The business world loves stereotypes, where old-line companies (we call them tankers) boast about their age, stability, and staying power while young startups (we call them speedboats) scream about their pace, out-of-the-box thinking, and innovation. Seasoned workers at tanker organizations get cast as rigid and resistant while their speedboat counterparts are hailed as adaptable and tech-savvy.

There is a need for both tanker and speedboat organizations. But let’s be clear here: the only thing you get with age is older. Age isn’t an indication of wisdom, sophistication, or savvy. Age alone does not determine ability to deliver.

In a healthy executive culture, executives have the freedom to express their ideas and are encouraged to challenge norms. They must have protection from the cliquish trolls. They must be encouraged, to a person, to bring something new to the table and argue for and against the merits of the ideas.

Every job, every role, every company has lessons to teach if you’re willing to learn. These are my top lessons from food service.

Managers often place high performing individuals together and expect them to work well together. Then they are usually disappointed when those same individuals fail to reach even basic goals and objectives. But this shouldn’t come as a surprise. There are countless examples of high performing individuals fighting one another to reach the top of some mountain while happily sacrificing others around them.

The one unifying aspect of affecting your current situation or enabling you to change for the better comes down to three simple words: Do Great Work!

It is easy to get focused on the destination or goal and race to a perceived finish line and miss the simple beauty of the people and places around us.

Every generation has to face its own rounds of brand challenges related to the economy, public attitudes, world events, and more. Especially when things go bad, it’s easy to think that in the crisis of the moment there are no parallels to reference for a way forward. This is where despair sets in. But there are almost always examples we can look to for how to thrive in challenging times.

There are winners and losers in every economy. Some people and companies collapse under the weight of changes and uncertainty while others seem to thrive. Same conditions, similar circumstances, but one group withers away while others not only survive the challenge but go on to do great things. What makes the difference?

Dandelions don't need perfect conditions to flourish. No, they don't mind if the soil is bad, the water inconsistent, or even if they have to go it alone against all odds ... like taking root in a small crack in concrete. They accept the conditions given and find a way to succeed.

Much has been written about the difficulty of successful companies thriving in the second and third generations. The same logic holds true for the age of COVID-19. Companies would do well to revisit the founder mentality and get back to their entrepreneurial roots.

Top-heavy organizations are susceptible to major disruption during stormy market changes.

This week, challenge yourself and your team to see the GOOD in people. See that they ARE trying—that they ARE working to solve the problem.

It's hard enough out there. Let's give each other a break.

A year after launching a start-up agency built on filling the gap between in-house creative groups and traditional agencies, I get asked almost weekly if I think the traditional agency model is dying. The answer? Maybe. But the reasons are far simpler than people think.

If your culture is dysfunctional, it doesn't matter how many core values you list or how you word them. If the leadership doesn't demonstrate the kinds of behaviors you want, TELLING your employees how to act will fall on deaf ears.

In every business category, whether B2B or B2C, service-oriented or manufacturing, people want to know that the products and services offered are relevant to how they live.

If you solve problems for your audiences, you have relevance.

Executives must lead from the front in uncertain times. They must prove that even when it's tough they, the leaders, have some idea of what a positive future looks like and are willing and able to help the company achieve success. They must give the people in the organization hope that tomorrow will be okay.

Management's job isn't to beat people into submission. It's to lead them with a focus on a greater good, a bigger goal that will require everyone on the team bringing their best ideas every day.

You. Are. Deserving.

Avoiding mistakes is useless. Making them is human. Owning mistakes and learning from them is where leadership begins.

Generic core values won’t make a difference in your company or your culture. Fix them.