A coaching culture is one that supports innovation, sparks insights, and energizes employees. What's more, it increases performance and profitability.
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NEWS & IDEAS. THE BRIMSTONE BLOG.
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- COVID-19
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- Organizational Alignment
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Here’s what to think about When Creating a Forward-Looking ESG Strategy
April 10, 2023
When developing an ESG strategy, it is critical to align the strategy with your organization’s larger strategic goals and objectives.
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How Executive Coaching Created New Possibilities and Perspective
April 4, 2023
How executive coaching created new possibilities and perspectives, leading to increased engagement and performance.
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Executive Coaching is a Powerful Tool
March 27, 2023
Executive coaching is a powerful tool to transform your leadership and your organization. Here are four reasons to consider executive coaching.
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Three Things Leaders Need to Know About ESG
March 21, 2023
An ESG strategy is a cornerstone to accelerating impact and financial growth goals. Here are 3 things leaders need to know about ESG.
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Here’s Why Succession Planning Matters
March 7, 2023
Most organizations don't have a succession plan in place. Here are 5 reasons why succession planning matters.
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Here’s why the Great Resignation requires Great Coaching
February 26, 2023
“Being a leader is a privilege you have. Your job is about being able to help people realize their best potential. That’s what, in fact, is expected of you.” -Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft
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Sustainability Strategies Course
January 19, 2023
David Bennell’s LinkedIn Learning course, “Sustainability Strategies” has been highlighted as a way to improve sustainability skills.
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New Regulations Place Sustainability and ESG at the Center of National and Global Business Competitiveness
January 13, 2023
Your strategy needs to consider current and future sustainability and ESG rules and regulations and market realities.
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Thinking holistically about integrating ESG across the organization
December 8, 2022
We partner with you and your team to help you develop and execute an ESG strategy that will deliver meaningful impact for the long-term. Here are examples of how we can help.
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Brimstone Launches ESG Practice
September 28, 2022
With the new ESG Practice, Brimstone offers a range of solutions that will enable organizations to build and execute an ESG strategy that will accelerate impact and financial growth goals.
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How Actionable Strategy Helps Drive Results from Strategy Through Execution
September 22, 2022
Actionable strategy gives organizations the framework and mindset necessary to accelerate momentum and drive results.
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Three Ways to Energize Your Organization
August 12, 2022
An energized, engaged, committed, and insistent organization is remarkable, and possibly unstoppable. Here are three things you can do to energize your organization.
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How Leaders Can Increase Employee Engagement and Energize Their Organization
August 1, 2022
Engaged employees perform better, experience less burnout, and stay in organizations longer. Here's how leaders can increase engagement and energize their organization.
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If you think your top leaders know your strategic priorities, think again
July 18, 2022
Research shows most leadership teams are not aligned. Why does this matter? Organizational alignment is a catalyst for accelerated growth.
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To be a great leader, do these two things
July 5, 2022
Great leaders know that it’s important to learn to lead themselves before they lead others. They begin by understanding themselves.
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How Business Acceleration Teams Can Help You Get Results – Fast
June 7, 2022
When faced with critical issues in their organization, a leader does not have the luxury of time. Business Acceleration Teams can drive results - quickly.
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Most transformation initiatives fail. Here’s how to make yours successful.
May 6, 2022
74% of transformation initiatives fail. When organizations get people and alignment right, their transformation efforts are more likely to be successful.
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Why new CEOs should use Strategy and Leadership Team Alignment
April 12, 2022
Our process, Strategy Leadership Team Alignment, uses tactical planning and strategic thinking to align the leadership team around the organization's vision, and if necessary, their key strategic imperatives, critical issues, operational plans, and key leadership behaviors/values.
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How to nurture your team to high-performance
March 15, 2022
It is likely that your team (even if it is an established team) is in the forming stage. Here's how to nurture your team to high-performance.
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KPIs and OKRs: Don’t let buzzwords get in the way of success
March 1, 2022
Don’t get bogged down in KPIs and OKRs. Instead, establish trust and gain alignment on a few key critical (and simple and measurable) goals. Here is where you will find success.
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When it comes to strategy, aim for perfection, execute with precision
February 9, 2022
Too often, I see leaders and their teams create strategies, and fail to execute them because they are focused on perfection, not precision.
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Designing a hybrid workplace? Avoid this mistake.
January 14, 2022
When designing a hybrid workplace, communication guidelines are critical to creating an effective and thriving workplace – skipping this step could lead to increased burnout and collaboration fatigue.
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9 inspirational videos on leadership and change
January 3, 2022
The following 9 inspirational videos on leadership and change have been helpful for us and the leaders with whom we work.
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8 New Leadership Books
December 20, 2021
8 leadership books published in 2021 (and one in 2020). Each is timely, insightful, and one to consider adding to your reading list.
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ZRG PARTNERS ACQUIRES BRIMSTONE
Change communication executive coaching Leadership Organizational Alignment Private Equity Process Strategy
December 7, 2021
ZRG Partners has announced its acquisition of Brimstone. ZRG’s acquisition of our organization is an exciting step forward for Brimstone.
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Accelerate results in your first 90 days
Change communication COVID-19 executive coaching Leadership Organizational Alignment Process Strategy
November 29, 2021
How a leader leads in their first 90 days can build a foundation for success or create a hole that will be difficult to climb out of.
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The real reason people are quitting
November 15, 2021
The real reason for “The Great Resignation” is that employees are fed up with not being listened to and not being valued.
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Here’s why at least 7% of your organization should be involved in transformation initiatives
November 1, 2021
How many people are needed to drive transformation? New research finds that 7% of the organization is the tipping point for better results.
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Don’t Let Today’s New Hire Leave Tomorrow
October 11, 2021
Vibrant companies are using this time of resignation and turnover to improve their talent, build stronger teams, and better results.
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The Upside of the Great Resignation
September 27, 2021
The silver lining of the Great Resignation is an unprecedented opportunity to build a stronger organization – one poised to thrive
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Beware of the meeting trap: how leaders should manage their time
September 20, 2021
Be intentional with your time. And beware of the meeting trap. Time is the scarcest..>
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Just one Moment: Mindfulness for Busy Leaders
September 15, 2021
Mindfulness can be an effective tool for leaders. Here's how leaders can bring mindfulness into their lives and into their work.
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Report: The Future of the Best Place to Work
September 8, 2021
The report outlines expectations for the future of work, and actions leaders can take to make their organization a “great place to work.”
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How are organizations deciding where and how people work? CHROs share their strategies.
August 26, 2021
How are organizations deciding where and how people work? A group of CHROs share the strategies they have helped develop for their organizations.
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Do you think culture and collaboration require an office? Think Again
August 16, 2021
While there is the recognition that the great work-from-home experiment effective, there is also the belief that it hurt organizational culture and belonging and that it does not support collaboration and innovation. A growing body of research debunks these beliefs.
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You really do need a vacation.
August 9, 2021
Why taking a vacation and truly unplugging is so important - to you and to your organization.
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How to build a mentorship program that actually works
July 27, 2021
Building a mentorship program? Here's what to consider so your mentoring program will be more likely to transform lives, careers, and the organization.
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More effort doesn’t always yield better results
July 12, 2021
In leadership and in life, more effort doesn't always yield better results. And often, when you do less, you enjoy what you do more.
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Few organizations have communicated their plan for hybrid work. This is anxiety producing.
June 28, 2021
Only 1 in 10 executives say they have communicated what hybrid work will look like for their organization. Employees are feeling anxious.
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10 inspirational videos on leadership
June 14, 2021
10 inspirational videos on leadership. Insights and knowledge that will help leaders to learn, grow, and lead.
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Stress and decreased engagement are just two reasons we need to stop scheduling back-to-back meetings
June 1, 2021
Back-to-back meetings need to stop. A new study shows they are causing fatigue and stress, and negatively impacting engagement and focus.
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Survey: The Future of the Best Place to Work
May 21, 2021
We have partnered with Entromy, an organizational assessment platform, to conduct a survey to learn about new expectations for organizations and the work environment.
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The next six months will define you as a leader
May 17, 2021
Now is the time to tackle the nascent issues that were accelerated by crises, to take advantage of new opportunities and new ways of thinking and working, and to focus on aligning and strengthening your organization. What you choose to do over these next six months and over the next year will define you as a leader.
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Meditation is What You Do When You Meditate
May 11, 2021
Meditation builds our capability to slow down, stop, and look deeply into our habitual patterns of thinking and action.
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The Upside of the Burnout Crisis
May 3, 2021
There is a silver lining to the burnout crisis. Leaders who recognize burnout as an organizational problem, take action to create an organizational solution, and make systemic changes will build a stronger organization - one poised to thrive.
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Lead with Courage
April 28, 2021
You have to commit to living and leading with moral courage. Because morality isn’t optional. And courage isn’t someone else’s job.
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A Quiet(er) Mind
April 19, 2021
Mindfulness practice can produce a quieter mind, one that is not pushed and pulled so relentlessly by our involuntary attention. Even a few minutes of meditation or mindfulness practice daily allows the mind to rest a bit, leaving us refreshed and able to lead with more energy, clarity, and focus.
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Build Trust to Lead
April 12, 2021
You either love someone or you don’t. And you either trust someone or you don’t. Building and sustaining trust is crucial to effective leadership.
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“Return to work” makes no sense. Here’s why.
April 5, 2021
It's critical to frame the future as a return to the office, not a return to work. People have been working – a lot.
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The Power of Mindfulness: Remember, Recenter, Re-engage
March 30, 2021
When we can remember to be in the present moment, we can more and more quickly and without judgment recenter ourselves and re-engage with more peace and clarity.
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Social connection is a leadership priority. Here’s why.
March 23, 2021
Social connection impacts trust, productivity, engagement, and job satisfaction, and anchors teams in times of complexity. Whether your team is in-person, remote, or both, fostering social connection is critical.
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A Partner in Change and Transformation
Change communication COVID-19 executive coaching Leadership Organizational Alignment Process Strategy
March 19, 2021
This past year has been full of challenges, opportunities, and transformation. The year has demonstrated our team's resilience and has enabled us to partner with clients in new ways.
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Mindfulness in the midst of a busy day: becoming aware of first responses
March 8, 2021
How can a busy leader incorporate mindfulness into their day? Why should a leader practice mindfulness? What is the value of mindfulness?
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Mastering the Hybrid Workplace
March 3, 2021
Success in the next normal requires mastery of the hybrid workplace. It requires leaders to manage technology, discussion, and information.
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Managing Career Transitions
February 16, 2021
Managing your career needs to be done on an ongoing basis. Those who consistently manage their career are more likely to achieve their professional and career goals than those who don’t.
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The Power of Mindfulness
February 8, 2021
Mindfulness is a tool that can help place attention where it is most needed and then keep it there as long as required to reflect, plan, decide and act.
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Zen and The Art of Diversity and Inclusion: Lessons Learned from the Appalachian Trail
February 2, 2021
In my work with corporate leaders on diversity and inclusion, I often think back to my experience (and lessons learned) hiking the Appalachian Trail.
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11 Trends Shaping the Future of Work
January 27, 2021
2021 (and beyond) will not be a return to the status quo. These 11 trends are shaping the future of work.
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31 books on leadership and change
January 19, 2021
Recent publications and books that have stood the test of time - 31 essential reads on leadership and change for your library.
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How to build resilience when you are feeling tapped out
January 4, 2021
Feeling tapped out? Here's how to build your personal resilience so you can help cultivate your team's resilience.
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How the racial reckoning of 2020 has cracked open my heart and hobbled my ego
December 21, 2020
“If we wait for perfection, we will never break the silence. The cycle of racism will continue uninterrupted.”
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Lead to the future: leadership imperatives for success
December 15, 2020
To lead to the future, place focus on building agility, aligning the organization, operating as a team of teams, and developing your people.
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To Lead, You Need to Listen
December 3, 2020
Great leaders ask questions and listen - to everyone. Our rule of thumb is one part talking, four parts listening. When you listen, you learn.
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Patagonia’s ‘Vote the A**holes Out’ Tags Are a Story in Organizational Alignment
November 18, 2020
How did a designer get the four-word phrase on the tags of Patagonia's Stand Up Shorts? Organizational alignment.
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Be the Change; Change Begins With You
November 11, 2020
Change and leadership are intrinsically intertwined. I can’t say this enough: If you’re not leading change, you’re not leading.
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A strong coaching culture matters. Here’s why.
November 6, 2020
Organizations with strong coaching cultures report revenue growth well above their industry peer group and significantly higher employee engagement.
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How organizations can make remote work a success
October 29, 2020
Remote work and hybrid work are the future of work. To make your transformation successful, you need to be strategic.
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How to attract talent when location is no longer a differentiator
October 21, 2020
With the shift to remote work, employee experience and culture are crucial to attracting and retaining talent. Here's how to stand out.
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Why mentoring is more critical than ever
October 13, 2020
1 Reply
During the pandemic, mentoring programs have been helping organizations continue to deepen their adaptive capabilities, even within organizations that have an established expectation of disruption.
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Developing Yourself As A Leader
October 7, 2020
How can you develop yourself as a leader? Here are lessons learned from our work with extraordinary leaders.
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FlexJobs CEO Sara Sutton on Flexibility and the Future of Work
September 28, 2020
FlexJobs CEO Sara Sutton shares her views and insights on the Future of Work and offers recommendations on implementing flexible schedules.
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How organizations can help support working parents
September 25, 2020
Working parents are not okay. Leaders need to take bold and innovative actions to keep parents in the workforce.
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Now is the time to acquire top talent
September 14, 2020
“Today, we’ve got the greatest opportunity that we are going to have for decades to snag a boatload — not a busload, but a boatload — of great people.”
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We Need to Make Meetings Better
September 9, 2020
By changing how we approach meetings and how we run meetings, we can connect and communicate without furthering meeting fatigue.
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27% of parents plan to leave the workforce. This is a big deal.
August 24, 2020
1 Reply
Now is the opportunity for leaders to take actions that will transform the workplace and the organization to support working parents and create a culture that will accelerate, rather than reverse, gender equality.
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Reinventing the water cooler – and why it matters
August 19, 2020
The "water cooler effect" helps create and foster social bonds, drive innovation, align on truths,..>
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8 Ways Leaders Can Engage and Support Their Remote Teams – and be a more human leader
August 13, 2020
3 Replies
How leaders can engage and support their remote teams for the long haul.
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To energize and transform your organization, ask questions and seek input
August 7, 2020
2 Replies
“By leveraging this moment to explore, experiment, and learn, organizations and their community stakeholders have a unique opportunity to redefine the scope of their priorities and collective actions."
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Energize your team and create unstoppable momentum
July 27, 2020
1 Reply
To create an unstoppable, energized team and enterprise—you can’t just tell the rest of the organization what to do. Instead, leaders are clear with the organization about what success looks like, what change is necessary to achieve it, and why it needs to happen. They involve diverse teams from across the organization in a dialogue about what needs to be done, and how to achieve the goal. That’s how you generate the energy necessary to make a change.
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Plan, then adjust
July 21, 2020
In a “normal” environment, agile strategy gives the organization a competitive edge. In an environment that forces agility, such as the one we are in, the strategy (and the organization) becomes more agile.
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Put an end to the “Eternal Wednesday” and the “New Normal”
June 8, 2020
Move from “handling the crisis” to “moving beyond the crisis.” “I feel like I am..>
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Remote work is different today. Acknowledging this is important.
March 24, 2020
1 Reply
A transition to remote work typically includes preparing by preparing a home office space, acquiring the necessary technology, lining up childcare, and mapping out a schedule. The COVID-19 pandemic eliminated preparation.
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Leading in Uncertain Times
March 10, 2020
1 Reply
In uncertain times, fostering an environment of certainty is critical. With the COVID-19 pandemic, the..>
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Dave Barash: A Celebration of Life
March 3, 2020
Dave insisted on living a purposeful, love-filled and joyous life. It is with great sadness..>
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Why leaders need to commit to change
February 18, 2020
Leadership begins with a personal commitment to change. People can accomplish amazing things when they..>
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Key Drivers for Transformational Change
February 4, 2020
1 Reply
Key drivers great leaders harness to drive transformational change and realize extraordinary results. Leaders must..>
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Using Speed as a Competitive Advantage
January 27, 2020
1 Reply
Speed can be not only a business’s biggest differentiator but also its biggest advantage. Effective..>
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The First 90 Days
January 13, 2020
The first 90 days in a new leadership role are critical. Here are proven strategies to help you succeed in your new role.
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Accelerating Your Personal Leadership Development: Focus on the Process, Not Just the Outcome
January 6, 2020
By understanding "how" you develop, you get in control of your narrative, your philosophy, and..>
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Time is the most precious resource available to a leader. Here’s how to maximize it’s effectiveness.
December 23, 2019
Time is the most precious resource available to a leader. How you spend your time..>
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The Rock as the Teacher
December 16, 2019
Diving into the real work of change will quickly reveal what will be required of..>
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Organizational Alignment Drives Performance and Profitability
December 9, 2019
1 Reply
Organizational alignment is a catalyst for speed and the cornerstone for growth. Most business leaders..>
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Rules of Engagement: Establishing Ground Rules to Build High Performing Teams
November 25, 2019
Effectively using ground rules is an essential underpinning of high performing teams. High performing teams..>
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Bad Company/Good Company
November 18, 2019
A straightforward guide to transforming a company struggling with a culture of failure and underachievement...>
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How to Build A Team Of Owners
November 11, 2019
By getting your team in the game with you, you end up with a far..>
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Simplicity is the key to driving results
November 7, 2019
As a leader, your job is ultimately to drive results. To do this, you must..>
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Leadership Starts With You
November 4, 2019
4 Replies
You can achieve much more than you think you can. So can your team and..>
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Helping Leaders Excel at Change
October 31, 2019
Change is a constant theme for every leader, and a complex and often messy undertaking..>
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Driving Business Results
October 28, 2019
1 Reply
At Brimstone, our mission is to drive valuable results through enduring change that transforms organizations,..>
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Executive Coaching Can Develop Leaders and Boost Your Bottom Line
October 24, 2019
What Effective Executive Coaching Looks Like Our coaching engagements are structured to have a direct..>
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Supporting Private Equity-Backed Management Teams: When is it Time to Intervene?
October 21, 2019
Private equity is increasingly bringing in third parties to help bend the time curve, deliver..>
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Incivility and the Bottom Line: Don’t Be a Jerk
October 17, 2019
With examples like Steve Jobs, Larry Ellison, and Elon Musk dominating headlines, it is easy..>
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Communicating for Success, or the Gray Hyundai Incident
September 26, 2019
The importance of effective communication. Last week I went to an event that required creative..>
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Supporting PE-backed management teams
June 24, 2019
Supporting leadership with highly structured processes that help keep the organization aligned and focused on its priorities This is how PE firms can de-risk their investments and bend the time-curve in their favor.
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Delegate? Not Necessarily
February 28, 2019
A quick dive in to a summary of our eight-step process for change management that drives leaders and organizations to different and better outcomes. But that success depends upon agile leadership.
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Looking forward… and back to our roots
January 28, 2019
Each year, the Brimstone team sets a goal of reaching our namesake island, five acres of uninhabited beach, rock, and field 15 miles from the mainland on the edge of the open Atlantic. The parallels are unmistakable.
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How Fit Is Your Team?
February 24, 2017
For as long as people have pursued shared goals, teams have been part of the equation. In school, we work together and play together on teams. In sports, teams provide a sense of identity for the players and fans. And in the workplace, teams are the essential building blocks for getting work done. Instinctively, we all know what good teamwork feels like. But in spite of (or maybe because of) our experience observing and being part of teams, we often overlook the basics of how we practice teamwork.
The Tension of Opposites
November 1, 2016
Imagine being a CEO tasked with developing a breakthrough strategy that positions your organization for future growth. No matter how brilliant your ideas, you can’t drive change on your own.
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Reigniting Leadership
October 21, 2016
Most companies eventually face the moment when they need to look at their business with fresh eyes. Are the qualities that made them great the same ones that will drive future success? What do they need to do differently in a changing world?
Playing Together
July 25, 2016
Conversations around the gender gap are prevalent, sparked by books like Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In that points out some of the barriers that hold women back. Recent research studies illustrate how greater gender diversity in companies’ management correlates to better financial performance and stock market valuation. There is a host of evidence that shows how women have grown more empowered over the last several decades—culturally, educationally, and economically.
Thinking Your Way Through Stress
April 22, 2016
Helping people grow as leaders is core to the work I’ve been doing over the past three decades and the most impactful area of development lies in helping people understand their behaviors, especially the ones that emerge in stressful situations.
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Frontline Leadership
March 25, 2016
Businesses are continually tested. Each challenge can pull leaders in multiple directions. But, in my experience, one of the most important places for a leader to focus is on the teams of people on the front lines of the business.
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Can I give you some feedback?
February 16, 2016
1 Reply
By Jenny Gumm
For most of us, the word "feedback" conjures up memories of performance reviews. In truth, this is just a small part of the feedback we give and receive daily. Feedback is what we say to each other, and a lot more: our facial expressions, how we position ourselves around a table, different kinds of laughter, the hours at which emails travel, or the stories repeated in an organization. Consciously and unconsciously, feedback is all around us.
