Blue Fjord Leaders Blog
The Voice for Insightful Leadership with Shelley Row, P.E.
When to NOT Trust Your Gut
Meet my brother-in-law, Jerry Trimble. Jerry has been flying helicopters his entire life. His mom has a photo of him as a two-year-old sitting in a helicopter reaching for the stick. (He’s adorable. He would hate me saying that which makes it even more fun.) He’s...
Make Your Meeting More Productive: Take the Emotional Temperature
Taking the temperature of the room doesn't mean too hot or too cold. It means taking the emotional temperature of the people in the room. Taking the emotional temperature gives you an edge to enhance productivity. Here's an example. It was an exhausting meeting, but...
Make Your Mark: Three Steps to Get Started
The chances are good that you haven’t heard of Gustav Vigeland. But his single-minded focus on one concept has much to teach us. He is the Norwegian sculptor whose life’s work is on view in Vigeland Park in Oslo. He created hundreds of bronze and stone figures...
Challenge These Five Assumptions for More Innovation (or Learning from UFOs)
There were thirteen of us and an unknown number of them. We, leaders of a technology company, were standing in a dark field surrounded by the rugged mountains of Sedona. We held night vision goggles and laser pointers that reached ten miles. They were the inhabitants...
Give Your Staff a Trophy (and It Doesn’t Have to be Silver)
The trophy case stood in the middle of the building. It covered an entire wall. Walking through the Miles River Yacht Club, the sun reflected off the polished silver cups, chalices, and bowls. Some of the most highly sought trophies could have held a basketball. I...
What a Sailboat Captain Taught Me About Leading in Adversity
It was supposed to be an easy cruise. That’s what they told me. The 47’ Morris sailboat, sailed the Newport to Bermuda race and finished second in her class. We were part of the crew sailing her back to Newport. And, it was my first sailing trip. To say that the...
Blue Fjord Leaders Newsletter with Shelley Row, PE, CSP
Your place for short, easy-to-read articles on management, leadership, decision-making, and personal & professional development.
Featured Blog Posts
How to Stay Connected with Remote Employees
Particularly for those of us who work on technical projects, it's tempting to use the time working from home to focus project work; however, as a manager, your staff need your attention now more than ever. Maybe you supervise highly technical people who enjoy working...
The Over-Thinker’s Guide to Working at Home Effectively
photo credit: rawpixel The world has shifted and here we are – at home – working. Having worked out of my home office for years now, I can say with assurance that there is a difference between working at home for a couple of days a week and working at home for an...
10 Skills Every Technical Professional Should Know when They Become a Manager
Whether your technical expertise is in engineering (like mine), law, finance, technology or science, we technical folks don’t have good reputations as managers. When a technically accomplished person is promoted into management, suddenly the old skills that made us...
7 Ideas to Consider When Creating Your Leadership Philosophy
What's your leadership philosophy? What's your leadership philosophy? I've asked that question to interview candidates and it has been asked of me. Frequently, the candidate is stumped as was I the first time. Don't let that question stump you. Perhaps you've worked...
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