The 8am Standup

This episode is about my new book, THE COMPASS. In the podcast, McLaughlin Moore answers not only what the compass is and what it is not but addresses the most important question of WHY NOW? The Compass confronts a core problem as a serious deficit of credible, values-based leadership - particularly in government. The Compass is a call to action -

The podcast episode discusses how meetings have increased significantly since 2020 and argues that meetings are not productive work but rather interruptions, emphasizing that meetings should only serve three purposes: providing direction, engaging in discussion, or making critical decisions,while criticizing common types of meetings like status updates and steering committees as wastes of time and resources, and advocating for leaders to reduce meeting overload by questioning the necessity of meetings and adopting more efficient communication and decision-making methods .

Today's episode is that great leaders must distinguish between urgent and important tasks, maintain focus on value-creating activities, manage fire drills promptly without letting them disrupt strategic plans, and prepare contingencies with capable team members to handle crises effectively while protecting their team's capacity and direction .

Dietrich’s Law, as explained in this leadership-focused episode, emphasizes that costs increase and relevance decreases over time, making speed and timely delivery essential for saving money and maximizing value to customers. Leaders are encouraged to adopt a 24-hour delivery cadence and a bias for action to build trust, momentum, and results by delivering value as close to real time as possible, applicable to any project or venture with a start and finish.

The episode emphasizes the crucial distinction between leadership and management, highlighting that great leaders lead people while managing assets. Confusing these roles can damage trust and team performance, making leadershipessential for high-performing teams and successful transformation.

The Episode emphasizes that effective leadership requires a focus on speed and execution, which should be measured every 24 hours rather than relying on outdated, calendar-driven processes. It highlights that great leaders act witha bias for action, use time as a competitive advantage, and avoid excessive meetings by tracking progress daily, thereby reducing stress and increasing transparency and agility in fast-changing environments.

In this episode of The 8am Stand Up, McLaughlin Moore uses the metaphor of juggling to explore leadership, accountability, and the fear of failure. The conversation focuses on how fear slows execution, erodes trust, and causes teams to hesitate when speed and action matter most. Listeners are challenged to rethink failure as part of the process and to build a culture that values fast recovery, learning, and forward momentum.

Today's episode from "The Compass" has to do with an aspect of leadership that can be confusing. Great leaders know that to create the capacity for grey, they must be black and white. Let me explain.

Today's episode from "The Compass" focuses on a leaders accountability to help their people become the best version of themselves. Great leaders see you for not only who you are, but for who you can become.

Today's episode from the "the compass" is that great leaders are relentless. They are Indefatigable. Not only is this a key trait of great leaders, but it is a critical trait for innovators. One of the greatest innovators in history was Mr. Thomas Edison.  Mr. Edison had a remarkable life but What I remember most about Mr. Edison was his perseverance. Edison was indefatigable.

Today is going to seem like groundhog day for those who were listening yesterday, as today's topic is about the fear of failure. But it is an important subject, so it shows up in "The Compass" more than once.  Fear of failure, 24-hour delivery and recovery are all interconnected. Let me try to explain. To make the point, I am going to talk about juggling. Yes, the crazy activity of keeping several things moving in the air at the same time. It can be balls, chainsaws or just about anything you can imagine, with the goal of keeping themup in the air without dropping them. It is harder than it looks.

Today's episode is about the importance of learning, specifically, learning from mistakes. Henry Ford is quoted as saying "“The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.” It is important as a leader to know that you will make mistakes. But to be a great leader, you have to be able to treat failure as a step in the process and above all, learn fromit.

Today's episode from "The Compass" is a core tenant of leadership. Great leaders are always striving to be better. Being better, being prepared and being indefatigable are all qualities that make great leaders.Take stock in this from Ernest Hemingway, "There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man. True nobility lies in being superior to your former self."  Always strive to bebetter than yourself.

Today's episode from "The Compass" is a cautionary note.  If you are directing more than coaching, you are failing. As a leader, you have to be careful to coach more than direct and it takes a lot of insight to catch yourself when you are veering off course. Here are a few ways to help stay on track. Have a great day.

Today's podcast is about data, reporting and how taking the wrong path or believing the wrong metrics can cost you advantage and opportunity.Superstition is the confusion of correlation with causation.Mark Twain once said, there are three types of lies: Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics. Never confuse correlation with causation and remain suspicious of data, and critical of reports, great leaders need to hold the line on data integrity and reporting relevance in order to excel in decision management.

Today's episode from "The Compass" comes indirectly from a friend of mine. This good friend shared with me a picture of a poster in the hallway from where he works that states, "The World is Run by Those who Show up." He said it was a Mike kind of quote. The poster is signed by the President and CEO of BCBS of Michigan, Tricia Keith. Tricia Keith is a highly respected and influential leader, recognized for her leadership in business and in the community. I have never had the pleasure to meet her but I like her already. Great leaders are in short supply these days and working for a great leader is a fortunate experience. My friend is very fortunate.  Back to the compass. My friend was right, it is a Mike kind of quote. In "The Compass," there is a point on the compass that states "Great Leaders are present". People who show up run the world and leaders who are present make a difference. Leaders who arepresent are actively involved in the day-to-day, showing up to make a difference, being accountable for building high performing teams, creating capacity, creating a culture with a bias for execution, and helping people become the best version of themselves. The make a difference and that allstarts with "showing up" and being present.

Today's episode is that Great leaders never confuse what it means to increase efficiency with what it means to become more effective. Great leaders never confuse efficient with effective. Or they shouldn’t.Great leaders never confuse efficient with effective. To succeed in business, always be mindful of this and remember Dietrich's law of delivery - costs increase and value decreases with time - to be successful and achieve results, you have to become more effective (move faster, cover more ground, get more done) and not just more efficient (get the same things done using less effort, fewer resources with less expense) .

Great leaders know that high performing teams need diverse individuals, people with the right aptitude and attitude, and people who are committed to the success of the whole. These things need to be present in every member of the team, and if not, the leader has to make the difficult decision to "change the people."A leader knows that failure to act decisively puts the team and the programs at risk. It only takes one team member working out of step from the goal to disrupt the organization.  Remember, you stand for what you tolerate and you alone are accountable for managing the team dynamics and making the final decision.   Change the people or change the people.  Invests well beyond reasonable effort in your team, especially those that are struggling,  but never jeopardize the rest of the team for any one person.

You can introduce and use any number of models , technologies and processes to try to select just the right candidate but you can’t outsource your leadership responsibility that makes you accountable to coach, train and mentor whomever you hire to become the best version of themselves and a key member of your high performing team.But the first step is using whatever model you choose or  have to identify and separate from the noise what matters most in dynamic, high change environments that we now operate in.  In the end, you are looking to just two traits: aptitude and attitude.Never forget that you are hiring for the future and challenges that may unknown today. Hire the best athlete not the best specialist and hire the person with the leadership ability to build and lead a high performing team into the always unpredictable future.

Your image, your brand is built on the things you do and the things you fail to do. Taking no action where you could becomes your brand. Tolerating favoritism, harassment,and doing nothing when you witness discrimination, dishonesty and disrespectful behavior destroys trust andbecomes what people think you stand for. Your reputation is hard to build and sometimes impossible to maintain, so demonstrate your leadership as if everyone was watching. They are.

Great leaders know to include risk and control indicators to measure performance. Most organizations, from Retail to Banking, Telecom to Services, use Key Performance Indicators. You might say, they are overly focused on the creation and use of them. However, Key Performance Indicators are telling you what happened in the past and how the results measure up to often just asingle number. Remember that analytics that are based on the past are a lot like driving using your rear view mirror and if you are driving looking behind you,  you better invest in moreairbags. Here are two ways to correct the issue and how adding risk and control will help you deliver faster.

Today's point on the Compass is "Great leaders don't major in minors."Majoring in minors is focusing on the wrong things, distracting you and your team from the critical work and deprioritizing high priority work - or obscuring it through a maze of endless activities whose success means nothing to your success.There is an important lesson here, so enjoy. MM

Welcome to the 8am Standup. I must admit, I really enjoyed making this one. I hope you enjoy it as well. Today's podcast is about strategy. And if you are even confronted by coming up with your company's AI strategy, this might do the trick. Have a great day. MM

Good morning. Welcome to the 8am Standup. Thank you for listening. There are so many ways organizations try to deflect accountability. Some are obvious but the worse ones are those where companies adopt processes or technologies tocompensate for leadership responsibility - creating a culture where leaders are insulated from the decision and believe they are no longer accountable. As a leader, not only can't you outsource your accountability, you shouldn’t.

Today's episode from "The Compass" is about time. Great leaders know that time is the enemy. It’s a simple fact. We measure it, we monitor it, but we can't create it. Thomas Jefferson once said that "no person will have occasion to complain of the want of time who never loses any."  That may be true, but it is short of being able to create it. To a leader, time is especially important in decision making and the risk that comes from delay.

Today's episode from "The Compass" is about making the conscious choice to include opinions other than your own and create a culture accepting of diverse opinions.  How welcoming are you todiversity and dissent?  Great leaders always choose diversity over conformity. And they don’t confuse conformity with commitment.

Why Leadership matters. This episode from "The Compass" is important. Perhaps its THE point. The recording is done from the road, and not my planned episode. However, it seemed to be timely and important. The episode is 'Why Leadership Matters." For everyone who may need the reason in as simple a context that you can imagine. Leadership matters because You can only create value with high performing teams. You can only create high performing teams with leadership. Without leadership, you cannot create value. Food for though over the weekend. Operating remote - this is MM. Remember, what matters most is what you do next.

Today's episode from "The Compass" is about a key characteristic of great leaders: Great leaders always remember to reward the doers. They know who is leading the way, who is finding ways to overcome blockers and who are just going to get things done - accomplishing their goals working along side their team and seemingly always ready for more. There are a few things to remember, listen here to get some tips and things to avoid. MM

Leaders right now are working to launch new initiatives. They are all slated to add value. But who determines value? It isn't always clear and it isn't always one person or group that is making that determination. Today's podcast is about the importance of defining the customer, because it is always the customer that determines value. Have a great day. MM

Today's episode is from "The Compass" and contains a warning and a simple solution. There are people who can't be coached. As a leader, you need to identify those people who are ready. Make a difference for the people who want to make a difference. Have a great day.

Today is a Federal Holiday honoring the life of Dr. Martin Luther King. I believe it is fitting that today's episode from "The Compass" is a key leadership characteristic that is reinforced by the life and achievements of Dr. King.  Great leaders act out an abundance of courage.

Today's episode topic seems simple enough, perhaps obvious. Great leaders surround themselves with talented people. Of course, why would a leader not surround themselves with talented people. Well, you would be surprised, or watching the world stage today, perhaps not.Thank you for listening. Have a great weekend. MM

Good day - todays episode is about leadership. Great leaders know the difference between leadership and management. You would be surprised at how often the confusion of management with leadership derails the creation of high performing teams. Have a great day. Thanks for listening. MM

Today's episode is about change. Change is a part of everyday and leading change or leading through change is a key leadership skill.  You can run and hide but you can't avoid it.And you shouldn't. The greatest challenges and the greatest moments of your career will likely be highlighted by your success leading a team through change. Have a great day. MM

Good Morning. This episode is from my new book, "The Compass" and it is about another trait that make great leaders stand out from the rest. Great Leaders create capacity for success. Enjoy. MM

Good Morning. Today is Monday January 12, 2026. Today's podcast from my book "The Compass" is about getting things done. Great Leaders know that execution is measured every 24 hours: Great Leaders use a clock, not a calendar to measure progress. Enjoy. Have a great day.

Today's podcast continues to present passages from my new book "The Compass." Today's leadership point on the leadership compass is something you will have heard mesay at the end of every podcast.  What matters most is what you do next.Enjoy - Subscribe - New Episodes Monday -Friday at, you guessed it: 8am EST

Today's podcast continues to present passages from my new book "The Compass." Today's leadership point on the leadership compass is something you will have heard mesay at the end of every podcast.  What matters most is what you do next.Enjoy - Subscribe - New Episodes Monday -Friday at, you guessed it: 8am EST

Good Day. Perhaps the most critical aspect of leadership and the one "make or break" characteristic of great leaders is theirfocus on helping their people become the best version of themselves.  Great leaders are always accountable for their people'ssuccess. From the moment they make the decision to bring someone onto their team, leaders are entrusted with that person's development and success. Remember, what matters most is what you do next. MM

Time, it seems, is important. Especially important given today's leadership lesson from "The Compass"  is about the relationship of time to delivering value.   Today, the subject is Dietrich's Law of Program Delivery. While Dietrich's Law grew from delivering technology programs, and was the North Star for the 24 Hour Delivery model, the law applies to any venture that you are tasked to complete.  Dietrich's Law is simple: Costs always increase and relevance always decrease over time. Remember, what matters most is what you do next. MM

Good Day. Today's podcast is from my new book "The Compass." Like yesterday's podcast, the topic is one of the critical leadership compass points. This one taken from the "achieve results" quadrant. More on that in the podcast. Enjoy. Have a great day. MM

Happy New Year. It's been a minute. This standup podcast is from "The Compass" - my new book. The podcast contains one of the points on my leadership compass. Never Confuse Kindness with Weakness. This is an important point on my leadership compass and you can't be a great leader if you confuse kindness with weakness. Kindness is a leadership strength. Remember, what matters most is what you do next. MM

I recently read an interesting article from Oracle. The Article is titled, "5 Actions CFOs Can Take Now to Fuel Growth and Profitability" and the article focuses on the actions CFOs can take to prepare for the end of economic uncertainty that will enable their company to leap ahead and outperform their competitors. Today's podcast addresses the topics in the article, from an action point of view. It is in the "how to" and in the "taking action" where courage lives.

Today's topic comes from a conversation I had with a new friend of mine. In our conversation, she told me that we have moved on from the period of the great resignation and today, we are in the period of The Great Reflection.  She was speaking to her observation that people are stopping to take account of their careers, perhaps even their lives and redefining their life to reflect what makes them happiest.  Her observation made me reflect about several things, but today I will share the one that sticks with me. Today's podcast topic is titled NOBODY. 

As you embark on your journey to implement your next technology platform, you will face a number of important decisions.  Selecting the right technology is a big decision, but selecting a partner or partners to work with you through the implementation is just as important.  While you will be living with the new technology for years, likely decades, your implementation partner may be around for more than a year and you must find a partner who can deliver at your pace, a partner who shares your cultural norms, and a partner who can work with your team in real-time.  This podcast shares some advise and a few things you need to watch out for when selecting your implementation partner.

Today's topic reintroduces Jim Collin's book "Good to Great", and expands on the necessary elements to make the leap from good to great, introducing new critical metrics that are necessary for those working inside organizations making the leap from good to great. The podcast also introduces other new concepts, including the Transformation Blueprint. As you may have noticed, all podcasts are also transcribed and published on LinkedIn. The collection can be found on the McLaughlin Moore Showcase page. Enjoy

Over the past several months, the 8am Standup has focused on two main themes: Level-5 leadership and Value Driven Delivery. In this podcast, hear how these are critical to your good-to-great transformation and learn more about Value Driven Delivery, the Transformation Blueprint and what's next. Remember, what matters most is what you do next. MM

The key to moving fast and achieving execution bias is to always maintain situational awareness. In normal day-to-day, the standards, processes and procedures you use to maintain situational awareness change infrequently. However, in times of rapidly evolving technology, market changes and especially in transformations, companies lose situational awareness and slow down or stop, creating a drag on performance and an impact to profits. This podcast shows how to overcome this and how to maintain situational awareness in the most challenging times. Enjoy

Today, people, communities and companies must face the fact and realized that the pace of technology change is not going to slow. We can see things we have never seen before. Our unstructured data, the images, excel files, documents, PDF's, PowerPoint, video calls, TEAM's Chats, policies, procedures, standards and all those things that identify us as people and communities and companies are suddenly visible and identifiable. This unprecedented shift to include unstructured data, together with structured data, has overwhelmed most people and organizations. This podcast speaks about the issues, opportunities and options we now face to achieve augmented intelligence. Enjoy.