David Byrne, The Talking Heads, Stop Making Sense, How Music Works in Leadership, Innovation, and Strategy: DeMarco Banter

I recently finished reading David Byrne’s 2019 book "How Music Works”. For those that don’t know David Byrne is a well-known musician, singer, and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and principal songwriter of the band Talking Heads.  In "How Music Works", Byrne shares his extensive knowledge and experience in the music industry and …

Grit in Leadership, Innovation, and Strategy: DeMarco Banter

Angela Duckworth introduced the concept of grit in her 2016 book "Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance". In the book, she describes grit as a combination of passion and perseverance, and argues that it is a critical factor in determining success in life and work. She provides research-based evidence to support her claims, and …

Leadership Lessons of Bill Walsh: Discipline, Attention to Detail, and a Commitment to Continuous Improvement

As a kid growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area--it would be hard to not have at least witnessed Bill Walsh as a coach and a leader. Bill Walsh is widely recognized as one of the most innovative and successful coaches in the history of American football. Of course, he is best known for …

Existentialism Leadership, Innovation, and Strategy: Neo-DeMarcoian Banter

I’ve studied the Existentialists for years now and I continue pondering how to apply some of the lessons of these philosophers to today.  So much of what they studied, wrote, and believed are a bit shocking, but as leaders we need avoid the preverbal tossing the baby with the bathwater.  What can today’s leaders, innovators, …

AUiX (Air University’s Innovation Accelerator): IGNITE Talk, Montgomery

Many know—I have issues. I was asked to “talk about AUiX” at a local event here in Montgomery AL and of course I said yes. I was later informed this was an IGNITE event and there were “rules.” IGNITE talks are 5 minutes with 20 slides set on a timer. What could possibly go wrong? …