Zach on Leadership

It’s Thanksgiving: a time to count our many blessings. Undoubtedly, we all have a lot to be thankful for; however, many of us struggle to muster that attitude as we confront loss, disappointment, and pain. Last weekend at church, I was reminded of a pertinent scripture: “Give thanks in all circumstances” – 1 Thessalonians 5:18 That’s easy to say but hard to do. My company, CHS, just announced an annual earnings drop of 46%. This follows several years of continuous…

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When I take inventory of my career successes and failures, I often reflect back on formative experiences that significantly shaped who I am and where I am today. These are only things we can understand in retrospect. At the time, they only seem to be momentary or temporary. Only in the long-view can we understand the significance. I’ve looked back at various points in my career in previous blog articles. I chronicled my educational journey. I reminisced about my first…

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Fight Club, directed by David Fincher, was released to theaters in 1999 and pretty much bombed. I didn’t see it in the theater. However, when it released to DVD it gathered a cult following. I’d consider it more of a generational following since I barely know any Generation X men who haven’t seen it. I know plenty of women who are fans too, but that’s hit or miss. It’s one of my favorite movies. I recently read the 1996 book on which the movie was…

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Succession is something leaders typically start to think about at the end of their careers. They think, when I retire, who am I going to pass this on to so my legacy survives and the vision is carried forward? While that is a very good thought, career-end is way too late. Effective leaders think about succession every day. At one point in my career, the next five levels of management above me were all in their 60s. Assuming they were…

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