March 2, 2023

When Life Knocks You Flat

Over the past several weeks I’ve heard from three people who each, after 20-30 years of loyal service to their company or hospital, received a layoff […]
February 23, 2023

Appreciation for DAISY Foundation

Mark and Bonnie Barnes, cofounders of the DAISY Foundation, have done so much to thank nurses. To date more than 2.5 million nurses around the world […]
February 20, 2023

The choice between 20 seconds of insane courage or a lifetime of regret

In the movie We Bought a Zoo, Benjamin Mee (played by Matt Damon) tells his two children Dylan and Rosie how he had to muster up […]
February 16, 2023

Hope is Relentless Optimism + Determination

Leadership Job #1 is to Spark and Fan Extravagant Hope This is my working definition of hope, from a slide I shared in my presentations at […]
February 6, 2023

6 Downsides to a Culture of Accountability

You don’t have to hold someone’s feet to the fire when they are willing to walk across hot coals on their own Twenty years ago the […]
January 30, 2023

Culture Can Change – Quickly and Profoundly

When in 1986 U.S. Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop announced the goal of a smokefree society by the year 2000, many people wondered what he’d […]
January 17, 2023

Proceed Until Apprehended

The 2023 edition of The Florence Prescription is now available on Amazon. Among other updates, it includes a new chapter on why culture needs to complement […]
November 28, 2022

Building a Culture for Emotional Safety

In his new book Blind Spot: The global rise of unhappiness and how leaders missed it Gallup CEO Jon Clifton writes that workers who strongly believe […]
November 3, 2022

6 Rules for Being Lucky

“Luck is the most valuable force that society routinely undervalues.”        Ben Cohen: “Winners know how to harness luck”, Wall Street Journal, October 8-9, 2022 In 1995 […]
October 12, 2022

Creating a Culture of Emotional Safety

Emotional Safety and Everyday Courage Creating a Culture of Emotional Safety In our article Caring for Covid’s Emotional Long Haulers (Nursing Management, March 2022), my coauthors […]
October 3, 2022

Building a Support Group Culture

Over the years we’ve been home to dozens of rescue animals. I love the bumper sticker that asks “Who rescued who?” The love these animals have […]
September 5, 2022

Carving the Statue of You

A Labor Day Message I love the statue Self Made Man by Bobbie Carlyle. It’s a man with a hammer in one hand and a chisel […]
August 31, 2022

New Book: There’s a Snake on My Head!

Communicating when people are anxious My friend Mindy Spigel has just published her new book There’s a Snake on My Head! Strategies for Alleviating Fear and […]
August 15, 2022

Oh, the Places You’ll Go

Getting Yourself Out of a Slump Books that Inspire Me #37 This is the 37th in a series of posts in which I share thoughts on […]
August 8, 2022

Are you having fun yet?

Why “true fun” is so important for your organization – and for your life. True fun at the inaugural Culture of Ownership Leadership Academy (COLAcademy): teammates […]
May 14, 2016

Change Your Future with “Yet”

Negative self-talk is telling yourself lies and then believing those lies. As you embrace the untruth, it becomes your reality. One of the most seductive and […]
May 16, 2016

“Bus” is the Wrong Metaphor for Your Organization

Jim Collins is one of the most widely-read authors on business leadership today, and deservedly so. His books, including Built to Last and From Good to […]
May 25, 2016

On Leaving a Long-Tail Legacy

The year was 1866. Caleb Abel stood on a bluff not far from the Cedar River and brushed the dirt from his hands, thankful for the […]
June 13, 2016

Effective Culture Change – In 2 Pictures

Tonia Wallace is Director Women’s and Children’s Services at Midland Memorial Hospital in Midland, Texas. When we began the Culture of Ownership Initiative in early 2014, […]
June 16, 2016

Avoiding the Number One Time Mistake

I recently sent a letter to a poet whose work I greatly admire (he’d made a very nice comment about my book The Healing Tree). He responded […]