The BlackJag Executive

Welcome to The BlackJag Executive

on October 22, 2011

Welcome to The BlackJag Executive, a place where you will find cutting edge information, resources and tools to maximize your potential.

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10 Laws of Success

on March 21, 2011

Success depends on many factors that are not necessarily under your control. If you are prepared, you will be ready for opportunities that come up.

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For Greater Success, Break Through

on February 9, 2011

Power and Influence. That’s what you’re all about. You’ve spent your life carefully building every step of your career and by all accounts you have succeeded. At the top of your game, you hold a senior position and are well respected in your industry for your hard work year after year. But now, something has […]

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All men are created equal – career advice from the constitution

on June 3, 2013

Recently my boss tweeted: “To change the status quo you need to ruffle some feathers. Get over it.” A good cliche that many would agree with [1]. Yet some of us, myself included, are shy to do so and until recently I wasn’t sure why. Read More

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When not to hire strategy consultants – notes from ex-BCG consultant

on April 10, 2013

As a former consultant at the Boston Consulting Group I saw first hand when, from my viewpoint, our team delivered value to the client and when we did not. Across six cases over two years I witnessed the clichéd excesses of management consulting as well as the benefits. Here are some suggestions on when not to […]

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Vipassana: 10 days of solitary confinement and insights gained from it

on March 2, 2013

Just after Christmas of 2012 I was able to complete a long time goal of mine to attend the 10-day meditation retreat of Vipassana. The course is secular even though its meditation technique is from Gautama Buddha. My parents and sister had done this course in the past and experienced benefits so I wanted to find out […]

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Performance reviews – after ten years finally a useful appraisal

on March 2, 2013

Annual performance reviews have, for me at least, been largely useless over the last 10 years. I can’t recall a single good piece of feedback I’ve received in these. There may very well have been good suggestions; I just don’t remember any, like I do the good advice I’ve received elsewhere and blogged about on […]

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The most important trait to succeed in sales, and perhaps in life

on March 2, 2013

Dave Kurlan recently highlighted one of his old posts on what makes for great sales people. Surprisingly the best sales person doesn’t necessarily have the best closing skills, or prospects consistently, or even builds the best relationships. Rather it’s the person who sells consultatively – i.e. asks insightful questions. Dave’s finding, based on thousands of OMG assessments […]

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My career midlife crisis and getting from book smarts to street smarts

on March 2, 2013

A while ago I realized that every job, for me at least, follows a similar pattern. In the first year I subtract more value than I add as I learn the job and industry. Those around me usually don’t notice this and either give me the benefit of the doubt or feed my ego with […]

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