Make Your Bed: Small Habits That Can Change Your Life

In 2014, Admiral William H. McRaven delivered a now-legendary commencement speech at the University of Texas at Austin. The central message was deceptively simple: Make your bed every morning. This advice later became the foundation for his bestselling book, “Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life… and Maybe the World.”

At first glance, making your bed might seem trivial, but McRaven’s point is profound: Small, consistent actions create discipline, build momentum, and can lead to life-changing results.

Why “Make Your Bed” Matters

McRaven’s lesson comes from his Navy SEAL training, where attention to detail and personal discipline were non-negotiable. By starting the day with a small, completed task, you set the tone for productivity, pride, and perseverance. Even if the rest of the day goes poorly, you’ll return to a bed you made—a reminder that you accomplished something and that tomorrow is a fresh opportunity.

Key Lessons to Live By from Make Your Bed

1. Start Your Day with a Task Completed

Making your bed each morning reinforces the power of starting small. It’s a visible accomplishment that builds early momentum and sets a productive tone for the rest of the day.

2. Don’t Go It Alone

McRaven emphasizes teamwork and the importance of having people in your life who will support you. In SEAL training, no one succeeds without a “swim buddy.” In life, we all need partners, friends, and colleagues who will help us succeed.

3. Embrace the Suck

Life is hard, and some days will be miserable. McRaven’s advice? Face hardship head-on. Embracing the tough moments builds resilience and mental toughness.

4. Don’t Judge by Size or Appearance

In training, some of the best performers were the smallest in stature but had the biggest hearts. Success is about grit, not appearances. Respect people for their character, not their looks.

5. Take Risks and Step Out of Your Comfort Zone

Progress often comes from doing what scares you. McRaven encourages calculated risks to grow beyond your limitations.

6. Stand Up to Bullies

Whether in the water facing a shark or in life facing a threat, courage matters. Stand firm when confronted by intimidation or injustice.

7. Accept That Life Isn’t Fair

Bad things happen to good people. Complaining won’t change it—your response will. Take responsibility and keep moving forward.

8. Failure Can Make You Stronger

In SEAL training, those who failed a physical test had to do “sugar cookies”—rolling in sand and staying wet all day. It was miserable, but those who endured became tougher. Don’t fear failure; use it as fuel.

9. Give People Hope

Sometimes the smallest act of encouragement can change someone’s outlook. Leaders inspire by showing others that a better future is possible.

10. Never Quit

The most important rule of SEAL training—and life—is persistence. When you want to ring the bell and give up, remember why you started and push forward.

 

How This Can Change Your Life

The “Make Your Bed” philosophy works because it shifts focus from the overwhelming to the achievable. You don’t have to transform your life overnight. Instead, start with one small action—done with consistency and pride. Those small wins compound into big changes.

In McRaven’s words:

“If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.”

Your bed may be the first step, but it’s the mindset—discipline, perseverance, and hope—that can truly reshape your life.

The Power of Discovery: Lessons from Columbus Day

On the second Monday of every October, the United States observes Columbus Day — a holiday rooted in the voyages of Christopher Columbus, who in 1492 set out across an uncharted ocean and sighted land after two grueling months at sea. While his journey is remembered in classrooms as the one that “sailed the ocean blue” aboard the Niña, Pinta, and Santa María, the real legacy worth honoring lies in the spirit of discovery his voyage represents.

From its earliest observances, Columbus Day was about more than the man himself. In October 1892, President Benjamin Harrison proclaimed the first “Discovery Day,” asking Americans to “cease from toil” and honor both the achievements of exploration and the opportunities it had unlocked. The celebrations of that era recognized a uniquely American spirit — one of risk-taking, pioneerism, and relentless improvement. It was the same mindset that transformed a sparsely populated wilderness into a thriving, ever-evolving nation.

That spirit is just as relevant today in our workplaces as it was on the high seas in 1492. In Lean manufacturing, discovery is the act of finding something new — or uncovering something long present but previously unseen. It is about asking questions that challenge the status quo, provoke thought, and push us deeper into the “why” behind our processes.

Thinking is not driven by answers but by questions. Answers often bring thought to a halt; only when an answer sparks another question does true thinking — and improvement — continue. Deep, purposeful questions help us navigate complexity, clarify our objectives, and evaluate the quality of the information we rely on.

In this way, Lean improvement mirrors exploration:

• Questioning is our compass. Asking “Why?” multiple times digs to the root causes of problems.
• Risk-taking fuels progress. Just as Columbus ventured into the unknown, organizations must step beyond familiar routines to uncover better ways of working.
• Learning drives advancement. Every discovery should lead to shared knowledge, so improvements ripple across the organization.

Without questioning, there is no discovery. Without discovery, there is no improvement.

So, this Columbus Day, consider honoring that legacy not just with a history lesson, but by reigniting the spirit of exploration in your own sphere. Take the time to discover — your company, your employees, your processes, your problems, and your customers. Embrace curiosity. Encourage bold questions. Chart the course for improvements that will move you, your team, and your organization forward.

After all, Lean success, like great voyages, begins with the courage to set sail toward the unknown.

The Real Impact of a Lack of Transparency

A lack of transparency can have significant negative impacts on individuals and organizations. It erodes trust, fuels suspicion, and can lead to poor decision-making and reduced productivity. In the workplace, it can create a toxic environment, while in business, it can lead to reputational damage and financial consequences.

Here's a more detailed look at the impact of a lack of transparency:

1. Unforced Errors: Miscommunication and misunderstandings about priorities and goals can lead to inefficiency, redundant tasks, missed opportunities, and teams working against each other.

2. Problems Fester: Without transparency, problems remain unresolved as their root causes go unnoticed, undiagnosed, and incorrectly addressed.

3. Resistance Grows: When team members aren't open about their ideas, concerns, or feedback, opportunities for improvement are missed, and overall progress stalls.

4. Silos Form: Lack of clarity can lead to conflicts between departments or teams, each vying for resources, priorities, or approaches, which hampers collaboration.

5. Feeling Left in the Dark: Unclear priorities or exclusion from crucial information can lead to mistakes and misunderstandings, making it hard to meet expectations.

6. Feeling Unappreciated: Exclusion from key conversations or not being given access to important information suggests that one's insights and involvement aren't valued.

7. Feeling Insecure: Unclear or absent communication can lead to second-guessing, stress, and a sense of disorientation, making individuals feel like mere cogs in the wheel, questioning their worth and the value of their contributions.

8. Reduced Employee Engagement: A lack of transparency can make employees feel undervalued and disengaged, impacting morale and productivity.

9. Poor Decision-Making: Without access to relevant information, employees may make poor decisions that negatively affect the organization.

10. Erosion of Trust: When employees lack access to information or feel decisions are made in secrecy, they are likely to distrust management and colleagues, leading to a breakdown in communication and collaboration.

In essence, transparency is crucial for building trust, fostering collaboration, and promoting ethical behavior in any context. Its absence can have far-reaching negative consequences.

I suppose no further convincing is needed. Each and everyone of these seven points is in itself already a sufficient reason to increase transparency. And together they express one simple message: be transparent.

Is there enough transparency in your organization?

Moving from Blame to Accountability

To move from a culture of blame to one of accountability, it's crucial to understand the difference between the two. Blame focuses on finding fault and assigning responsibility for a negative outcome, often leading to defensiveness and conflict. Accountability, on the other hand, involves taking ownership of one's actions and contributing to solutions. By shifting the focus from blame to accountability, individuals and organizations can foster a more positive, productive, and growth-oriented environment.

Here are seven practices to lay the foundation for creating a culture of accountability.

1. Delegate effectively. This includes taking the time to clearly articulate the desired results in writing, specify the delegate’s decision-making authority, provide required resources, and provide regular feedback. Most, if not all, problems would be mitigated if leaders followed this pattern of delegation.
2. View problems as learning opportunities. The Kaizen Institute has a saying “Where no problem is perceived, there can be no improvement.” Never forget that we are all still learning to do our jobs better, and we learn best from our mistakes. Most importantly, make sure the people you lead know that you hold this belief.
3. Lead with inquiry. Don’t assume you have all the facts. When you ask questions with a sincere desire to learn, you are less likely to provoke a defensive reaction.
4. Remove emotion. Feedback and guidance turns to blame the instant the person on the receiving end perceives angry and frustrated tones. Even if the anger isn’t directed at the person accountable for the results, they will likely interpret the emotion as blame. Additionally, emotion interferes with the brain’s ability to problem solve and think logically.
5. Focus on the problem and solution, not the person. Focusing on the issue or problem, not on the person, creates an open, trusting, communication-rich environment.
6. Look for breakdowns in the process. Flawed systems, or processes, contribute to most workplace problems. We tend to assume that the cause of problems happened right before and in the same vicinity where the problem occurred. Think beyond the obvious to discover contributing factors separated from the problem by time and proximity. Poor leaders ask “Who’s at fault?” Strong leaders ask “Where did the process break down?
7. Act like a leader. When things go right, good leaders deflect the credit. When things go wrong, good leaders take all the responsibility. That’s tough, but that’s the price of admission to leadership (or rather, it should be). It’s just a shame that most people in leadership positions didn’t get that memo.

Ending a cycle of blame and fostering accountability requires a conscious effort to shift your mindset and actions. By understanding the difference between blame and accountability, adopting a growth-oriented mindset, and actively promoting accountability, individuals and organizations can create a more positive and productive environment where learning and improvement are prioritized.

Setting Clear Expectation for Employees

Unclear or misunderstood expectations can lead to a drop in performance, along with conflict between a manager and a team member. Although no one likes a micromanager, most employees appreciate knowing they are on the right track. Setting expectations and communicating employee responsibilities to each new hire can have a long-lasting effect on your business. However, a study by Gallup shows that nearly half of all U.S. employees don’t know what’s expected of them at work.

Here are some tips for setting expectations and finding meaning at work for new and existing employees:

1. Connect Individuals to the Big Picture

Numerous research studies indicate that employees are more likely to find meaning at work if their job helps them achieve some longer-term goals. Typically, this involves a leader understanding the far-reaching goals an employee wants to achieve and helping them see how their work is contributing to that.

It is important to articulate a common goal, not just to harness the collective energy but also to help people build a connection between their work and the organization’s highest aims. People need to know how their work connects to the organization’s vision and what’s in it for them.

This requires reconstructing day-to-day work to the organization’s objective, helping employees understand how a series of low level tasks are related to the bigger picture.

2. Identify Meaningful Progress

We need regular feedback to inform us how we are tracking to motivate us to stay the course. Many of us need to feel that we are making progress and that our work is contributing to something important. Measurement and feedback provide an important sense of momentum which is, critical to increasing performance and motivation.

At work, a lot of measurements can be meaningless for individuals. Help your employees measure what matters to them. Work with them to uncover what makes them feel successful at the end of the day or week. Communicate regularly to employees how far they are expected to go and keep them informed of progress along the way.

Research shows that when people know exactly how they were progressing they have the best performance and least stress.

3. Connect Your Team to the External Customer

Ultimately, organizations have to solve customer problems to stay in business. The reality is you can’t make good customer decisions if you are siloed. Yet, the customer can often get forgotten about as an organization becomes larger. It is important to help your people understand how their work benefits customers.

The best method to do that is for employees to hear firsthand from customers how the organization’s product or service improves their life.

It’s important to help your employees think about who would be worse off if they didn’t do their job.  Reframing for who your work matters can be a powerful motivator to improve our results.

Employees feel most appreciated when you help them feel connected: to purpose, accomplishment, and one another. Communicate their exact role in your organization’s greater purpose—how they make a difference and contribute. And how they fit into their teams and the broader organization. When employees connect to organizational purpose, great work, and their teammates, they feel a higher sense of belonging at work. Successful companies show employees how their efforts play a part in something much bigger than themselves, so they feel more valued by their leaders and by their organization.

Leading with Accountability

Accountability is essential for any successful organization. When team members take ownership of their projects and accept responsibility for outcomes, the entire company benefits. In order to foster a culture of accountability, leaders must step up to the plate and model specific behaviors. Accountable leaders don't necessarily have to come from the C-suite. Anybody, at any level can lead through accountability.

In the book Winning With Accountability, author Henry J. Evans of Dynamic Results examines the ways in which individuals can demonstrate accountable interactions. The four pieces to accountability are:

1.     Clear expectations: The request, task, expectation, project and the response must be detailed and clear. One tool that can help with assessing specificity and clarity here is the SMART goals framework.

2.     Specific date and time: The individual commits to delivering something by a specific day and specific time. Align priorities and resources with your biggest goals.

3.     Ownership: The individual takes responsibility for seeing the task through to completion and accepts responsibility for the outcome. One task, one owner.

4.     Sharing: Accountability is created when two or more people know about a specific commitment. It’s crucial to make your team your accountability partners—it’s about declaring your commitment and asking your teammates to hold you accountable.

Accountability is the sauce of successful teams. Not only is accountability an essential quality to have at work, but also in life. Accountability is when you accept a hundred percent personal responsibility for your actions and decisions.

Successful teams and companies can’t thrive without accountability. Accountability in the workplace creates more robust relationships, healthier working spaces, and more productive teamwork.

Accountability is a skill that can be coached in many employees, and it is a value that is truly contagious. Accountable people lead by example, and when they take steps to lead their colleagues towards more accountable interactions, ownership and responsibility will catch on like wildfire. And the best part? Anyone, at any level of the company can step up to be a leader of accountability.

What is Accountability, and Why is it Important?

Accountability means showing up and setting out to accomplish the things you’d said you’d do. It’s about taking personal responsibility for your work. It’s also trusting in your teammates and knowing you can count on each other to get things done. 

Accountability in the workplace can mean that all employees are accountable for their own actions, behaviors, performance and decisions. It's also linked to increased commitment to work and employee motivation, which leads to higher productivity. Employees who feel they are being held accountable for their actions, behaviors and decisions are motivated to perform better because they know they will get feedback. 

Creating a culture of accountability is an essential tool used by high-performing teams to develop better work relationships, eliminate surprises, and improve overall job happiness. Here are 3 ways to create more accountability in the workplace: 

1. Model accountability on your team 

When it comes to building a culture of accountability, change starts with you. 

Team accountability is impossible without strong personal accountability in place first, so it’s important to first work on yourself before approaching an accountability conversation with co-workers or direct reports. 

2. Set clear expectations for team members 

It may sound obvious, but doing what your teammates expect of you requires clarity around what’s expected in the first place. 

Unclear expectations and lack of specificity create accountability gaps. To fill these gaps and reduce ambiguity, try to be as specific as possible. 

Strategies for stronger expectation-setting: 

• Define project ownership: Work with your team to clearly define who owns what. Many teams like to use a RACI chart for each project — clarifying who should be responsible, accountable, consulted, and informed on the work. 
• Use a detailed project spec template: Project specs and one-pagers help teams create alignment, clearly define expectations, and eliminate accountability gaps. Each one should specify the project timeline, ownership, and specifics on the deliverables.  
• Get more intentional with meeting action items: Action items are valuable for a variety of purposes – building accountability is a big one. When action items come up in team meetings, it’s all too easy for them to slip through the cracks or lack enough specificity to drive follow-through. To keep action items top-of-mind, assign a notetaker to document them as you go and share them out immediately after the meeting ends.  
• Publicize roles and responsibilities: When people know their role, they’re more likely to feel a sense of ownership and take charge of their work. Likewise, when teammates understand each other’s roles, it strengthens collaboration, communication, and trust because they know who to turn to for what and what is (and isn’t) expected. As a manager, make it a point to publicize everyone’s role and revisit expectations on a regular basis. 

3. Create a “safe space” environment 

Trust and psychological safety are foundational to building a culture of accountability. Without them, folks on your team won’t feel comfortable opening up, sharing transparently, and taking ownership if things don’t go as planned. 

When you build up psychological safety on your team, people feel safer taking risks, asking for feedback, and being vulnerable in front of each other through the ups and downs that inherently come with any job. 

Building systems for accountability into your team’s workflow can help employees feel more empowered and help managers support them, without micromanagement. 

You can have better performance discussions, build healthy habits around planning and goal-setting, and achieve better results. If you want your team to be more effective, invest in team and individual accountability.