Organizations need to evolve to survive. This was the case for ABB Ltd. (ABB), a Swedish-Swiss multinational corporation headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. Their first CEO, Percy Barnevik, established a revolutionary structure and culture that resulted in ABB becoming a fast-moving...

Technology Structures and Social Boundaries Applied to the Natural, Rational, and Open Perspectives From an organizational theory perspective, technology refers to the nature of work being carried out in an organization and the effects that technology has on the organizational...

If the average leader were to draw a picture of an organizational model, they would likely draw some version of the classic pyramid model of an organization chart. This is because most managers think of organizations as a structure (Őnday,...

Abstract This paper describes best practices in organizational change, including change models supported by academic and popular literature. We review the history of organizational change theory and the development of two unique styles of organizational change models, processual and descriptive....

On the 12th episode of the Deep Leadership podcast released last March 2020, we had the pleasure of speaking with Stephanie Treece, a trailblazer in the field of submarine leadership. As one of the first women to serve as an...

In 1964, singer-songwriter Bob Dylan famously wrote, “the times they are a-changin’.” And the pace of that change has continued to accelerate since that song was written. Businesses need to be more agile and change-friendly than ever before. Today’s business...

One of the key pieces of advice I give to professionals is to “go where you are celebrated, not just tolerated.” This advice came from my good friend, Coach John Brubaker who wrote the foreword to my first book. It...

Leadership is a People Business. That’s the philosophy of the Deep Leadership Podcast, where I bring you real-world, actionable advice from me and my expert guests. In each episode, we explore a different aspect of leadership and how it pertains...

After serving seven patrols as a young Naval Officer on the nuclear submarine, USS Tennessee, I can tell you that being deployed over Christmas and New Year’s Eve was not a lot of fun. It was tough to be away...

Note: This paper was written as part of my requirements for a Doctorate in Strategic Leadership at Liberty University. I’m sharing this here for those who may be interested in some of the theories of leadership. Let me know if...

We all know that customer service is important. In fact, it’s one of the most important aspects of any business. But when you’re looking for great examples of customer service, don’t travel by air. Delayed flights, lost luggage, crowded airports,...

If you’ve been following me for a while, you know I’ve led people in the military and business for over 33 years. I’ve written three bestselling leadership books, been on dozens of podcasts, and taught hundreds of students about the...

In my work life, I’ve received many compliments. I have a hard time accepting the one that says I’m smart. People look at my credentials (like the fact that I’m a nuclear engineer, or that I studied at Cambridge University) and assume...

I once worked for a boss I labeled “TQ”—for Twenty Questions—because he was constantly asking me questions about my work. He micromanaged every aspect of my responsibility and I hated it.  He was way too involved in my decisions as...

For the past three decades, I have been practicing leadership. I have read countless books and articles during that time, but I was primarily a practitioner. I was in the trenches, unaware of the shifting thoughts on leadership. I had...

My first job out of college was my dream job. I served as a Naval Officer on a nuclear submarine, the USS Tennessee. In five years, I earned my “dolphins” (qualified submarine officer) and was certified as a naval nuclear engineer. I...

Why do so many employees lack initiative and show little interest in their employer? When employees first start working at a job, they are typically excited and enthusiastic about their new roles. For many, this is their dream job and...

Who is Pete Havel? Pete is a former political operative who has become an authority on workplace cultures and office politics. He is a keynote speaker, trainer, and consultant on workplace culture and organizational leadership. Lately, he’s been focusing his...

Bob wasn’t happy. The product we designed specifically for him didn’t fit. After months of work creating a special component, we failed. The unit wouldn’t mount properly in the cabinet and Bob was questioning our abilities as engineers. On the...

Several years back, I had a comment on one of my articles that I will never forget. The reader said, “Being an employee of several different companies, I can honestly say that I’ve felt like nothing more than a line item...

One leader can make a difference in any situation and any organization. You might have seen the news this week that Ernest Shackleton’s ship, the Endurance, was discovered in Antarctica after sinking more than 107 years ago. Searchers found the ship 9,842 feet...

Great Leaders Run Towards the Fire This past week, the events in Eastern Europe reminded the world of what courageous leadership looks like. The U.S. government offered to evacuate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky from the besieged city of Kyiv, but...

Create a positive work environment where people genuinely want to do their best every day. Former NFL Coach Jimmy Johnson probably said it best, “The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.” This is especially true in leadership....

I get this question a lot, “What leadership advice would you give to new managers?” Honestly, being a new manager is exciting. Whether you’re a seasoned veteran in a new role or a brand new leader, everyone will be watching...

It’s the time of the year where we begin executing our New Year Resolutions. Planning to make a change in the new year makes sense because we all love a fresh start. CBS News estimates that 29% of Americans are...

2021 is nearly complete, and, in a way, I’m glad. Despite many successes, this year has been difficult for me. As a small business owner, the supply chain issues challenged my company in a way I never anticipated. I expected...

At just 13 games, Urban Meyer had one of the shortest tenures of an NFL head coach, and even that was too long. The Jacksonville Jaguars fired first-year coach Urban Meyer this past week after just 13 games. Under Meyer’s leadership, the...

What kind of boss fires 900 employees on Zoom right before Christmas? When you think you’ve seen the worst in corporate leadership behavior, a story comes along that is almost hard to believe. You may have heard about it. On...

Do you have a best friend at work? It might just be the secret to happiness and success. My son joined the Navy last year, and this Thanksgiving, he didn’t have enough leave to come home. So, we traveled up...

It’s officially Christmas season and full confession – at one business I led, I used to dress up as Buddy the Elf (yellow tights and all) to deliver candy to all my employees during the Holidays. That’s how much I...

Close to 4.5 million new businesses were started in the United States in 2020, making it the highest year on record. New business start-ups jumped 24% from 2019 and more than 50% about the 2010-2019 average. Half a million businesses...

You’ve probably heard the phrase, “hope is not a strategy.” While I generally agree with that statement, I would argue that hope is essential for leadership. And at times, even more powerful than strategy itself. The great Napoleon Bonaparte once...

On October 2, the U.S. nuclear attack submarine USS Connecticut hit an unknown underwater object while operating submerged in the South China Sea. 11 sailors were injured in the collision forcing the Connecticut to limp back to Guam on the surface to assess the...

On January 20, 2021, President Joe Biden delivered a powerful message of unity in his inaugural address. Today, on this January day, my whole soul is in this: Bringing America together. Uniting our people. And uniting our nation. I ask...

When leaders fail to lead, the results are often devastating. On July 12, 2020, an arsonist set a fire aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) at Naval Base in San Diego. The fire burned for four days, injured...

The best leadership lessons are often learned when we put ourselves in the role of a follower. This past week, I went on my annual bird hunting trip to New England. I’ve been making this trip for years and enjoy...

Have you seen the video of former Navy SEAL David Goggins working out with endurance athlete Cameron Hanes? In the video, Goggins is bench-pressing after what looks like a long workout. As he struggles, he yells out, “You don’t know...

When I started my corporate career, I worked for a global company led by the hard-charging CEO, Percy Barnevik. He believed in pushing decision-making to the lowest level. His corporate mantra was, “think global, act local.” He empowered his local...

The American public witnessed two colossal leadership failures in the past month – a botched withdrawal of troops in Afghanistan and an uncontrolled migration of more than 12,000 immigrants into Del Rio, Texas. Regardless of your political beliefs, these events...

Legendary comedian Norm MacDonald passed away at the age of 61-years-old this week. The former Saturday Night Live star was known for his deadpan delivery and fearless commitment to pushing the boundaries of humor. Located among all the stories of...

There have been more than 15,000 books written on the subject of leadership but, when you boil it down, leadership is about inspiring people to get things done. Leadership author and speaker Kevin Kruse says that “leadership is a process...

What if I told you that you could find all the answers to the problems facing your business inside the four walls of your organization? Business consultants know this – and it’s the first place they go to figure out...

You’ve probably seen this yourself – a leader with a control problem. Many bosses would rather die than let go of the control they have on their teams. It happens with even good leaders. Managers want to make sure things...

Have you ever considered the question of whether leadership can be taught? There has always been a lot of debate about whether leaders are born or made. I was thinking about this subject over the past week, and I remembered...

What does it mean to be vulnerable as a leader? At 32 years old, my company promoted me to plant manager even though I had never run a manufacturing operation in my life. Upon arriving at this business, I realized...

I was nervous but trying not to show it. Once the previous watch officer left, it suddenly hit me. I was in charge of an operating nuclear power plant at sea. The entire crew was depending on me. I was...

One of the biggest things I noticed in the business world after spending years working on a submarine was the physical separation of employee groups. In the Navy, officers and sailors worked together in small spaces like maneuvering or the...

Last week the 2020-21 Tampa Bay Buccaneers players and coaches were awarded their Super Bowl LV rings. Shortly after that, Tom Brady took to social media and posted a picture of himself wearing his seven Super Bowl rings. Like most...

As a leadership speaker and author, I get this type of question a lot. I work in a company with poor management. Employees are frustrated and apathy is widespread. Should I confront management about this or just look for another...

Can you remember a time when you felt like you really belonged? For me, it was the day I became a submariner. During the pinning ceremony, the gold dolphin insignia was placed on my uniform signifying I was a qualified...

Something happened at my company three weeks ago that confirmed we are moving in the right direction. And it has nothing to do with our financial performance. In our daily morning standup meeting, a founding employee announced she was pregnant...

Have you ever been in a situation where you knew you were in trouble? It happened to me on my first day at Nuclear Power School. I found myself surrounded by graduates of top engineering schools like MIT, Stanford, and...

Did you know the most senior sailor on a nuclear submarine will back up the most junior sailor in an emergency? It certainly was a surprise to my recent podcast guest, Jeff Akin. When Jeff was a young sailor training...

Have you ever sat through an annual performance review and had that awkward feeling? Like your boss was not giving you true feedback? Like they were just going through the motions? Did it seem…Fake? Forced? Phony? Maybe it’s just me,...

Did you know that squirrels don’t hibernate in the winter? That’s why they work so hard in the fall. Food is scarce in the colder months so they prepare by finding and burying large stores of acorns, walnuts, and hickory...

A recent guest on the Deep Leadership podcast, Steven Mays, got me thinking. He said that one of the most important actions a leader must take is to drive out despair. In more than 30 years in leadership, I have never heard...

In the past three weeks, I’ve noticed a disturbing trend. I have been contacted by a number of people who have been let go by their companies. Sadly, the global pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the economy and the...

You’ve probably noticed the same thing as me. There is success all around us and, as a society, we love to celebrate success. Think about social media. It’s really just a collection of everyone’s highlight reel sent out into cyberspace...

Just West of Cambridge, England on an immaculate slope of deep green grass surrounded by sprawling woodlands lies a powerful reminder of the tragedy of war. The Cambridge American Cemetery sits on more than thirty acres. The land was donated...

I was a guest on a recent podcast and the host asked me an interesting question: What’s my definition of success? I actually had to step back and think about it. For me, success has never been about money or...

I’m going to guess you’re a good boss. How do I know this? You’re reading this post. And, more than likely, you’ve read my book, you follow my blog, and you listen to my podcast. Like me, you probably regularly consume a steady...

I’m not a runner, but I ran six half-marathons once. Growing up in New England, it was always a dream to one day run the Boston Marathon but training for and running six half-marathons was all I needed to realize...

I have given several webinars over the past few weeks on leading during a crisis and one of the topics I like to discuss is making a pivot. Once you understand how this pandemic affects your team, your organization, and...

As we enter our 5th week in quarantine, I’m reminded of the famous motivational posters produced by the British government in 1939 in preparation for World War II. The words were simple but the message was powerful: “Keep Calm and...

I was talking to a friend the other day and we were reminiscing about a business we worked at that went through a really rough period. Market demand had dropped, orders were down, margins were being squeezed, and we had...

When I was just 23 years old, fresh out of submarine school, I was given my first leadership job. I was assigned to lead the team of sailors who maintained and operated the complex systems that controlled the nuclear reactor...

You’ve probably heard the expression, “Lead, follow, or get out of the way.” It could also be put another way, “Don’t just stand there, do something!” If you’re anything like me, you can’t stand inaction. I have a low tolerance...

You’ve probably heard this leadership quote before: “If you could get all the people in an organization rowing in the same direction, you could dominate any industry, in any market, against any competition, at any time” This comes from Patrick...

You probably know I was a Naval Officer early in my career. Well, did you know the Navy has a zero-tolerance policy for running a ship aground? That’s the funny thing about the Navy. They want their billion-dollar warships operating in...

The lady in seat 2B had my attention. I was flying home from Minnesota on a business trip when she struck up a conversation immediately after boarding. And since she was talking about her boss, I perked up. I love...

I have a pet peeve. I can’t stand seeing managers who stay isolated. It bothers me when I hear about bosses who stay locked up in their office or spent their days in meetings. They never get out to see...

Let me share a short story about a boss who had my back. I had spent thousands of dollars of the company’s money. It was my first trip to the high-power test lab and I was nervous. I was the...

Let’s talk about employee engagement. According to Gallup, only 34% of U.S. workers are engaged and enthusiastic about their jobs and companies. And, it’s a number that hasn’t changed much in the past 18 years. So, what’s engagement and why...

You probably know who Jocko Willink is. If you don’t, you might be living under a rock. He’s a highly decorated retired Navy SEAL who commanded SEAL Team 3’s Task Unit Bruiser in Iraq. He’s also a leadership author, consultant,...

Everyone’s path to leadership is different. My leadership journey started in the military. I entered “management” at just 23 years old when I became the officer in charge of the Reactor Controls division on a nuclear submarine near the end...

If you’ve followed me for a while, you know I’m a “plant rat.” I love manufacturing and everything about it. It’s real. You can touch it and see it. You can see raw material being transformed by employees into a...

Have you embarked on a New Year’s Resolution in 2020? You’re not alone. 45% of Americans are likely to make a resolution this year and half of those resolutions are focused on self-improvement. The biggest problem with New Year’s Resolutions...

As you are coming out of your Christmas food-induced coma, I thought I would share an important concept that will help you as you prepare for 2020. One of the complaints I often hear from leaders is that leading people...

A reader once posted this comment on my website: “Being an employee of several different companies, I can honestly say that I’ve felt like nothing more than a line item on a spreadsheet somewhere that an accountant is desperately trying...

I have to admit, I hate Black Friday sales and you probably do too. If you read this blog, you’re a leader. You don’t follow the masses, you chart your own course. Sure, you like a deal, but you’re smart...

In the movie Criminal, Kevin Costner plays a convict whom the CIA chooses for an experimental procedure.  With the help of a top neuroscientist and researcher, they “transplant” the memories of an operative killed in the field – with hopes of...

I had a chance to sit down with author and business leader, Pete Havel, to talk about toxic work environments and his new book, The Arsonist in the Office: Fireproofing Your Life Against Toxic Coworkers, Bosses, Employees, and Cultures.  ...

I’ll be frank. I’m concerned about the state of leadership in corporate America. Every day I hear a new “bad boss” story.  One person told me of a boss that stands at the front door every morning with a clipboard...

A Powerful Visual On Monday night, two AFC East football rivals played under the lights. The New England Patriots had traveled to take on the New York Jets. New England took an early lead and seemed to be dominating their...

In my last post, I was asked how to grab the leadership bull by the horns when you suddenly find yourself thrust into a new position. And I said the first 100 days are critical. To review, you’ve got to...

A while back I was asked this timely question: Q: Jon, help!  I’ve just started a new leadership role and really want to make a good impression, what should I do? A: First off, congrats! Here’s the deal: It doesn’t...

Let me tell you a story. I came up through the Navy (and made seven deployments during the Cold War). Then, I led businesses for 25 years. Here’s a big lesson I figured out about leadership from my years in...

Leadership is simple. It’s about influencing a group of people to accomplish a goal. The problem is most managers forget about the people, the goal, and their role in influencing others. In other words, they do everything except lead. Maybe...

There is nothing a submariner fears more than a fire. A fire on a submarine is one of the most dangerous things that could ever happen on board. Smoke can quickly fill compartments and asphyxiate sailors. The heat and flames...

There are three questions you should ask before taking any leadership Job. A Leadership Crisis There is a crisis in America. There is a shortage of good leaders, and it seems to be getting worse. The problem is people are...

Today I appeared on the Whistle and a Clipboard Podcast to talk about my latest book, I Have the Watch. During this podcast, I talk about the fundamentals of being a leader and the similarities between coaches and leaders. The Whistle...

Today I appeared on the Leadership Update Brief to talk about my latest book, I Have the Watch. During this podcast, I talk about the origins of my leadership story and the genesis for my new book. The Leadership Update Brief...

  Today I appeared on The Coach Bru Podcast to talk about my latest book, I Have the Watch. During this podcast, I talk about the origins of my leadership story and the genesis for my new book. Coach Bru...

“Losing your head in a crisis is a good way to become the crisis.” C.J. Redwine Dealing with Bad News It wasn’t what I wanted to hear. We had just landed a large order for a new product and we...

It Starts with the Mission Great leaders are mission-minded. They are also great communicators. They understand the importance of clear, concise, and continuous communications with their teams. These leaders know how critical it is to get everyone rowing in the...

My first commanding officer in the Navy was a hard ass and it was one of the best learning experiences of my career. Trial by Fire When I first arrived on the nuclear submarine USS Tennessee, I was a lowly...

I had a chance to sit down with Air Force veteran and author, Mitchell Boling, to talk about his new book, Leadership: A View from the Middle. This is a great book that I had a chance to read an...

I wrote a book and it wasn’t anything like what I expected. Igniting a Flame In December 2018, I was listening to a book on Audible called, No More Mr. Nice Guy by Dr. Robert A. Glover when the author...

Leading employees who are older and more experienced can be a challenge but not if you master the art of engaging employees. A Young Factory Manager At 32 years old I was promoted to plant manager, although I had never...

Great leaders know the best way to beat their competition is not just to be better, but to be different. They understand that weird often wins. The Power of Being Different I was listening to Mike Dillard’s podcast the other...