Growing up, my father was an avid fisherman.

Occasionally, he'd get out all of his tackle boxes and take inventory. Whether he was fishing for trout, grayling or salmon, he had whatever we needed to catch fish once he'd completed a careful assessment of his needs. He used to suggest some of those tackle boxes were my mom's, but he wasn't fooling anyone.

Recruitment & hiring

As leaders, when it comes to recruitment and hiring, we don't need tackle boxes with every variety of hook, bait and tackle, but we can't afford to be unclear about what we need when it comes to our people.

In Eric Herrenkohl's book, "How to Hire A-Players," he defines an A-player as "an employee who creates superior results compared to the vast majority in your industry." Herrenkohl suggests we should always be recruiting and developing an A-player mindset.