Science proves it: decision fatigue is a real thing. By the end of your workday, your emotional and intellectual horsepower is depleted. When leaders invest precious energy in low-impact decisions, everyone pays a price. Hoarding decisions undervalues employees. It also keeps you from making bigger decisions that really matter. You can’t escape decision-making, but you […]
About Michael Hyatt
MICHAEL HYATT is the founder and CEO of Michael Hyatt & Company, a leadership development firm specializing in transformative live events, workshops, and digital and physical planning tools. Formerly chairman and CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, Michael is also a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of several books, including Living Forward and Platform. His work has been featured by the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Inc., Fast Company, Businessweek, Entrepreneur, and other publications. Michael has been married to his wife, Gail, for thirty-nine years. They have five daughters, three sons-in-law, and eight grandchildren. They live just outside Nashville, Tennessee. Learn more at MichaelHyatt.com.
3 Elements of Effective Decision-Making
When I was CEO at Thomas Nelson Publishers, we spent half a million dollars to attend an annual trade show. For several years, we invested in this event without stopping to ask whether or not it was the best use of our resources. Everyone assumed it was an essential expenditure. After all, our competitors would […]
Get Free of Goal Shame and Achieve Your Impossible Dream
“Someday I’m going to climb Everest.” In the early 1940s, professional beekeeper Edmund Hillary shared his seemingly insurmountable goal with the world. At this point, no climber had successfully reached the Everest peak. The mountain’s difficulty level echoed loudly through 30 frozen bodies lying on its route. Louder still was the public criticism for Hillary’s […]
How to Beat a Burnout Culture
In 2013, the Romanian hacker Marcel Lazar cracked open email accounts belonging to the members of George W. Bush’s family. Lazar found paintings by the former president of animals, still life, even some self-portraits. Lazar released the images to the media, many people were surprised to discover Bush’s hobby. They need not have been. Presidents […]
Create Transparency and Trust with Cascading Communication
In 2000, I got one of the greatest opportunities in my career. I was appointed publisher over the Nelson Books division of Thomas Nelson Publishers, which was one of the top English language publishers in the world. I knew our team had experienced some financial troubles, but I was thrilled for the chance to lead. […]
How to Avoid Confusion with Clear Communication
Under-communication is a consistent problem in nearly every business. You can solve that by taking ownership of the communication happening around you. I’ve worked with more than my share of poor communicators over the years. One was a boss who rarely shared information and never in a timely way. My office happened to be in […]
Communication Secrets of Remote Teams
If you’ve recently made the switch to remote work, you’re not alone. At least a quarter of U.S. employees worked from home at least part of the time before the Covid-19 crisis. An estimated 16 million U.S. knowledge workers started working remotely due to Covid-19 as of March 2020. That number has likely continued to […]
How to Choose a Business Coach
I recently had lunch with a young entrepreneur. His business had grown quickly, and, as a result, he was facing challenges he’d never encountered before. He said, “I think I need a business coach—someone who can help me navigate the road ahead. Can you recommend someone?” I get asked this question a lot. Running a […]
5 Reasons You Need a Business Coach
In early 2002, I was the general manager of Nelson Books, one of Thomas Nelson Publishers’ fourteen divisions. In eighteen months, we had gone from number fourteen—dead last—to number one in terms of revenue growth and profit margin. I felt great. I was proud of myself and my team for the results we’d achieved. That […]
Selling Your Vision When You’re Not in Charge
I once worked for a boss who lacked vision. I should say he lacked a single vision because he changed direction frequently. The team never knew what flavor-of-the-month program was coming next. It was frustrating! Ever the activator, I was determined to build momentum in my department even if my division was stuck in neutral. […]
The No. 1 Mistake Leaders Make in Crisis
During a crisis, leaders tend to hyperfocus on managing the threat and neglect long-range thinking. That’s a mistake because vision is critical both for evaluating short-term decisions and for creating a better future. The coronavirus pandemic has been a major disruption to the world economy. Some believe it will dwarf the effects of the 2008 […]
7 Benefits of Working Remotely
Leverage this Opportunity to Improve Productivity and Morale
When the COVID-19 crisis made it necessary for our team to work from home, the transition was seamless. We began as a completely remote company six years ago. And when we did add an office two years ago, it was as a place for collaboration and communication. To this day, no one has a traditional […]