The 8am Standup

Today's episode from "The Compass" is a core tenant of leadership. Great leaders are always striving to be better. Being better, being prepared and being indefatigable are all qualities that make great leaders. Take stock in this from Ernest Hemingway, "There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man. True nobility lies in being superior to your former self."  A...

Today's episode from "The Compass" is a cautionary note.  If you are directing more than coaching, you are failing. As a leader, you have to be careful to coach more than direct and it takes a lot of insight to catch yourself when you are veering off course. Here are a few ways to help stay on track. Have a great day.

Today's podcast is about data, reporting and how taking the wrong path or believing the wrong metrics can cost you advantage and opportunity. Superstition is the confusion of correlation with causation. Mark Twain once said, there are three types of lies: Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics. Never confuse correlation with causation and remain suspicious of data, and critical of reports, great lea...

Today's episode from "The Compass" comes indirectly from a friend of mine. This good friend shared with me a picture of a poster in the hallway from where he works that states, "The World is Run by Those who Show up." He said it was a Mike kind of quote. The poster is signed by the President and CEO of BCBS of Michigan, Tricia Keith. Tricia Keith is a highly respected and i...

Today's episode is that Great leaders never confuse what it means to increase efficiency with what it means to become more effective. Great leaders never confuse efficient with effective. Or they shouldn’t. Great leaders never confuse efficient with effective. To succeed in business, always be mindful of this and remember Dietrich's law of delivery - costs increase and value decreases with...

Great leaders know that high performing teams need diverse individuals, people with the right aptitude and attitude, and people who are committed to the success of the whole. These things need to be present in every member of the team, and if not, the leader has to make the difficult decision to "change the people." A leader knows that failure to act decisively puts the team and the prog...

You can introduce and use any number of models , technologies and processes to try to select just the right candidate but you can’t outsource your leadership responsibility that makes you accountable to coach, train and mentor whomever you hire to become the best version of themselves and a key member of your high performing team. But the first step is using whatever model you choose or  have to i...

Your image, your brand is built on the things you do and the things you fail to do. Taking no action where you could becomes your brand. Tolerating favoritism, harassment,and doing nothing when you witness discrimination, dishonesty and disrespectful behavior destroys trust andbecomes what people think you stand for. Your reputation is hard to build and sometimes impossible to maintain, so demonst...

Great leaders know to include risk and control indicators to measure performance. Most organizations, from Retail to Banking, Telecom to Services, use Key Performance Indicators. You might say, they are overly focused on the creation and use of them. However, Key Performance Indicators are telling you what happened in the past and how the results measure up to often just asingle number . Remember...

Today's point on the Compass is "Great leaders don't major in minors." Majoring in minors is focusing on the wrong things, distracting you and your team from the critical work and deprioritizing high priority work - or obscuring it through a maze of endless activities whose success means nothing to your success. There is an important lesson here, so enjoy. MM

Welcome to the 8am Standup. I must admit, I really enjoyed making this one. I hope you enjoy it as well. Today's podcast is about strategy. And if you are even confronted by coming up with your company's AI strategy, this might do the trick. Have a great day. MM

Good morning. Welcome to the 8am Standup. Thank you for listening. There are so many ways organizations try to deflect accountability. Some are obvious but the worse ones are those where companies adopt processes or technologies tocompensate for leadership responsibility - creating a culture where leaders are insulated from the decision and believe they are no longer accountable. As a leader, not...

Today's episode from "The Compass" is about time. Great leaders know that time is the enemy.  It’s a simple fact. We measure it, we monitor it, but we can't create it. Thomas Jefferson once said that "no person will have occasion to complain of the want of time who never loses any."  That may be true, but it is short of being able to create it. To a leader, time is espe...

Today's episode from "The Compass" is about making the conscious choice to include opinions other than your own and create a culture accepting of diverse opinions.  How welcoming are you todiversity and dissent?   Great leaders always choose diversity over conformity. And they don’t confuse conformity with commitment.

Why Leadership matters. This episode from "The Compass" is important. Perhaps its THE point. The recording is done from the road, and not my planned episode. However, it seemed to be timely and important. The episode is 'Why Leadership Matters." For everyone who may need the reason in as simple a context that you can imagine. Leadership matters because You can only create value...

Today's episode from "The Compass" is about a key characteristic of great leaders: Great leaders always remember to reward the doers. They know who is leading the way, who is finding ways to overcome blockers and who are just going to get things done - accomplishing their goals working along side their team and seemingly always ready for more. There are a few things to remember, list...

Leaders right now are working to launch new initiatives. They are all slated to add value. But who determines value? It isn't always clear and it isn't always one person or group that is making that determination. Today's podcast is about the importance of defining the customer, because it is always the customer that determines value. Have a great day. MM

Today's episode is from "The Compass" and contains a warning and a simple solution. There are people who can't be coached. As a leader, you need to identify those people who are ready. Make a difference for the people who want to make a difference. Have a great day.

Today is a Federal Holiday honoring the life of Dr. Martin Luther King. I believe it is fitting that today's episode from "The Compass" is a key leadership characteristic that is reinforced by the life and achievements of Dr. King.  Great leaders act out an abundance of courage.

Today's episode topic seems simple enough, perhaps obvious. Great leaders surround themselves with talented people. Of course, why would a leader not surround themselves with talented people. Well, you would be surprised, or watching the world stage today, perhaps not. Thank you for listening. Have a great weekend. MM

Good day - todays episode is about leadership. Great leaders know the difference between leadership and management. You would be surprised at how often the confusion of management with leadership derails the creation of high performing teams. Have a great day. Thanks for listening. MM

Today's episode is about change. Change is a part of everyday and leading change or leading through change is a key leadership skill.  You can run and hide but you can't avoid it. And you shouldn't. The greatest challenges and the greatest moments of your career will likely be highlighted by your success leading a team through change. Have a great day. MM

Good Morning. This episode is from my new book, "The Compass" and it is about another trait that make great leaders stand out from the rest. Great Leaders create capacity for success. Enjoy. MM

Good Morning. Today is Monday January 12, 2026. Today's podcast from my book "The Compass" is about getting things done. Great Leaders know that execution is measured every 24 hours: Great Leaders use a clock, not a calendar to measure progress. Enjoy. Have a great day.