Shawn Rhodes

There's one word high performers love to use more than any other, and it's probably not what you think. Begin using it this week after Warrior @ Work's newest episode!

Accountability is one of the most-used elements of high performing teams. Amp yours up in 10 minutes with this week's Warrior @ Work podcast!

Trust is a hot topic for any leader - so how do we ask our folks to trust us when they may not even trust themselves? Find out on this week's 10-minute Warrior @ Work podcast!

With all the protests happening, businesses are wondering how to take a stand without losing customers. Find out how in this week's nationally-syndicated column with The Business Journals

If you ever become lost in the wilderness of business, you'll want to know what to do to find your way out. This week's 10-minute Warrior@ Work is up!

Your people may be making excuses that cost you customers. Find out what they are and how to prevent them in this week's 10-minute Warrior @ Work podcast!

Engagement is an overused term - what it means to performance is another issue. Find out why in this week's Warrior @ Work!

What makes nonprofits successful can be used to increase your revenue, if you increase the impact you have on your customers.

If you (or your team) is struggling with their stretch goals, take a moment to learn how warrior stretch even their stretch goals. This week's 10-minute Warrior @ Work is up!

If you (or your team) is struggling with deadlines, some quick tips to get them back on track. Latest from the nationally-syndicated column with The Business Journals

As I travel the country and the world speaking to business leaders, I hear complaints about how long it takes to get new employees integrated into their companies. Sometimes, it can take up to a year and a half for an employee to learn the ropes and fire on all eight cylinders. It doesn’t have to.

How long has it been since you've reviewed your customers' experience with your organization? Check out this week's 10-minute Warrior @ Work to get spun up!

If you're thinking about preparing your junior leaders to step up, you might need to take a step back. Find out why in this week's nationally-syndicated column with The Business Journals

If you're looking at goals how you always have, you'll get the results you always did. Take the ten minutes this week and see them in a new way - this week's Warrior @ Work is up!

If you've ever wondered why you weren't advancing, take a look at who you've chosen for your mentor. The latest in my nationally-syndicated column with The Business Journals

If you're struggling to stand out in a crowd - whether it's your market, industry, or team - you'll want to take ten minutes and listen to exactly how it's done. This week's Warrior @ Work podcast is up!

According to Tony Hsieh, there's a $100 million-dollar mistake companies are making every day. Save yourself the time and money of a bad hire with this week's nationally-syndicated column at The Business Journals

Warriors, whether they are on the battlefield or running an organization, have a unique way of prioritizing when everything they do is important. How do we juggle everything and make sure it is all accomplished?

Preparing for transition, and on-boarding people quickly, is not as complicated as people make it out to be. In fact, if you take the time to prepare for it, it can actually increase performance.

If you've ever asked someone in your office to do something and wondered why it never gets done, you'll want to check out what @Thebizjournals just released. Might solve the problem forever.

Communication is a skill that can always improve. Start 2018 off right with this week's 10-minute Warrior A Work podcast - focused on communicating like a warrior!

Eventually, a mistake will be made. What matters is what you do about it. Learn how teams deal with mistakes in stressful environments in this week's 10-minute Warrior @ Work podcast!

If you're not already leading remote employees or teams, you will be soon. Find out how the best get it done with this week's 10-minute Warrior @ Work podcast!

It's the small mistakes that slip by - and add up to big problems. Learn how to avoid them in this week's nationally-syndicated column with The Business Journals

Leaders and managers have different roles in an organization. Which are you?

The secrets to making employees WANT to be accountable

Warriors at work always embrace failure instead of running from it.

Warriors who don't plan to fail are failing to plan. Find out more in this week's 10-minute episode!

Performance and passion aren't mutually exclusive. Here's how to build a bridge between them.

If you've ever lost a client, it's worth finding out what excuses drove them away. The latest in our nationally-syndicated column at The Business Journals

The best command attention wherever they go. In this week's 10-minute podcast episode, I explain how.

You may hate math, but if you want to be a great leader you'd better be a great accountant. Latest in the nationally-syndicated column featured in The Business Journals

If your organization has done away with silos, you may want to rethink the choice. Performance depends on silos being used the right way. Latest 10-minute edition of Warrior At Work is live!

Too many try to re-invent the wheel. Put a stop to it today!

You don’t have to let your organization freeze because of the walking dead (at work). Fire them up with purpose, ownership and urgency to spark lively results in performance.

Innovation isn’t always about that breakthrough product or service that revolutionizes the marketplace. Mostly, innovation is about continuously improving the way you do business so you can capitalize on changes in your environment. Do that enough times and to an outsider, it looks like you’ve accomplished something magical.

Want to make millennials (or anyone) feel at home in your company? Find out how!

Warriors don't just define objectives that are precise and profitable but also line up the resources their folks will need ahead of time, setting them up for success. Your experienced people may know where everything they need is but your junior folks don’t, and the minute you ask those experiences folks to stretch further than they ever have there’s a big chance of failure. If people don't drive performance, then what does?

When customers feel like they’re your priority, they’ll make doing business with you a priority too.

James Mattis, the secretary of defense, (Or when I knew him, General Mattis) said that leaders should plan by understanding the situation their unit is in, where it’s been and where it’s going. Teams that do that are successful 98%-100% of the time. Imagine what that would do for your organization - to know that your strategy would be successful between 98 and 100 percent of the time?

Improving performance comes from knowing what questions to NOT ask.

A lesson in organizational development from the snow monkeys of Japan.

In my work studying high performing organizations, the Department Of Defense sent me out to study combat units, and these folks had massive to-do lists. If they went out on a patrol and just worked from a checklist, they’d never be able to pivot when change occurred. Before they went out on every patrol, their leaders let them know what their priorities were and what success looked like so if they needed to change their route they’d know where they were supposed to finish. Wouldn’t it be… Show more

In my work studying high performing organizations, the Department Of Defense sent me out to study combat units, and these folks had massive to-do lists. If they went out on a patrol and just worked from a checklist, they’d never be able to pivot when change occurred. Before they went out on every patrol, their leaders let them know what their priorities were and what success looked like so if they needed to change their route they’d know where they were supposed to finish. Wouldn’t it be valuable for your teams to be able to respond to last-minute changes and still get you the result you need on time and at a high quality?

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Standing out in a crowd is easier than you might think.

When everything's important, nothing is.

The Silver Tsunami doesn’t have to wipe you out.

Get a new job, or you'e fired!

A presentation's success is determined before the first person enters the room. Find out why!

Mistakes can hurt, but their effects don't have to be permanent.

Great isn't good enough anymore. Here's how to consistently raise the bar.

Even leaders can be wrong, here's how to deal with it while maintaining their respect.

Whether your team is around the corner or around the world, leading them doesn't have to be a challenge anymore.

Finding and keeping good talent has more to do with your organization than it does with the talent pool.

Most meetings are a waste of time, but they don't have to be!

Managing people can be a science. Learn how in this article.

Growing a company to a billion dollars in revenue isn't an impossible goal ... because the secret isn't a secret anymore.

Most training programs are a waste of time and money. In this article, I explain why.

Success is often determined by what you're NOT doing.

What to do when the quality of your work passes proficiency and others' advice. Ho do you continue to progress?

Moving goals are the hardest to hit, but the most rewarding to accomplish.

Use these five steps in your organization to ensure your profits make it to the bank.

Fail quickly, fail often. It's the key the success.

Alignment isn’t an impossible goal, but it starts with getting your folks moving in the same direction.

Irate customers can be a gift — if we handle them with care.

Commanding attention isn’t difficult if you put the focus on others instead of yourself.

Silos may be a thing of the past, but if you’re going to eliminate them, make sure you’re replacing them with something even better.

The best ideas don’t come from the boardroom but from where you have boots on the ground.

To continue to perform at a high level and support your teammates, keep doing what made you successful in the first place.

It’s how the military stays a step ahead of their competition, and how you can out-innovate yours.

Take the time to examine last year’s plans to ensure your future plans become a reality.

Raise the bar on how what you communicate, and you’ll see an increase in how you perform.

All the education and talent in the world won’t help a marksman aiming at the wrong target.

Forget your current job title. To be successful, you’ll have to pin stars on your shoulders.

Consolidation can be an opportunity to examine what processes are worth transferring, tap into the experience of your employees and examining how to continue to improve the way you do business.

If your goals are slogans on a wall or words in a binder that aren’t acted on, that’s where they'll stay. On the wall and out of the bank.

This interview goes into my personal story, my message and my business journey.

This article was adapted from a release I wrote about an Air Force medic in Afghanistan treating international coalition troops.

This story about a Cuban immigrant who underwent an odyssey to gain his citizenship, was awarded best feature story for all Air Force Reserve correspondents.

This article features one of the photo stories I did on previously-classified technology.

My photo of a Marine Corps sniper was chosen as a lead image for this Wikimedia entry

My photo from a firefight in Iraq was featured as the leading image for this TIME article.

Four tips from the battlefield that can help any leader boost their company's effectiveness.

Good plans don't have to go bad. If you establish clear accountabilities with completion dates and clear deliverables, your train will stay on the tracks all the way to the station.