leadership

Overnight Success is a Lie

Last year, I had the opportunity to attend the Final Four—an unforgettable experience for any basketball fan. But what made it even more powerful wasn’t what happened on the court. It was what I read in the stands. A USA Today article highlighted a fact that stopped me in my tracks: three of the four coaches on college basketball’s biggest stage were coaching high school basketball just twelve years earlier. Let that sink in. Dan Hurley? He was literally driving a minibus… Read More »Overnight Success is a Lie

Behavior Never Lies

I normally just jot notes in the book as I read them, but I borrowed this book so I had to take notes in some other manner. As it turns out, I will NEVER jot notes again and will instead keep a running list of notes in Google Docs so I can access it whenever I choose. The good news is that I think there is a lot of great information in this book by Richard Flint – but the… Read More »Behavior Never Lies

2021 Top Ten

Tis the Time for Top Ten Lists I have done a TOP TEN list in a lot of different formats in the past. As I went down memory lane this year, there were a few core takeaways that I wanted to share with you before I went into the Top 10 list in earnest.  First, while 2021 was not easy, there was a tremendous amount of joy in the 365 days in my universe. In fact, it was not hard… Read More »2021 Top Ten

It is OK to be Exhausted and Overwhelmed Right Now

I have long been a fan of David Rock. I think he does an amazing job of boiling down the complex advancements in neuroscience into usable language and concepts. For me, that means he gives those of us without complex knowledge of our brain a glimpse into how our own brain works. As a bonus, if we start to begin to understand how our brain works then tangentially we can begin to understand how the brains of those we are… Read More »It is OK to be Exhausted and Overwhelmed Right Now

My 40th Birthday

I am about to turn 40. I definitely do not have anxiety about turning 40 or anything like that, but there is something about a round number such as this that makes you take inventory. So, as I sit here and try to capture the thoughts I have had in this – the strangest of all of my adult years – I do so with an acute awareness of how lucky I am to be turning 40 happily married, with… Read More »My 40th Birthday

Annual Birthday Post

Man, I look forward to writing this each year. As I concluded by 38th year on this planet I wanted to share any thoughts, musings, wisdom or proof of idiocy that have dominated my thoughts over the past 365 days. New rule from last year for myself. . . each musing is limited to at most a general topic and no more than three sentences or three bullet points to support my thought. Also, added some favorite pics this year.… Read More »Annual Birthday Post

Why telling people to ‘re-charge’ is probably stressing them out.

Maybe, just maybe, we need to quit telling each other to re-charge. Listen, I understand the hypocrisy coming from a guy who has written two books on how to be #FullyCharged. And yes, I still boldly believe and support everything in those books, but I think we are in a danger zone. Joe Mullikin (@joemullikin86) prompted me to think about this. He said maybe enough is enough on this topic and then we had a great dialogue processing through this.… Read More »Why telling people to ‘re-charge’ is probably stressing them out.

It is all about relationships

POST ORIGINATED in EdWeek Teacher http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/classroom_qa_with_larry_ferlazzo/2019/09/classroom_management_is_all_about_relationships.html This may be unpopular. Heavens knows it was unpopular when I would say it at the opening faculty meeting of every year as a principal, but I believe this statement in the depths of my soul.  “The minute I am required to assist you in discipline, classroom management, by default, has failed.” I would clarify that it did not mean that they had failed, but as an administrator, the instant I am involved it is no… Read More »It is all about relationships

Why every superintendent should attend #ASUGSV at least once

A Superintendents #ASUGSV19 experience Late last year (2018) I was asked if I wanted to attend #ASUGSV. I (embarrassingly) had never heard of the event. So, I closed out that email and Google’d the event. The conference website popped up and I saw the list of former and future speakers and rushed back into my email to say I am in if the spot still existed for me. (What other conference can you hear from the likes of Andre Agassi… Read More »Why every superintendent should attend #ASUGSV at least once

Know When You Are Being Used

Leadership is hard. The steadfast desire to create positive change brings forth many behaviors in a leader. Some positive, some negative – but all impact the work environment we are attempting to shape and mold. While it is impossible to know or profile every single leader, it is possible to create generalizations about the behavior of leaders.  Many leaders desire: A level of control or at least influence over their environment or organization To know as must as much as… Read More »Know When You Are Being Used