I don’t know about you, but the first thing I do when I arrive at work is check my email.  In fact, I spend a considerable amount of time at the beginning of my workday checking the over 100 emails I receive daily. It is a habit I have fallen into over time. But it doesn’t stop there. I also check my email frequently throughout the day to handle anything important that pops up. I now realize there is a better way. A Better Way I stumbled on the better way out of necessity. You see, I noticed that I have difficulty focusing on my work in the early afternoon, which seems to collide with my need to concentrate on important tasks that take a considerable amount of time and thought. That was a big problem for me. I recently ran across an article that mentioned the work of Dr. Ron Friedman, Ph.D.  In the article, Dr. Friedman discusses many essential aspects of developing daily routines to be more productive. He also has a book titled, “The Best Place to Work.”  I haven’t read it yet, but it looks like a good read. Although he discusses many topics in the article,…

I use the word "common" loosely since the process used to hire a police chief varies dramatically from city to city. You might say the process shifts like sand in the sea from opening to opening, but that would probably be a little too much hyperbole. Anyway, l have participated in several different hiring processes in the last 10-15 years. I have also observed the shift in methods used from a strictly internal approach to a more public process in the last several years. Small, medium and large police departments can use different processes. Listed below are the typical processes used to hire a police chief. By no stretch of the imagination does this list cover the breadth of possibilities. A list such as that would take an entire book. Instead, I have tried to include the most common approaches. Internal Process By far, this is the most common process. I would even call it the traditional approach. The process works like this. They advertise the position and collect resumes. The hiring officials sift through the applications and narrow them down to 8-12 applicants to participate in the interview process. The City Manager or Mayor, depending on who the hiring…

A few years ago, a friend and I bought a house to rehabilitate and sell.  After a few months, the majority of the major work was completed.  It seemed to take forever to finish the last 5% and get it ready to sell. Likewise, an NFL team can march down the field 10, 20, or 30 yards at a time.  Something happens though once they get near the goal line.  The last 10 yards seems to take more effort than the previous 90. I began thinking about this topic after watching a compilation video on Facebook showing a bunch of people fail, just when they were on the brink of success. Check out the video. As a leader, it is easy to take your eye off the finish line or get distracted when you are so close to success. Here are 5 mistakes leaders make when they are on the brink of success. Looking Back Too Early There is absolutely nothing wrong with checking out your surroundings, even looking back at what you have accomplished.  In fact, it can be helpful.  A continuous scan of your surroundings as you progress toward your goal is important to achieving success.  However, make…