Posts by Jerry Olson
Your Worst Decisions Are the Ones You Stopped Thinking About
One beautiful autumn day, I had a long break between meetings. Perfect chance for fresh air and a quick workout, so I jumped on my bike and headed out on one of my regular routes. About halfway through, I approached a stop sign at an all-too-familiar, seldom-used, totally obscured driveway. Decision time. Slow down and…
Read MoreThe Labor Shortage is Coming
The Problem Is Bigger Than You Think Population growth drives economic growth, and labor force availability is the engine. By most estimates, the U.S. is currently running about a million workers short of what it needs just to sustain (not grow!) a healthy labor force. The baby boomers who are now exiting the labor force…
Read MoreBuilding Company Culture You Can See
A lot of leaders think culture is a poster on the wall or a paragraph on the website. It’s not. Culture is the behavior people see on Tuesday at 10:15am. If you want a work environment where people want to come to work, you have to make culture visible, repeatable, and enforced. Not with slogans, but…
Read MoreThe Secret to Organizational Alignment and Momentum
A lot of leaders (especially founder-types) think that if you just tell people what to do, they’ll do it. But here’s the truth: people don’t thrive on instructions. They thrive on purpose. Now more than ever, people want to know why their work matters. Why they should care. Why this company exists. And if your…
Read MoreWinning the Talent Wars: Finding and Keeping Top Talent
“It’s the young people. They just don’t want to work. I can’t find anybody who wants to work.” This has been a common refrain in many meetings I’ve attended recently. It’s mostly the perspective from an older generation who remember having to compete for jobs when they were younger. But here’s the truth: the people…
Read MoreThe Elusive Self-Aware Leader
The very thing that makes visionary leaders a success can sometimes be the thing that is holding them back. A visionary has big ideas, often eager to forge ahead with nothing other than a half-baked plan and raw determination. And that totally works as a solopreneur. But as the company grows, our fearless visionary needs the…
Read MoreTop 5 Business Trends in 2024 (& How To Prepare for Them)
It’s that time of year again, when we look to the future and predict which high-impact trends will shape the business landscape in the coming year. So, from Generative AI to leveraging the data economy, let’s dive into some of the most important trends you can expect to impact your business in 2024. 1. Generative…
Read MoreFluff or Facts: The Role of Data Analytics in Business Decision-Making
When you make business decisions using subjective reasoning that’s based on hunches and gut-feelings, your outcomes are bound to disappoint. Like baking a cake without knowing and measuring the ingredients, it’s more likely to turn out poorly than positively. But say you do happen to end up with a positive outcome: well, it won’t be…
Read MoreWhy You Should Toss “What’s Worked Before”
Let’s do a quick visualization exercise: imagine you’re an infant. Brand new to life and dependent on adults for your survival, you haven’t yet learned to talk. But no matter—you’re an expert at getting what you want. Through experience, you’ve learned that the best way to get what you need in life, whether it’s food,…
Read MoreThere Will be People Waiting for You
I was strapped to a gurney with my head and neck embolized. As the EMTs gently pulled me out of the helicopter and rolled me across the roof of the Mayo St. Mary’s Hospital, one of them leaned over and quietly said “There will be people waiting for you in the ER.” Earlier that day…
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