The Culture Power of Circle Conversations

We always discover a number of things about each cohort: How human, fragile, courageous, adventurous, resilient, talented and personally adaptive they can be. Collectively, they are already extraordinary. Here’s how we do this.

Personal LeadershipGarrett RubisJanuary 21, 2020Culture, Focus, Goals, Leadership, Learning, Lessons, Success, The Character Triangle, leadership, culture, purpose, employees, Wow, trust, Seattle Seahawks, NorQuest, culture champions, circles, courageComment

How a Culture of Free-Will Can Excel!

You and I are culture champions, and sometimes we need real world stories to propel us along. Please read a summary of Samer’s culture cornerstones. Enjoy, and I hope you become challenged and inspired too.

This is All I Need in a Leader!

Here’s what someone told me was all they really needed in a leader. See if you agree with this simple checklist.

Personal LeadershipGarrett RubisNovember 26, 2019Culture, Focus, Goals, Leadership, Learning, Lessons, Success, The Character Triangle, NorQuest, culture champions, leadership, trust, culture, welcoming, purpose, deep purpose, mission statement

Why is It So F#%king Hard to Define Deep Purpose?

Defining a meaningful “deep purpose” is just plain hard. Finding the combination of words to really capture the soul and “why?” of an organization is a longer journey than most institutions are willing to take.

Personal LeadershipGarrett RubisNovember 19, 2019Culture, Focus, Goals, Leadership, Learning, Lessons, Success, The Character Triangle, NorQuest, culture champions, leadership, trust, culture, welcoming, purpose, deep purpose, mission statement

Why Do So Many Organizations Suck at Onboarding?

There is plenty of research that indicates if we make a meaningful contribution early in our jobs, then we seem to gather career momentum. If we know this, then why don’t we put enormous focus towards onboarding?

Personal LeadershipGarrett RubisNovember 12, 2019Culture, Focus, Goals, Leadership, Learning, Lessons, Success, The Character Triangle, NorQuest, culture champions, leadership, trust, culture, onboarding, welcoming

This Culture ‘Fluff’ Stuff

I’m somewhat amused and amazed at the number of so-called experts that still refer to culture as “fluff.” My experience is that they are typically analysts or non value added “money bags,” who frankly have never really run anything other than a spreadsheet calculation.

Personal LeadershipGarrett RubisNovember 5, 2019Culture, Focus, Goals, Leadership, Learning, Lessons, Success, The Character Triangle, 1000 Blogs, NorQuest, culture champions, college, leadership, transparency, trust, fluff, culture, Ben Horowitz

Please Skip the Spin

There is a lot of talk about the importance of transparency and openness in organizations. I just put out a podcast about it! Yet, I think many leadership teams are still learning how to do this well. Too often “message control” from management is more about sharing information they want all team members to know, versus providing the details people really want.

Personal LeadershipGarrett RubisOctober 29, 2019Culture, Focus, Goals, Leadership, Learning, Lessons, Success, The Character Triangle, 1000 Blogs, NorQuest, culture champions, college, leadership, Google, Sundar Pichai, transparency, trust

Top 10 Stupid Work Policies

I talk to people about work culture every chance I get. It’s amazing how in 2019, they tell me about stupid, antiquated policies that linger on from the distant past. Why? Here are the top 10 beefs I hear about that frustrate and diminish people.

Personal LeadershipGarrett RubisOctober 22, 2019Culture, Focus, Goals, Leadership, Learning, Lessons, Success, The Character Triangle, 1000 Blogs, NorQuest, culture champions, NQ Unscripted, conversations, college, leadership

Oh, What PEOPLE Have to Say

As promised, from time to time I would openly and authentically share an update on the cultural transformation at NorQuest. This includes the good, the bad, and the ugly. What follows shares another step.

Personal LeadershipGarrett RubisOctober 15, 2019Culture, Focus, Goals, Leadership, Learning, Lessons, Success, The Character Triangle, 1000 Blogs, NorQuest, culture champions, NQ Unscripted, conversations, college, leadership

Ball Hockey and Norquest Culture

As promised, from time to time I would openly and authentically share an update on the cultural transformation at NorQuest. This includes the good, the bad, and the ugly. What follows shares another step.

Personal LeadershipGarrett RubisOctober 8, 2019Culture, Focus, Goals, Leadership, Learning, Lessons, Success, The Character Triangle, 1000 Blogs, ball hockey, NorQuest, culture champions