This question came up in a recent Acumen Council. One partner was asking, “Am I ready? Can I do it? Am I capable?” The question is about mindset and priorities versus the stories we tell ourselves about what it means to be an entrepreneur or CEO. After taking all the risks, working your tail off …
Who is on your deal team today? I saw the post above from Brent Beshore of Permanent Equity. I think it’s a great window into the world of mergers and acquisitions. There is an increase in activity in the small and medium business market of deals and I’ve noticed some gaps with CEOs and owners …
Plan. Do. Celebrate. Rest. Of these four work seasons: What are you best at? What do you default to? What gets the least of your attention? Why? If you are like me and the team of partners where this conversation came up last month in Council, you excel at the “Plan” and “Do.” And if …
There was a small fire on the roof that was starting to spread. My father had the hose out, trying to keep it from spreading faster while waiting for the fire truck to show up, which seemed to be taking forever. I could hear the siren from down the street, and I was energized and …
If you lead within any organization, toss aside the latest best seller and simply tune in to the Apple TV+ series Ted Lasso. The show’s namesake is a positive, endearing, and erstwhile American football coach played by co-creator and Kansas City area native Jason Sudeikis. After some modest success in the States (he leads Wichita …
One of the leaders of our teams had a “NoVid” party. It’s like they were saying, “OK, we’re done, let’s get back to the regularly scheduled show!” We can see the pace of business returning yet with a different flavor. In some spots, it’s a slow leak. In others, it’s a full-on fire hose. What’s …
Over the last six years, Acumen has built a community of CEOs and Owners in Kansas City to create a more significant impact and influence for all constituents. Like many businesses in the last year we evolved, innovated, and streamlined to grow when that time was right. In the beginning, our hypothesis for a high …
In our house, we call the month of May, Mayhem. It’s the end of school, the middle of the 2nd quarter, the rainy season, and the edge of summer. Both home and work serve up mayhem – good and evil. Mayhem has been faithful to its definition this year. Thankfully it’s over. What happened this …
Do they trust you? Asked another way, would you follow you? What would your team say if I asked your team if they trust you? The absence of trust is the bottom layer in Patrick Lencioni’s triangle and book, 5 Dysfunctions of a Team. It’s because, without trust, you can’t lean into conflict, commitment, accountability, …
My wife Ali has a great sense of smell. I think it goes back to when she was pregnant and could smell frozen fruit from a mile away. Who can smell frozen fruit? It’s frozen! I think she ate most of the frozen fruit in the city during pregnancy. Like the frozen fruit, Ali can …