Ken Downer
RapidStart Leadership Podcast
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Ken Downer
RapidStart Leadership PodcastEpisodes
Ken Downer
RapidStart Leadership Podcast
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Episodes of RapidStart Leadership Podcast
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When it comes to getting things done, culture can have a huge impact not only on how well the team performs, but how likely it is that our teammates will stick around to do it again. So, what do we do when we sense that our team’s culture is h
If we hope to develop high-performing teams, increasing engagement is always at the top of our to-do list. But sometimes in our efforts to lead, we can get in our own way, and hinder the very thing we are trying to encourage. Two brief intera
Most people know that a marathon is 26.2 miles long. Successful runners also know that it’s a mistake to focus solely on that distance. Smart leaders can benefit from similar thinking. Whatever marathon we are running with our teams, to get
On a recent sub-zero day on a frozen lake in central Minnesota, I got a chance to witness great team leadership in action. It was a crash course in what leading winning teams is all about. Here’s what the experience was like, and five key les
When we’re trying to influence people to choose an option we favor, we can be tempted to only talk about the reasons why they should. But according to something called the Blemishing Effect, it may actually be in our best interests to point ou
One of the many challenges we face as leaders is where to spend our time and energy. Recently I came across an insightful analogy that can help us approach this problem. It has to do with having a kind of leadership double-vision. Notes and R
How do we convince ourselves to do something we’d rather not?It’s cold and raining outside, but I’m supposed to go for a training run today. I really don’t want to. To get myself out the door, here are the kinds of things that go through my h
As ever, with the approach of the New Year, there is talk of reflection. Extracting the lessons-learned from the past year and using them as we look forward is a great path to continued growth. But few are the people who will actually sit dow
What do jet engines and work teams have in common? If either generate too much heat, they will self-destruct. Aeronautical engineers found a surprising way to adapt their engines so they could handle more heat and operate at higher capacities
When telling people what we need done, how do we strike the balance between being overly prescriptive, and recklessly lax? How can we be sure what we want in the beginning will be what we get at the end? A story I read recently involving a fro
In times of high stress, we want fast answers. As leaders we feel the pressure be decisive. But fast is not always best, and can sometimes lead us deeper into trouble. What we need is rapid deliberation. With a little help from Wyatt Earp, a
‘Set and forget’ leadership: Hand off the task as fast as possible, move on to other things. It’s what we tend to do when we’re in a hurry, but the biggest speed advantage this approach confers may be how quickly it can get us into trouble.
Want to achieve your goals? Don’t listen to the marketers…We are continually bombarded by messages that to cater to, and encourage, our short attention span. There is no shortage of “life hacks,” quick-fix remedies, and promises of miraculous
Not all leadership situations are the same. Sometimes the way ahead is clear to all, and leading is easy. But it’s when the storms roll in and the path is obscured that leaders earn their keep. These are the lighthouse leadership moments tha
What’s the best revenge against someone who has done us wrong? The answer might surprise you, but it has everything to do with what makes a leader.Notes and Resources:Prefer to read? Here’s the full post: The Best Revenge: What to Do When So
Hyperbolic discounting may sound like a super-charged holiday sales technique, but in reality, it’s a phenomenon that leaves us vulnerable to making poor impulse choices and sabotaging our goals. Here’s what it is, and seven ways to turn this
Self-Righteousness in the media and in my social media feed seems to have become almost as prevalent as Covid-19, driving people even farther apart than the six feet needed for safe social distancing. So, while the scientists are searching for
How do we know if someone was a great leader? One key is to take a hard look at their final act of leadership before they let go of the reins. Too many would-be leaders see succession in a distorted light that invalidates any good work they m
Did you know that 1 + 1 + 1 does not always equal 3? You would think that the more people on a project, the greater the output. Sadly, that’s not always the case. A phenomenon called Social Loafing leads some team members to do the minimum p
There’s a tool sitting on our leadership work bench that often goes neglected. Yet it has the power to increase our team’s efforts, raise their spirits, and improve performance. As a bonus, it takes very little time, is easy to use, costs alm
In the days before they had horses and rifles, ancient Americans successfully hunted the enormous and dangerous American Bison in a surprising way. By taking advantage of its herd mentality, a few bold warriors were able to manipulate the acti
You’ve probably seen the “rocks in a jar” presentation about time management. It’s great for visualizing the need to prioritize what’s important. The problem is that I think there was a lot they left out. Here are eleven things they didn’t m
No, this is not another post about the seven leadership lessons we can learn from geese. Yes, it does come from watching geese, but it’s something that others have overlooked, and it has to do with leading through transition. And as usual, a
These days as we move from one unforeseeable event to the next, it might seem that any effort to plan is a waste of time. Dwight Eisenhower would agree, at least in part, when he said, “Plans are worthless.” But here’s the rest of that great q
As a rule, we tend to look down on sheep, but we have a lot more in common with them than we might want to admit. In this post we’ll look at one would-be shepherd who learned the hard way that sheep are not the passive conformists we think the
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