Al Watts Blog

Likely nowhere in an organization is teamwork more important than at the top. Executive leadership teams can be a potent force charting a sustainable competitive course, communicating direction, crafting winning cultures, and aligning their organizations around strategic priorities. Y

After a few decades, Bowling Green State University recently readmitted me for completion of my master’s degree in Organization Development; the degree will be official this August. (No excuses, but somehow I never got around to finishing my thesis long ago after two job changes, a di

How do first impressions influence you? For the last few weeks I’ve been even more sensitive than usual to the their impact, probably because of the wide variation in quality that I experienced. Here are a few recent examples: We were fortunate to time a stay at our Florida retreat du

Earlier this month our church sponsored its annual “Jazz Sunday,” and I thought about the jazz-like nature of excellent leaders and organizations. I am always struck by the camaraderie, communication and creativity of jazz performances. Ensemble members readily share the lead and supp

I am struck by how often two “C” words appear in the press: “compliance” and “crisis,” as in crisis management or crisis communication. Corporations, particularly publicly held financial services organizations, are spending billions of dollars just assuring compliance with ever-increa

So, “Selfie” is Oxford Dictionaries’ “word of the year!” “Selfies,” of course, are those snapshots that we see practically everyone taking of themselves with smart phones and posting on social media. Oxford explains how “selfie” earned its distinction because of its impact on society

Day after day, day after day, We stuck, no breath no motion; As idle as a painted ship Upon a painted ocean. –      (Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Rime of the Ancient Mariner) Sailors know doldrums well – persistent stillness and lack of wind that prevents movement. They were the bane of a

I’ve been thinking about persistence a lot lately. It started in the middle of gathering firewood in the BWCA, sawing a downed log that was a tad large for my folding saw. I kept at it, and was eventually rewarded with enough wood to grill our freshly caught bass. Over dinner, convers

What does Labor Day mean to you? For many, it is mainly marks the end of summer vacations, an extra long weekend, time for family cook-outs, great sales and the start of football season. I propose that this Labor Day we take some time to reflect on its origins and its meaning today. L

Physical therapy following shoulder surgery and back issues gave me a new appreciation for “core strength.” Physiologically, core strength is primarily a function of our abdominal and lower back muscles, pelvis and diaphragm working together to provide support, balance and power when

In older days, “Clear the deck!” was a common command to prepare for doing battle at sea. The command focused attention, cleared visibility to gain a better perspective on the action, eliminated distractions and quickly channeled resources where they were needed most. Literally or fig

On October 22, 1707, four ships and at least 1,400 seamen of Her Majesty’s fleet were lost off the Isles of Scilly near England; the primary cause was miscalculation of longitude. On the night of April 14, 1912, the “unsinkable” luxury liner Titanic sank with a loss of more than 1,500