Zach on Leadership

On the evening of December 16, 1773, the brave patriots of Boston stood against tyranny. My Great Great Great Great Great Great Grandfather was among them and played a key role that changed the course of human history. Benjamin Edes Benjamin Edes was a member of the Sons of Liberty and publisher of the Boston Gazette. The Boston Gazette was the most radical of Boston newspapers often expressing a patriotic and revolutionary point of view. Some of the conspirators met... Read More Read More The post Leadership Reflections on the 250th Anniversary of the Boston Tea Party appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

A few years ago, I took my family on an RV trip to the Canadian Rockies (Banff, Jasper, and Yoho). It was one of our most epic trips, and I’d love to do it again. If you’ve been there, you know what I mean. Some of you know that I’ve taken my family on a lot of epic RV trips. I’ve written about it before here. Since I’ve camped in 49 states, 5 Canadian provinces, and 37 national parks, people... Read More Read More The post Leadership Lessons from Driving an RV Backward up Mountain Switchbacks appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

When I was a kid, I remember watching Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. In this film, the crew of the Enterprise traveled back in time from 2286 to 1986. Scotty tried to use a MacIntosh computer by speaking to it, “Hello Computer”. Of course, it didn’t respond. Bones handed him the mouse, and Scotty spoke into it as if it were a microphone. Of course, that didn’t work either. If you need a refresher, check out the scene here:... Read More Read More The post Hello Computer: The Opportunity for Generative AI to Modernize Computing appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

Fell off the jetway again This is a reference to the opening scene of the 1994 film, Dumb and Dumber. Lloyd is a limo driver who drives Mary Swanson to the airport. It was the best day of Lloyd’s life because he met the girl of his dreams. It was also the worst day, because he got in an accident, got fired, and ran off the jetway trying to return her Samsonite briefcase. Being a leader often feels this way.... Read More Read More The post Dealing with the Ups and Downs of Leadership appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

Four years ago, I wrote “Leadership Lesson from Deer Hunting.” It’s one of my better articles. I wrote about the lessons learned from the preparation required to hunt and the stillness and patience in the woods. I also reflected on my experience passing on this sporting tradition to my two older boys. If you haven’t read it, please check it out, then continue on here. 4 years later A lot has changed in 4 years. My oldest son, Caleb, harvested... Read More Read More The post Leadership Lesson from Deer Hunting – Part 2 appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

In retrospect, had we known how much work it was going to be, we probably would have never done it. That’s how it is with ambitious endeavors. It starts with a vision. Then, we commit. Then, we nearly fail in a hundred different ways, yet we persevere to the end. This year, my 17-year-old son, Caleb, and I made a Mandalorian suit for Halloween. I wore it to work. He wore it that evening. This story starts about a year... Read More Read More The post Leadership Lessons from Building a Mandalorian Suit appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

Last week, I published a big article about ZachGPT: My little side project to build an artificial intelligence in my likeness. If you missed it, check it out here. In the week since, I’ve been reflecting on that experience. It felt really good to get my hands dirty with emerging tech. It occurred to me that the reasons why, how, and to what degree I do this have important leadership implications. That’s the topic we will discuss this week. Letting... Read More Read More The post Hey Tech Leaders: How Often Do You Get Your Hands Dirty With Technology? appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

So, I did it. I merged with AI. I jacked in. My consciousness is in the machine. Well, sort of. I read and watch plenty of Sci-Fi. This sort of thing fascinates me. While my opening statement is an exaggeration, it’s as close as I can get with today’s technology. And it was easier than I thought. Let’s back up a bit. I’ve been preoccupied with Generative AI as of late. Yep. Me and everyone else, I know. About six... Read More Read More The post Introducing ZachGPT: Your AI Leadership Chatbot appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

When I was 13, I got my first job. I was a newspaper carrier. I learned a ton of formative personal leadership lessons from that experience and I wrote them all down here. With that job, I was my own boss. I worked alone. When I turned 16, I got a second job, in addition to the paper route. My next-door neighbor, Bruce, ran his own candy vending machine business. These were the small pedestal machines with bulk candy in... Read More Read More The post Leadership Lessons from Servicing Candy Machines as a Teenager appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

Ownership. It means, “I’ve got this.” It’s the words, actions, and attitude. It’s the competence and the confidence. It’s not associated with any particular job title or level. When it’s there, we feel good. When it’s not, we’re lost. In the world of information technology, ownership can be elusive. Development blames operations. Operations blames development. The business blames IT. IT blames the vendor. The vendor blames the other vendor. People suffer. At the end of the day, all we want... Read More Read More The post From Engineer to Owner appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

True story: Generative AI recently hallucinated, claiming that I wrote an e-book entitled, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Technology Leaders.” That was totally made up. But I liked the idea, so I decided to defictionalize it. Or here’s a creepier explanation: GenAI knew the future… Never mind. Let’s not go there. Back in the day, when I started my career, Stephen Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” was hot. I remember taking a corporate classroom course on... Read More Read More The post The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Technology Leaders appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

I was just talking to a friend recently who didn’t get a leadership role he applied for. In this particular case, the fact that he went for it was very public among his peers. It was a long shot. There was an incumbent with a clear advantage. My friend was the underdog. He put all he had into it, but it didn’t work out. Not this time, anyway. This story stuck with me, not because it’s a unique story. I’m... Read More Read More The post What Happens When You Go for a Big Leadership Role and Don’t Get It? appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

I just got back from a two-week vacation with my family and another family that we are close friends with. There were 13 of us in all, exploring the beauty of Costa Rica. Early in the trip, I earned the nickname, “Nature Guide.” When we went on hikes in the jungle, I naturally looked at the map, figured out the path, and pointed out interesting flora and fauna along the way. No one asked me to do that. It just... Read More Read More The post Leadership Lessons from the Jungle Cows of Costa Rica appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

In the 1999 film, The Matrix, Morpheus tells Neo, “There’s a difference between knowing the path and walking the path.” As leaders, we do all sorts of things to develop better productivity for ourselves. We read books, listen to podcasts, and discuss best practices with each other. That’s all great. It’s a necessary first step in the process. It’s hard to improve if we are ignorant. But what if we find a gap between our newfound knowledge and our actual behavior?... Read More Read More The post Walk the Path: Use Viva Insights to Reinforce Good Meeting Habits appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

Have you ever commuted to the office to attend a meeting, only to wish you hadn’t? Have you ever joined a meeting remotely, only to realize that you should have been there in person? If you answer yes to those questions, this article is for you. We are more than a year into full-blown multi-persona flexible work. I’ve written about the topic on many occasions already. The article will go deep and attempt to solve a very specific problem. But... Read More Read More The post To Commute, or Not to Commute: That Is the Question appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

I am a personality & leadership assessment junkie. I’ve written about MBTI and StrengthFinder on this blog. I’ve also taken DiSC, InColor Insight, Enneagram, and countless others. I take Greek philosophy’s maxim, “Know Thyself” very seriously. I also believe that there’s no such thing as a well-rounded person. Sometimes our performance management and education systems are designed to create well-rounded employees, but that’s a fool’s errand. People aren’t well-rounded. But teams can be. This has been a theme on this... Read More Read More The post Working Genius: A New Tool in the Toolbox appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

I am here to help. I like being helpful. It makes me feel useful. I like doing for others what they cannot do for themselves. This may not seem like much of a leadership attribute, at least not in the traditional sense. You may think that leaders don’t give help, they get help. In many ways, that’s true. They hire people who help them achieve their desired tasks. However, when adhering to the principles of Servant Leadership, leaders take the... Read More Read More The post Help Others Achieve Their Goals appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

I caught myself saying something peculiar this week. I said, “I like busy managers.” At first, that may give you pause. It may seem a bit odd, and perhaps even a little cruel. After all, managers tend to be some of the hardest-working people at a company. They often show up before their team, leave after everyone is gone, and carry the burden of stress on top of it all. So, why would I take pleasure in the massive workload... Read More Read More The post I ♥ Busy Managers appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

I am from the email generation. I came of age and joined the workforce in the late 90s right around the time that email became the standard-issue, de facto communication standard. When I attended college, students were issued email addresses. When I got my first professional job, it came with an email address. Folks a few years older than me didn’t have that experience. I was right on the edge of it. Faxing and inter-office memos were on their way... Read More Read More The post Email is the New Fax appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

Most people get varsity letter jackets from their school, not their company. I didn’t realize it at the time, but my first corporate job was more like a school for me, than just a job. Like a good school, I learned how to lead. I learned good habits. I learned the right way to do things. It’s easy to be nostalgic about the past, but more than that, I want to share what I experienced because it was rare and... Read More Read More The post Leadership Lessons from a Really Fun Company appeared first on Zach on Leadership.