We launched our second HRoundtable this past week with the help of my long-time friend and wonderful consultant, business owner Sonya Kemp. Sonya believes in the notion that giving to others and allowing a group to learn from each other strengthens the outcome for everyone.  Adam Grant talks about this in his giving book, "Give and Take."  We have eight wonderful managers in this group from premier companies and they are already demonstrating their passion to give to each oth

I am grateful to have worked for a few “healthy leaders” early in my career; they seem tougher to find today. There are unprecedented challenges in leadership in this chaotic world. Bob Rosen, CEO advisor and founder of Healthy Companies International, knows from his extensive research and hands-on experience that healthy leaders pave the way to healthy companies. Bob and his Chief Knowledge Officer, Kathie Ross, are joining us for our Great Starts Breakfast Series on June 1s

Jeremy Hunter, PhD is the Founding Director of the Executive Mind Leadership Institute as well as Associate Professor of Practice at the Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management at Claremont Graduate University.  He creates and teaches The Executive Mind, a series of demanding and transformative executive education programs. They are dedicated to Drucker’s assertion that “You cannot manage other people unless you manage yourself first.”  He also co-leads the Leading Min

This month we sat down with Kristie Griffin, Director of Talent Acquisition for our wonderful client, Dignity Health. With a compelling trajectory of moving from big tech to healthcare, Kristie exemplifies a kind of agency that leadership expert and author, Bob Rosen, defines as grounded. Kristie’s drive to balance her personal and professional goals have fostered a flourishing career path that welcomed change. It reminds us of the importance as leaders to look inward as much

On April 28th we hosted our annual Great Starts Breakfast Series. There was a full room of CEO’s, CFO’s, CHRO’s, VP’s, Director’s and others engaging in a fascinating discussion centered around culture, which is a “hot button” in many of the organizations we work with. Who better to help us facilitate a discussion on culture than Gustavo Grodnitzky, Ph.D., author of the book, Culture Trumps Everything. Dr. Gustavo effectively built the case for social capitalism cultures, whi

We hosted a learning event this past week and enjoyed a provocative discussion with Dr. Gustavo Grodnitsky.  I invited our clients and a few really smart and engaging millennials who bring amazing honesty and refreshing energy to our discussions.  This is written by Derek Kozaites, a recent graduate is interested in International Studies and business.  Read what he had to say; "I had the pleasure of attending a “Great Starts Breakfast Series” hosted by S.Benjamins & Co. The s

Dr. Jeremy Hunter, Professor at the Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management at Claremont joined our HRoundtable this month to facilitate a discussion about Intention and Attention.  We were energized by his passion and practical tools that many are now using. What is the quality of your attention and how has that changed for you in the past few years?  With data and information coming at us 24/7, it is hard to imagine leaders are mastering this ever The model that Jere

The Wall Street article today on "Brain, Heal Thyself" has me thinking about brain fitness as leaders.  Dr. Doidge, who teaches at the University of Toronto and is a researcher at Columbia, says the brain heals and using it means we have more flexibility and significantly better outcomes for brain health.  That might not be entirely new data to you, however, his discussion about how to improve our brain health is fascinating. It does require a new perspective on light, sound,

Are there days when you feel like leading change is pushing a boulder up the hill? or around a corner? Today, I was able to see a 340 ton boulder on it's route to LACMA and this is literally moving the boulder. I learned that this is taking millions of dollars, creative road preparation and weeks to go from the inland empire to mid-Wishire. Isn't this a metaphor for change on a large scale? Viewers in Long Beach were lined up to see the "Rock" rest on Atlantic blvd as it prep

Are leaders born charismatic or does their title give them charisma? I recently revisited a wonderful TED Talk that dares us to rethink who and how we lead.  According to Seth Godin, our society is propelled by the idea of change. This started with factories that changed the way products were made, then moved to mass advertising to change the way we sell products and now revolves around leadership. In Seth's eyes, leaders lead tribes (i.e. groups of people linked in some way)

You may have picked up your newspaper or checked your tablet today and read about Starbucks offering college classes to over 130,000 employees. It got us thinking, how many organizations are investing in their employees’ education outside of the internal training? The American Council of Education approximates that roughly 20 percent of graduate students and 6 percent of undergraduates receive some financial assistance from their employers to attend school. As many as a third

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Yesterday I was delighted to be a guest at an executive retreat for Alumni of the Drucker School in Claremont.  We met in this beautiful new conference center that was state of the art.  Dr. Jeremy Hunter who has facilitated learning events for us here in OC was kind to invite me as his guest and he facilitated the all day workshop. There were 40 professionals and business owners from impressive organizations and some had taken Jeremy's class in the EMBA program and others ne

Alex Dehgan, Chief Scientist & Director at the Office of Science &Technology, US Agency for International Developmemt recently published an article about the seven things he learned about leading change. As we enter a fresh year, it is important to look back on things learned and look forward to new change initiatives coming our way. 1. Dare Mighty Things. Dehgan suggests that the goals we set have to appeal to both the rational and emotional sides of human nature. Goals and