Derek Weber

If you walk into our office on a Monday morning at 8:30am, you will find our entire team congregating for one of the most important meetings in our company. Where our values, culture, and purpose are consistently expressed, reinforced, and cemented. Where we share our stories and where we often laugh until we cry. Where the soul of our company emanates. All this power, all this impact, all from a simple stack of Post-It notes. …

Power of Wins Keep Reading »

The value alignment of our employees over time is very similar to water skiing. When skiing within the wake zone, the boat breaks most of the waves making the water really smooth. But once outside the wake zone, you are out on your own feeling the full impact of every single wave in your legs.    When in alignment with our values, there is very little friction; the work is still hard and demanding, but …

Why Employees Burn Out & What to Do About It Keep Reading »

One of my team members is a former restaurant manager. After working together for several years, I’m now convinced that there is a food (and/or sports) analogy for pretty much anything. When it comes to building an effective team, it’s sometimes hard to put into words what exactly we’re looking for besides “a good cultural fit” which we diligently focus on, but we sometimes struggle to identify the root cause underlying the friction that occurs …

Do You Have a Team of Short Order Cooks or Sous Chefs? Keep Reading »

Over the last 16+ years of my entrepreneurial journey, I’ve actually experienced a couple mental and emotional breakdowns from stress and anxiety that have led to extended bouts of depression.   My 2 favorites from the highlight reel:  2007: right at the front edge of the Great Recession, about midway through what ended up being a 21 bank odyssey to get financing for what would eventually become our office, I was sitting at my computer …

Why Do We Do This Again?!? Keep Reading »

Thinking about business as a giant puzzle, I’ve noticed there are 4 distinct roles to bring a business to fruition, the people who: Choose/create the picture (vision – purpose/problem/people) Construct the edge pieces (rules of engagement – values, strategy) Place the middle pieces (execution – 4 business functions) Break up middle pieces making them ever smaller, more intricately integrated (optimization – continual improvement as well as reducing the seams between/among business functions) All four of …

What Piece of the Business Puzzle Do You Bring? Keep Reading »

Recently I was listening to a speaker who challenged the room with a simple, but powerful question: “Would you enthusiastically rehire every person on your team?”   Growing and developing your team is a lot like maintaining a garden full of orchids or azaleas (two of the most notoriously difficult plants to grow). It requires constant attention—not only to the plants themselves, but to the environment. Without knowledge and the right tools, it’s a hopeless …

Would You Enthusiastically Rehire Every Person on Your Team? Keep Reading »