaders have a responsibility to become great (not perfect). 
4. Leadership is a practice. We must develop it as a separate and distinct focus worthy of mastering. 
5. Great leaders continuously get results, attract people who want to work with them and develop the best in others. 
6. We all need to embrace a growth and disruptive mindset. 
7. The effectiveness of any relationship is based on following the process of connecting, understanding and acting (in that order). Be humbled by Susan Scott’s insight: “The conversation is the relationship and the relationship is the conversation.” 
8. Trying to be the same or just slightly better, means settling for average. Think exponentially and embrace the possibility of becoming 10x better. 
9. Learning fast is more important than failing fast. 
10. All blame (especially self-blame) is wasteful. Distrust is also one of the biggest wastes and the most costly line item in every organization.
11. Everything is a process. When we think that way, we can openly discuss and improve anything. 
12. Care for others by being frank, open, authentic and transparent in your relationship. Listen well and respectfully use straight talk. 
13. Make ALL people feel like they belong just the way they are, while inspiring them to continuously grow and develop.
14. Humbly remember that your view is just one perspective in the world. Others have one view too. The ability to thoughtfully change one’s perspective increases our IQ and EQ. 
15. Learn the power of being able to reframe 
16. Seek justice and fairness for all, especially the disadvantaged. Become an invited ally of people different than you. 
17. Have the courage to speak up for doing the right thing, even when it is perceived to be personally risky. 
18. Focus on what’s best for the greater good first. Be careful not to confuse fighting for the right thing with fighting to be right. Keep your ego in check.
19. Use the momentum created by the phrases of “how might we?” and “have you considered?”
20. See EVERY person and personally show up to be seen. Recognize and appreciate people every day. Have your own version of sharing a DWD (Darn Well Done). 

There are many other principles that I follow and coach to. However the 20 above came to me first while drafting number 1,000 this Sunday night. Would you add anything I’ve written or talked about that deserves to be on this list? 

Think Big, Start Small and Act Now. And please join us for the next thousand! 

Lorne 

One Millenial View: Well, nothing could be better said than what is listed above. It’s been a great ride and fun journey. While my generation won’t change titles, I’m so fortunate to be part of it to keep sharing and learning with hopefully 1,000 more. 

Blog 1,000

Edited and published by Garrett Rubis

Lead In With Lorne – Put Your Butt Down Somewhere Else

Resources

FlipboardTwitterLinkedInFacebook

 

Welcome to another Lead In With Lorne. This week, focus on planting your butt next to someone you might not have before. Learn and meet someone new. For an awesome story about this, listen to this podcast. 

Enjoy it on the YouTube video embedded below, or audio listeners can hear it on SoundCloud now too. We hope it enriches your Monday!

Kindly subscribe to the YouTube channel and SoundCloud to make sure you start your week with a leadership story.

Lorne Rubis is available @LorneRubis on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Hot Topic Friday: Sept. 20

Resources

FlipboardTwitterLinkedInFacebook

 

Happy Friday! Here are my Sept. 20 Hot Topics and how they relate to advancing culture or leadership. 

Hot Topic 1: What’s WFA and What Should You Know About It? 

Source: Bloomberg.

What It’s About: Smart organizations with thoughtful leaders, fully support WFH (working from home). This article introduces the benefit of WFA, or working from anywhere—any city, any state/province, and in some cases any country (so long as it has reliable internet). The concept has been adopted by leading companies and leading organizations like GitHub, ATB Financial, and NASA. The article emphasizes that the benefits of working from home have been well established, (according to a 2015 study, employees are 13 percent more productive when they work from home). It turns out that working from anywhere leads to even greater productivity. 

Why It’s Important: While there is now ample research to support the policy of working from home, we still have armies of restrictive, command and control managers, who believe they have to see you to trust you’re working and getting things done. Organizations that have work that can be done from home need to make it so, and learn how to lead in that environment. It is a cop-out to let individual managers decide. Furthermore, it is time to build on WFH to allow for WFA. I know a partner at a top consulting firm that worked from the south of France this summer. The last company I was at, supported people working in all parts of the globe for many reasons. Although some work in organizations is dependent on people being connected to a specific time and place, many workers can fully contribute from anywhere. Make WFH and WFA part of your organization. No more phony excuses as to why you can’t. 

Hot Topic 2: Even Giants Start Small.

Source: Inc. 

What It’s About: This article captures parts of an interview with Netflix co-founder Marc Randolph, who recently published a memoir entitled “That Will Never Work.” The book chronicles the early days of Netflix, leading up to its IPO in 2002,. According to Inc, “it’s less of a business how-to manual than an occasionally wry look back at a lark that grew into a massive company.” The article however captures pithy learnings and insights from Randolph. 

Why It’s Important: There is much to learn from the memoirs and biographies of creators. People who build things inspire and inform us. The following are a few Randolph insights: 

“1. Epiphanies are rare… The truth is, for every good idea, there are a thousand bad ones. 

2. I kept a little notebook of ideas in my backpack and carried it with me everywhere I went.”

3. Culture isn’t what you say. It’s what you do. 

4. When an opportunity comes knocking, you don’t necessarily have to open your door. But you owe it to yourself to at least look through the keyhole. 

5. You’ll learn more in one hour of doing something than in a lifetime of thinking about it.”

I particularly want to emphasize Randolph’s statement about doing versus thinking. So many people get stuck at “think,” and procrastinate until an idea finally fizzles or completely dissolves. It is amazing what happens when you just start something. One never knows. It could become a Netflix? 

Think Big, Act Now, and even giants Start Small! 

My Weekly Wine Recommendation (Thanks to Vivino):

Estate Grown Cabernet Sauvignon 2010. 

[Picture and ratings provided by Vivino].

And finally! Here’s Cecil’s Bleat of the Week!

“It’s not always easy to convince someone a need exists, if they don’t have that need for themselves.”Caroline Criado Perez

Bye for now!

– Lorne Rubis

Incase you Missed It:

My latest Lead In podcast.  

My latest blog.

Season 3 of Culture Cast

Also don’t forget to subscribe to our site, and follow Lorne Rubis on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter for the latest from our podcasts, blogs, and all things offered on LorneRubis.com.

Celebrating the Countdown to 1,000! 

Resources

FlipboardTwitterLinkedInFacebook

 

Next Tuesday, Sept. 23, we will be publishing our 1,000th blog. First of all, we want to thank YOU for following, reading, caring, sharing and more. Since Jan. 1, we’ve had over 50,000 visitors to the lornerubis.com website. We are so grateful that you invest your precious personal time with us. You make us better and inspire us to connect you with meaningful content. It is a privilege to be a part of your life.

In anticipation and early celebration of the 1,000th blog, we are sharing an e-book of golden oldies. They somewhat represent the 10 years we’ve been at this. A few were very popular, others kinda fell flat, and a couple were funny (to us anyway). They authentically capture how our work has evolved, and I know for sure they became better when Garrett joined.

We hope you enjoy this e-book and that you continue to hang out with for another decade! 

Lorne and Garrett

Lead in With Lorne – 3 Key Tools For Your Leadership Swiss Army Knife 

Resources

FlipboardTwitterLinkedInFacebook

 

Welcome to another Lead In With Lorne. Here are three key tools that you can utilize as a leader or team member. Listen to the podcast to learn three easy, simple and useful things that can help you reframe and refresh this week to help keep your organization on point. 

Enjoy it on the YouTube video embedded below, or audio listeners can hear it on SoundCloud now too. We hope it enriches your Monday!

Kindly subscribe to the YouTube channel and SoundCloud to make sure you start your week with a leadership story.

Lorne Rubis is available @LorneRubis on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Hot Topic Friday: Sept. 13

Resources

FlipboardTwitterLinkedInFacebook

 

Happy Friday the 13th! Here are my Sept. 13 Hot Topics and how they relate to advancing culture or leadership. 

Hot Topic 1: What if We Didn’t Fear Robots Replacing Us? 

Source: Harvard Business Review

What It’s About: This article is about the reality of AI/Machine Learning/robotics replacing jobs, but with an optimistic twist. As the article emphasizes: “Knowledge workers will not escape. Recently, the CEO of Deutsche Bank predicted that half of its 97,000 employees could be replaced by robots. One survey revealed that 39 percent of jobs in the legal sector could be automated in the next 10 years. Separate research has concluded that accountants have a 95% percent chance of losing their jobs to automation in the future.” However we need to remind ourselves the point of technology is to boost productivity, not cut the workforce. Although it can obviously feel that way if robots start taking our jobs without an alternative strategy. 

Why It’s Important: The most proactive folks are not sitting on their hands, waiting to see how technology lands in their environment. The best companies have assigned people to strategically plan for the future of work. They want technology driving productivity, and humans to move to more value-added roles. And thoughtful employees need to get their heads out of a “hope it doesn’t happen to me” posture, and start reskilling or upskilling NOW! Technology itself doesn’t displace people. Leaders decide. Be one! At the beginning and end of every job killing robot, is human creativity, compassion, imagination and strategy that is difficult for technology to replace. We humans will always have the advantage of these attributes.

Hot Topic 2: Assign C-Level Roles to Reskilling… NOW! 

Source: Harvard Business Review/McKinsey

What It’s About: Continuing with the topic above, the author argues for leading companies to immediately assign a C-level role to reskilling/upskilling the workforce. Historically, companies have effectively done this for emerging learning systems that require urgent focus (albeit for usually short time periods), like VP of Quality, VP Lean Systems, etc. “The spread of automation and artificial intelligence is prompting some of the biggest companies — including Amazon, JPMorgan, Chase, SAP, Walmart, and AT&T, to name just a few — to take action, not with small pilots but with comprehensive plans to retrain large segments of their workforces. These programs signal that the ‘future of work’ is no longer an event on the distant horizon.” 

Why It’s Important: I want to emphasize the conclusion of Hot Topic 1. Don’t just watch what the big guys are doing. Start doing something about it in your organization NOW. Furthermore, look to partner with entrepreneurial post-secondary institutions. If there ever was a time for business and post-secondary colleges to partner for new business/education models, it’s TODAY. Come to think of it, I work at a post-secondary with the title of Chief Culture and Transformation Officer. Hmm. Maybe that’s one reason I’m there? Perhaps I can demonstrate how I might put my money where my mouth is? Stay tuned! What will you do? 

My Weekly Wine Recommendation (Thanks to Vivino):

Ninety Nine Cabernet Sauvignon 2015

[Picture and ratings provided by Vivino].

And finally! Here’s Cecil’s Bleat of the Week!

“I don’t think there’s a shortage of material in the world. Or in my head. I just pray for continued good health, because I’ve got other stories to tell.”Richard Russo

Bye for now!

– Lorne Rubis

Incase you Missed It:

My latest Lead In podcast.  

My latest blog.

Season 3 of Culture Cast

Also don’t forget to subscribe to our site, and follow Lorne Rubis on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter for the latest from our podcasts, blogs, and all things offered on LorneRubis.com.