mistakes – Nathan Magnuson

Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word

July 10, 2017 Personal Effectiveness

Over a decade ago I received a DVD of a past Chick-fil-A franchisee seminar. As I watched, the late founder Truett Cathy took the stage to deliver his opening remarks. They weren’t what I expected. He opened by saying, “If any of you has something against someone in this room,…

The Best Leadership Education You Can Get for Free

January 18, 2016 Leadership Personal Effectiveness

Just about all of us are Monday morning quarterbacks when it comes to leadership. Everyone has an opinion. But how informed are those opinions, especially if we’ve never been there before? Here’s the thing: if you wait until you receive a leadership role to get a leadership education, you may be…

How to Respond to a Mistake

August 4, 2014 Influence Personal Effectiveness

As an individual, it doesn’t take long to realize Alexander Pope’s timeless line “to err is human.” As a leader, it can be downright frustrating dealing with the errors of those we lead. But it’s how we respond to those mistakes that sets great leaders apart. If someone on your team…

How to Bounce Back from Adversity

January 20, 2014 Courage decision-making Inspiration Personal Effectiveness perspective planning Resilience

Adversity is no respecter of persons. Our experiences are usually different, but each of us gets our turn. Our organizations do too, for that matter. So what happens when adversity strikes? How can we climb our way our of it? This isn’t an exhaustive list, but here are some thinking…

6 Ways to Change Your Learning Culture

July 8, 2013 Culture Human Resources Learning Organizational Effectiveness Strategic Thinking

When you were growing up, you probably spent hours sitting in a classroom listening to teachers deliver lecture after lecture in school. Now, as an adult employee, the thought of sitting through company training seems boring, unproductive, pointless and wasteful compared to actual work you could be doing. And if…

How I Cashed In on My Own $77 Million Mistake

February 18, 2013 Inspiration Learning

“Good morning, this is Nathan,” I greeted the caller on my cubicle phone several years ago. “Yes, this is Bill. I’m a Vice President at First Big Bank. I need to know where our $77 million is.” “Uh, yes,” I gulped. “Well… do you have an account number?” I was…

Coach Bill Snyder’s 16 Goals for Success

December 24, 2012 Core Values Inspiration Leadership Personal Effectiveness

I’m a sucker for leadership philosophies embraced by successful athletics coaches. Whether it’s Coack K on teamwork or Coach Burton on developing high school kids, I always come away with something powerful and enriching. I think the reason is that athletics provides one of the greatest leadership development opportunities out…