Daneli Partners Blog: Leadership Lessons

HEARD! by Neil Rosenbaum The first time I heard someone using the term “Heard” as a colloquialism was about a month ago.  I was at a training session I needed to complete as a The UPS Store franchise. There was a young woman in the class and when the instructor clarified a point in answer…

Graduates: Great Accomplishments are Not Reserved for Others by Paul Muench, Director of Educational Programming This is a special time of year when the lawn signs are up around town congratulating the graduating high-school seniors as they prepare for the next phase of their lives. I remember when I graduated forty years ago and I…

Better Lucky AND Good! by Neil Rosenbaum Here’s a phrase I use too often; “Better lucky than good”. It’s part self-deprecating, part joke, and I probably shouldn’t use it. Before a test, former high school teacher Paul Muench, Director of Education at Daneli taught his classes to reply to the wish; “Good Luck” before a…

Supporting the Quest for Greatness by Katie Drake and Mary Muench   On this journey through life, we are fortunate to meet folks along the way who are unique and special in some way. The connections we feel and form with certain people can have a profound effect. Daneli Partners is incredibly blessed with the…

My “Second Mountain” by David Casullo author of Leading the High-Energy Culture: What the Best CEOs Do to Create an Atmosphere Where Employees Flourish Great authors have often written about the “second mountain”.  To paraphrase the idea, we tend to live the first part of our lives pursuing things that contribute to our own value,…

Keep It Simple by Neil Rosenbaum I need to lose weight my wife tells me.  Is that hard or simple?  Well… it seems really hard, but in fact, it’s simple, reduce calories and expend more! Seems simple, but it is hard to achieve, isn’t it. An entire industry, $192 Billion worth, has developed.  In my…

Dottie and Her Blue Chevy Nova: A Lesson in Emotional un-Intelligence by David Casullo author of Leading the High-Energy Culture: What the Best CEOs Do to Create an Atmosphere Where Employees Flourish Sometimes in life, experiences that were funny or even embarrassing, upon reflection, are sources of real important lessons.  My first job out of…

Ego is Dead – Or, at least it took a stiff beating in 2022 by David Casullo author of Leading the High-Energy Culture: What the Best CEOs Do to Create an Atmosphere Where Employees Flourish At a recent board meeting I was intrigued by a conversation pre-meeting on the virtue of humility.  We were discussing…

Great Accomplishments Are NOT Reserved For Others by David Casullo author of Leading the High-Energy Culture: What the Best CEOs Do to Create an Atmosphere Where Employees Flourish “Leaders who understand the power of their own energy and who act to leverage it are special and noteworthy, but this is “not reserved only for others.”…

Clarify YOUR Personal Truths by David Casullo author of Leading the High-Energy Culture: What the Best CEOs Do to Create an Atmosphere Where Employees Flourish “Probably the two greatest failures of leaders are indecisiveness in times of urgent need for action and dead certainty that they are right in times of complexity.” Michael Fullan Leonardo…

Personal Truths: Understanding What You Would Die For by David Casullo author of Leading the High-Energy Culture: What the Best CEOs Do to Create an Atmosphere Where Employees Flourish “That we should know ourselves means that we should know our souls” – Socrates So, what, exactly, intensifies the energy within us, whatever its cause? The…

Hungry for Change – Making Meaningful, Lasting Change Will Inevitably Grow Your Business by Neil Rosenbaum Recently, I wrote about the need to overcome challenges at work in the drive to instigate lasting change. The dilemma of needing pain to create change or innovation and the human instinct to avoid it creates the need for…

Is it possible to fool your primal instincts to overcome challenges at work? by Neil Rosenbaum Since the beginning of time, humans have been directed and controlled by evolutionary forces that allowed our species to survive and thrive. Today, those instincts serve us well in many instances and hinder us in others. The fight or…

If Leaders are Chefs, What’s Your Organization’s Secret Sauce for the Best Company Culture by David Casullo author of Leading the High-Energy Culture: What the Best CEOs Do to Create an Atmosphere Where Employees Flourish Over the course of your career, you’ve probably worked in a variety of business cultures, ranging from the good to…

As a Founder Leader, You Must Know What Matters and Live It “Nothing happens… But first a dream.” ~ Carl Sandburg by David Casullo author of Leading the High-Energy Culture: What the Best CEOs Do to Create an Atmosphere Where Employees Flourish The organization of which you are a part was formed by someone. It…

Leadership: It’s About Blocking and Tackling, Even When Your Job IS Blocking and Tackling by Neil Rosenbaum The phrase “blocking and tackling” is used to describe the importance of focus and execution in business. The saying probably comes from Vince Lombardi who put it this way: “Football is two things. It’s blocking and tackling. I…

Grassroots Leadership – Invaluable in Any Circumstance by Neil Rosenbaum Grassroots leadership was not my original topic for this blog. I intended to write about how hungering for change and the presence of pain points can help leaders boost success. However, recent events and the Bat Mitzvah of the daughter of a close friend changed…

Plan B – Always Have One, Try Not to Need One by Neil Rosenbaum I think I was about six when I remember first going to work with my father. I remember clearly walking, probably with WAY too much energy, around his old-fashioned partner desk. His business partner in this glove manufacturing business was there…

What is this Meeting About? by Lisa King author of Just Do You: Authenticity, Leadership, and Your Personal Brand Several years ago, when I was a Vice President in a dynamic, growing retail organization, I learned a valuable lesson that would dramatically change the expectations I had of my boss. The retailer was on the…

Legacy by David Casullo author of Leading the High-Energy Culture: What the Best CEOs Do to Create an Atmosphere Where Employees Flourish Our fourth grandchild was born into this world recently. Logan Thomas follows Carter Geoffrey, Sophia Rose, and Emma Jean. My wife and I are feeling blessed and so grateful it is hard to…

It’s Business, Not Personal Why You’re Kidding Yourself if You Believe it by Lisa King author of Just Do You: Authenticity, Leadership, and Your Personal Brand One of my favorite movies from the late ’90s is “You’ve Got Mail” starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Over the years, I’ve probably watched it a dozen times.…

Surround Yourself With ‘Good’ People Why Being Your Best Self as a Leader Really Matters by Neil Rosenbaum Earlier this year I watched the series Justified, a cops and robbers show about the life of a US Marshall based in the mountains of North Carolina. It’s a good show that is hard to stop watching,…

Mission Possible Why thinking critically is so important to clarifying your mission by Dave Casullo In this time of information overload, the ceaseless barrage can make it difficult, if not impossible, NOT to be influenced wrongly. A friend of mine who ran for a Senate seat in Washington, DC, during the last election shared why…

Your Brand Matters Why Delivering on Promises and Sharing Values Drives Success by Lisa King author of Just Do You: Authenticity, Leadership, and Your Personal Brand When we think of brands, we often think of iconic business brands like Apple or Coke. They are top-of-mind because they have grown to be very powerful, globally-recognized brands.…