Using Strategic Metaphors to Navigate Change: Lessons From Leicester City and HBR
I've been sharing an October HBR article, "The Power of Metaphors When Introducing Change Initiatives," with many people this month. When I led Walker Sands we used a lot of metaphors because we faced a lot of change. My personal favorite was when we used the story of Leicester City.
The Better Version of Nice: Inside CEO David Ricks’ Leadership Philosophy at Eli Lilly
Last night’s Economic Club of Chicago event, a conversation between Eli Lilly CEO Dave Ricks and United Airlines President Brett Hart, was a masterclass in leadership and innovation.
From culture and change to R&D scale and AI, Ricks shared candid insights on what it takes to lead at one of the world’s most consequential companies. Here were some of our favorite takeaways.
Go-to-Market Best Practices: Reflections from the Stone-Goff Management Summit
Late last year, I had the pleasure of facilitating two small group discussions at the Stone-Goff Partners Management Summit — a gathering of leadership teams from across their portfolio companies.
Be Curious, Not Judgmental: How to Ask Better Questions
There’s a famous clip from Ted Lasso in which he references a quote often attributed to Walt Whitman: “Be curious, not judgmental.” For the leader who always feels the need to have the answers, it’s good advice.
The 27 Business Books I Couldn’t Leave Behind
During my final week as CEO of Walker Sands, I faced a seemingly trivial challenge: which books from my office shelf was I willing to carry home?
Over the years, I’d collected a mountain of business books. Some were quick reads, others deep reference materials. But only a handful had earned dog-eared pages, late-night re-reads, and a permanent spot in coaching conversations. These were the ones I turned to when helping others grow into leadership roles, the ones I often gifted, and the ones I'd consistently copied pages to share.