Zach on Leadership

Ever had a leader who was too involved in all of the details? We call that leader a micromanager. It can feel suffocating and unempowering. Ever had a leader who was aloof, uninvolved, with their head in the clouds? I’ve not heard “macromanager” as a commonly used term, but it seems like the appropriate semantic. This leader makes you feel unsupported and alone. Have you ever heard someone describe themself as detail-oriented? Have you ever heard someone describe themself as…

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Each week on this blog, I build my leadership brand. Whether you know it or not, that is what I’m doing. I spend more time doing it than talking about how or why I do it. It occurred to me recently that my readers may want to build their leadership brands. First, a caveat: What I do works for me because I’m me. How much of this is transferrable to you depends on so many factors. So, I’ll tell you…

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I was cleaning out my desk over the weekend and found some old relics of my professional past. I found a mix of trinkets, awards, business cards, certifications, and some old floppy disks. I flipped through the disks and found this exam preparation software for the Networking Essentials exam, which was part of the Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer NT 4.0 certification. I passed this exam back in 1998 and completed the entire certification for MCSE in 1999. That was 25…

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One of the biggest themes in Zach on Leadership is leading teams. That’s the core part of the job where most leaders need the most help and encouragement. However, that’s not all there is. Another big piece, especially for technology leaders, is vendor management. I’ve written plenty about the technology sales process. In case you missed those articles, you can check them out here, here, here, and here. I’ve even written specific articles about price negotiations and sourcing. So, what…

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This is an article for all of you who spent Christmas and the ensuing days setting up and fixing all of the electronic gadgets that your friends and family received. If you’re that guy or gal, you know exactly what I’m talking about. This used to mean installing computers, televisions, and sound systems. Also, setting the clock on Grandma’s microwave, but times have changed. Now, so much has a digital component to it. Gaming systems, online services, internet of toys,…

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I love to look at the world around me and glean leadership lessons to inspire myself and others to rise to our calling. It’s Christmas. In years past, I’ve drawn leadership lessons from pop culture movies. If you are in the mood for that, please check out my series on Elf. Some of you read the title and guessed that I’d be writing about Ralphie from the movie, A Christmas Story. But this isn’t about “a” Christmas story, but “the”…

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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…

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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…

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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:…

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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….

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