I hear the same thing everywhere I go—"We need to build an accountability culture!" Great idea, right? But here’s the problem: we’ve been saying this for decades, and most organizations haven’t moved the needle. So why do we keep talking about the same issue without fixing it? I’ve got a couple of ideas. Why Accountability Efforts Fail First, one big mistake organizations make is bringing in...

I have a book that I love—a book I read a couple of times last year and still reference often. It’s called Intelligent Thinking—which, let’s be honest, sounds like a pretty good thing to do. On pages 58 and 59, the author introduces a powerful concept: first-order thinking versus second-order thinking. As an executive, understanding this distinction is critical—not just for yourself but for...

Are you still working off a to-do list? Well, I’ve got a suggestion for you: throw that list out—and do it now! Not all tasks are created equal, and that's a big reason why so many organizations never really reach a point of thriving. They don’t take the time to understand behavioral economics. They don’t ask, “What’s the highest and best use of my time right now?” Let me ask you this: If you're...

Every time I meet a new bank CEO, I hear the same thing I’ve heard from thousands of other bank CEOs before. They say, “Roxanne, it’s different here.” Here, we have to measure rates. Here, we have pricing competition. That’s just how it is.   I’ll never forget meeting two gentlemen years ago—one was the CEO, the other the president of a bank. They picked me up in their SUV as we headed to...

Have you ever rolled out of bed on a Monday morning, fired up and ready to take on the week, only to be met with a flood of excuses? You’re pumped, you’re ready to go, but instead, you hear things like, “I can’t because no one told me,” or “Boss, I have a hangnail—I think I need to head home early.” Or the classic, “My life is hard, don’t you understand?” Welcome to a world where victimhood is...

So, I’ve had a mentor for about 30 years now. He’s one of the wealthiest people in the country, and when he came here, he had just fifty bucks in his pocket. He once shared a system with me, and as soon as I started using it, things just clicked. It worked right away. Soon enough, some of my colleagues started asking him, “How is Roxanne getting all this business—and at such high prices?” And he...

So, are we as an industry overly regulated? Absolutely. But here’s the thing: when I sit down with my CEOs on Fridays—many of whom are in the top five percent of performers in this country—I hear a very different perspective.   One of them put it perfectly. He said, “You know what? I don’t care who gets elected or what happens politically, because at the end of the day, I’ve still got to go...

Are interest rates going up or down? Short-term or long-term? What? You don’t know for sure? Well, that’s actually a good sign.   It means you’re thinking because honestly, nobody knows for certain. Yet, we see banks creating these big strategic plans, making assumptions about where rates are headed. But we all know there are so many unknowns: when the next war breaks out, if inflation...

Ready to transform your team? Click here to watch our free masterclass to discover proven strategies for tackling low performers, improving communication, and building the high-performance culture your organization deserves—on your own time, anytime.   I'm not really into the paranormal, but I do believe businesses have their own kind of "ghosts." Let me tell you a story. A few years ago, I...

Ready to unlock the secrets of high-performance cultures? Click here to access exclusive tools and insights, including Next Action Templates and the National Study of High-Performance Cultures—your roadmap to driving growth and profitability today.   So, you can disagree without being disagreeable. Have you ever worked with someone who just seems to be constantly, well, disagreeable? No...