It’s never a good idea to criticize your boss in public. It’s an even worse idea to talk about him or her to the media. If you do, don’t be surprised if you get fired. You were asking for it.

Yet, they wanted us to trust them and invest in their future as though it had already happened. … At the end of the day, you can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do.

Even though we’ve lost a great coach and teacher with John Wooden’s death, he left a legacy that that is especially relevant today: his virtuous leadership style.

In my answer to Michael’s previous question, I emphasized the formal ways in which we communicate our values at Thomas Nelson. I talked about hiring practices, new employee orientation, rewards and recognition, and annual reviews. All of these are important, but, as I suggested at the end of the post, they are probably not the most important.

“How do you or other leaders in your organization communicate the ‘core values’?” Unless values become behaviors, you only have a set of platitudes. Unfortunately, these platitudes will ultimately create cynicism when smart people realize that your behavior doesn’t line up with your words. At Thomas Nelson we rely on six methods to communicate our values.

At Thomas Nelson, our core ideology is comprised of four key elements. These are distinguishable but inseparable. It’s a little bit like talking about an orange. You can distinguish its shape, its color, its size, and its smell and taste. However, you can’t do away with any of these attributes and still have an orange. So it is with your organization’s core ideology.

What he did have was a strong sense of who he was, and a caring spirit about him that made me want to follow him, listen to him, be in his space as much as possible. … For two reasons: First, it was abundantly clear in our conversations that he cared about me, and second, he lived the kind of life that I wanted to live.

Where do the great ideas come from in your organization? The short answer is anywhere. They can come from at least four sources. More important, there are specific things you can do to ensure your organization nurtures and harvest’s the best ideas.

The bigger and more successful you become, the easier it is to rest on your creative laurels. This is one of the things I have really admired about Apple. They keep pushing the envelope. I don’t think this happens by accident. Someone there is doing a lot of thinking about how to encourage and reward creative thinking.

We’ve all experienced it: the large bureaucracy where where the employees seem to be just punching the clock. However, this happens in the private sector as well. In fact, it happens any time people get disconnected from the their purpose.

As leaders, you and I are called upon to make hundreds if not thousands of decisions over the course of a year. A few are monumental. Some are consequential. Most are trivial. However, I would boil down the most important decisions I make into three categories

“Can you name a person who has had a tremendous impact on you as a leader? Maybe someone who has been a mentor to you? Why and how did this person impact your life?” Here’s my answer.

The last question Dean Bradford of Vanderbilt’s Owen Graduate School of Management asked me was this: “What two things would you say to our students, particularly those who are graduating and about to enter the workplace?” I gave him the two answers he requested, but, upon further reflection, I would like to add a third.

Change is difficult for most organizations. It is made even more difficult when leaders resist it. It is my observation that leaders have either one of two postures when it comes to change. This makes all the difference in terms of the outcome. Let me explain.

t is an important question. Why? Because increasingly CEOs, pastors, and other leaders are being asked by their staff, constituents, and even boards about their “social media involvement.” Most leaders I have spoken with, still don’t see the value or, if they do, know how to work it into their workflow. They already feel overwhelmed with their current responsibilities; they aren’t looking for one more thing to do.

So much of the activity I see among leaders today is focused on reaching the masses. “Successful leaders” speak at big conferences, host popular television or radio shows, publish bestselling books, or write successful blogs. Their goal is breadth. They want to extend their influence to as many people as possible. Jesus had a much different leadership strategy.

Several months ago, a former executive at our company made a commitment to a third-party via email. It is obvious that he didn’t research the cost of his promise nor did he get anyone else’s approval. Neither I nor my CFO was aware of the obligation until the other party brought it to our attention. When I learned that the commitment was north of six figures, I gasped.

Why is it is so difficult to change? Whether it is our personal lives, our organizations, or our communities, real and lasting change is difficult. According to Chip and Dan Heath, the primary obstacle is a conflict that’s built into our brains. In their new book, Switch, they explain this conflict and, more importantly, how to overcome it to create the outcomes you want. In a moment, I will tell you how to get a free copy of this book.

Real leaders go first. They never ask others to do what they have not done or are unwilling to do themselves. They lead by example. Like the Apostle Paul, they are willing to say, “Follow me, as I follow Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). Like Lt. Col. Moore, they are the first on the field and the last off.

Over the years, my wife, Gail, and I have developed a set of conversational rules that we use at the dinner table. We have ever written these down. They are largely unarticulated. However, over the years we have done our best to maximize these opportunities and to make eating more about the discussion than the food. Here are eight things we do to create engaging dinner-time conversations.

For the last few days, I have been thinking about how to achieve really big goals. How do you do really hard things? How do you push through the inertia that threatens to keep you in your current state? How do you increase your probability of accomplishing what you set out to do? Whether you are trying to write a book, lose a bunch of weight, overcome an addiction, or land a new job, I believe these six items will help you achieve your goal.

I don’t like conflict. In fact, sometimes I think I am conflictaphobic. (I just made that word up.) I will do almost anything to avoid it. However, soon after I became head of one of our publishing divisions, I had to confront one of my authors. He was pleasant and cooperative when I spoke with him. But he was demanding, uncooperative, and downright nasty to my staff. Finally, one of them came to me, nearly in tears, and said, “I’m sorry, but I just can’t take it any more.” I had to make a choice.

Today is Martin Luther King Day in the United States. On this day we celebrate the life and work of one of the greatest leaders the world has ever known. I want to take a few minutes and reflect on what is commonly referred to as his “I Have a Dream” speech. While the speech is a masterpiece of rhetoric, I believe it also provides eight insights into what it takes to be a truly great leader.

”Let’s be honest. You ate too much high octane food during the holidays. The weather outside was bitter cold, so you ditched your exercise program. You haven’t darkened the door of the gym since the week after Thanksgiving. And the scale doesn’t lie: you’ve gained a few pounds.” This is the conversation I had with myself in the mirror on New Year’s day.