Picture this: You’re sitting in your office at 2 PM, staring at a critical strategic document that needs your full attention. Your calendar is perfectly organized, your to-do list is color-coded, and you’ve blocked out exactly two hours for this task. But your brain feels like it’s swimming through molasses. Every sentence takes twice as […]
Picture this: It’s Monday morning, and your inbox is already overflowing. Your phone buzzes with three “urgent” requests, two team members need immediate guidance, and that strategic planning session you’ve been putting off is staring at you from your calendar. Sound familiar? If you’re nodding your head, you’re not alone. Every leader faces the same […]
I’ve been using the phrase “Leadership Powered by Common Sense” for years. It’s been my tagline, my podcast name, my brand identifier. But lately, I’ve realized something troubling: nobody really knows what it means. Including me, sometimes. When I say “common sense leadership,” people nod knowingly. But when I dig deeper—when I ask what they […]
The call came at 11:47 PM on a Tuesday. Sarah, a VP at a fast-growing tech company, was supposed to be celebrating—her team had just closed their biggest deal of the year. Instead, she was sitting in her home office, laptop open, responding to “urgent” emails that could have waited until morning. “Doug,” she said […]
Here’s the third article in the “Stop Leading On Empty” series: “They just don’t have work ethic,” complained the CEO about his Gen Z employees. Meanwhile, those same employees were working side hustles, building personal brands, and questioning why “face time” mattered more than results. The disconnect was so profound that within six months, he’d […]
Business startup concept.Young man working together with partner in modern office loft ” data-medium-file=”https://babyboomer.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/122593614_m-650×434-1.jpg” data-large-file=”https://dougthorpe.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/122593614_m-1024×683.jpg” /> In today’s business landscape, leadership theories and methodologies seem to multiply by the day. From transformational leadership to servant leadership, from agile frameworks to complex management matrices—the sheer volume of leadership advice can be overwhelming. Yet, what if the […]
Picture this: You walk into your office and notice something feels off. People are going through the motions, but that spark—that energy that makes a team truly hum—is missing. You’re not alone. Employee engagement has hit a 10-year low, with only 31% of U.S. employees truly engaged at work, down from its peak of 36% […]
Picture this: You’re at a big party, surrounded by people, but you might as well be invisible. That’s exactly how 1 in 5 employees feel at work right now, according to recent data from Harvard Business Review. Despite all the Slack channels, Zoom meetings, and office social events, workers are feeling more alone than ever. […]
In today’s complex business landscape, entrepreneurs and business leaders are constantly searching for frameworks to bring order to chaos, clarity to confusion, and direction to their teams. The Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) has emerged as one of the most popular business operating systems over the past decade, with more than 170,000 companies using its tools […]
In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, emotional intelligence (EI or EQ) has emerged as the defining factor that separates exceptional leaders from merely competent ones. As we navigate through 2025, the importance of emotional intelligence in leadership has reached unprecedented levels, with studies showing that EI accounts for nearly 90% of what moves people up […]
