Eblin Group

3 Lessons in Leading Innovation From DARPA’s Regina Dugan

Mary Ellen — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:11:24 +0000

Last week, I had the opportunity to hear the director of DARPA, Regina Dugan, speak at a panel on leading innovation during a conference called American Competitiveness: What Works organized by General Electric and co-sponsored by Washington Post Live. In case you’re not familiar with DARPA, it’s the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. They’re the people who brought you things...

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How to Coach a Future CEO

Mary Ellen — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:09:09 +0000

If you’ve been reading this blog for awhile, you know I’m a fan of Ford CEO Alan Mulally. He started in the top job at Ford about five years ago and, he has led the company to quarter after quarter of profitable growth. He’s accomplished that through any number of ways. Probably one of the biggest is by changing the...

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What a Top Chef Knows About Organizational Development – Lessons from Jose Andres

Mary Ellen — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:16:44 +0000

Foodies in Washington, D.C., know all about Jose Andres, the award-winning chef who popularized Spanish style tapas dining in America. Andres arrived in the United States from Spain in 1993 and opened his first restaurant, Jaleo, that year. Today, he is the CEO of Think Food Group and the mastermind behind eight restaurant concepts with locations in D.C., Los Angeles...

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3 Tips for Pacing Your Work for Lasting Success

Mary Ellen — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 15:00:07 +0000

There was a vastly underrated road trip movie last year starring Zach Galifianakis and Robert Downey Jr. called “Due Date.” Downey plays an uptight businessman and Galifianakis plays a goofy but lovable stoner. They take a cross-country trip together. Hilarity ensues. Whenever Downey’s character would explode in rage, Galifianakis’ character would say, “Hey, you better check yourself before you wreck...

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Wondering ‘Am I a Good Leader?’ Take the Sheryl Sandberg Test

Mary Ellen — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:44:36 +0000

Ever wonder if you’re a good leader? If so, I have a simple three question test that will help you answer the question. I call it the Sheryl Sandberg test. OK, I know that some of you are thinking “Is it really fair to compare myself to the COO of Facebook - the same woman who spoke at the World...

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Has Ego Trumped Your Mission? Lessons in Transparency from the Komen Foundation Fiasco

Mary Ellen — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:53:05 +0000

As you’ve no doubt read, the Komen Foundation – the people behind the pink ribbons to fight breast cancer – found themselves at the center of controversy last week after they decided to pull funding for breast cancer screenings from Planned Parenthood. The basis for the decision, according to Komen officials: They no longer wanted to give money to organizations...

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Rypple’s Nick Stein, on How to Deliver Better Feedback

Mary Ellen — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:00:16 +0000

Rypple is a web-based social performance management platform that helps companies improve performance through social goals, continuous feedback and meaningful recognition. I recently spoke with Rypple’s Nick Stein to learn more about the company and get his tips for giving – and getting – effective feedback. Here’s an edited version of our conversation. Scott: Is it fair to say a...

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Is Being the “Go-To Person” Holding You Back?

Mary Ellen — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:00:04 +0000

A big part of my work as a coach involves working with high-potential leaders in workshops, keynotes and webinars. One of my favorite questions to ask these audiences is, “How many of you think of yourselves or have been referred to by others as the ‘go-to person?’ ” Usually, about every hand in the room goes up. I asked that...

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3 Bad Habits of Fake Leaders — and How to Avoid Them

Mary Ellen — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:21:15 +0000

There was an interesting movie that came out last year called "The Adjustment Bureau" starring Matt Damon and Emily Blunt. In it, Damon plays a rising young congressman named David Norris. He’s headed for a big victory in a campaign for the U.S. Senate until a picture comes out of him mooning his fraternity brothers at a college reunion. He loses big and starts giving his supporters the big, inspirational, we’ll-be-back concession speech. He says things like, “Where I grew up, it wasn’t that you got knocked down, it was about what you did when you got back up.” The crowd initially cheers loudly, but then settles down when Norris tells them what he just said was total BS. [ ... ]

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Gabrielle Giffords: The Courage and Wisdom to Step Back

Scott Eblin — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:28:28 +0000

This past weekend, I watched one of the more moving and inspirational videos I’ve seen in awhile. It’s this two minute announcement from Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords that she is resigning from Congress this week. It’s been just over a year since a gunman shot Giffords in the head and almost killed her at a constituent meet and greet outside an Arizona supermarket. Since then, her recovery has been beyond remarkable. The video clearly shows how far she’s come.

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