Peer Power Blog

As we move into the final month of 2012, I wanted to challenge you with some thoughts around growth. There are a lot of misconceptions around growth in general. For the most part, growth is a good thing, as long as it is planned, controlled and done well. But growth can also lead to collapse and disaster if not done well. That is most true when the supporting structure and team is not prepared for growth. When the fundamentals of an organization, or the people who are to step up and lead it are not prepared – well growth can be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. You have to make the right investments in getting the company focused on the right things, and invest in the skillset of the ... Continue reading

I recently read a blog post from Kevin Graff, a great speaker and coach. He was talking about 6 great tips to improve your team’s performance. This goes along with the Organizational Health focus we have in the crosshairs for HTG. It is important that we focus on getting our company’s healthy. And that means really one thing, and only one thing – that we focus on the people. You see, companies are made up of people. Nothing more, nothing less. Without them, there is no company. Without them, we won’t have to worry about organizational health because there will be no organization. As we prepare to move into 2013, it is important that we begin to understand the keys that help us get healthy. ... Continue reading

Yesterday in Dallas at HTG Summit 2012, we hosted our second installment in the HTG Leadership Track.  This is designed to provide an opportunity for members who want to grow in their leadership development to make an investment in themselves and gather once a quarter to learn the skills required to lead well.  Leadership is a skill.  It can be learned.  But it is hard work and requires one to be intentional and committed. We had over 100 members in the room to hear from a half dozen experts on the subject.  Each of our speakers gave fantastic presentations.  They selected the content they would present independently and without scripting by HTG.  And to say there was a common thread betwee... Continue reading

This past week at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference I had the opportunity to hear Sir Richard Branson as the guest keynote speaker.  He shared some of his success and wisdom with the audience – and I found it to be very interesting and motivating.  One of the key statements he made involved his approach to life: “Screw it, let’s do it”.  He is all about taking risk (calculated and controlled) but taking action.  Far too often we sit back thinking about ideas rather than getting after it and making things happen.  He also shared his most important life lesson -- "Forgive your enemies, the world is too small to hang on to the past”.  That is fabulous wisdom.  Far too many people spen... Continue reading

Each year I write some thoughts on my perspective around the economy. I am not an economist - so take this with a grain of salt. It is just an Iowa farmboy's opinion as to what lies ahead. As I look at 2011 and the next few years, there are some realities that underlay the current market conditions that are a bit troubling. I am not usually a pessimist by nature – I consider myself to be an optimist but over time have migrated to more of being a realist. And the reality is that here in the US, and worldwide for that matter, the issues that caused the economic meltdown have not been truly dealt with. A significant amount of money has been spent – billions here and there thrown at the s... Continue reading