One of the great mistakes of leadership is putting walls up to block people out of our real lives and our real selves. We don’t let them in. One of the reasons for that is somewhat understandable: we’ve been burnt before by people we trusted. We don’t want people to see our weaknesses and don’t … More Let them in
One of the things that keeps us stuck, at work, and in organizations is the way we frame things. We can’t see beyond the reality of the way we have framed something; so, we’re stuck. In a recent episode of the TV series New Amsterdam, there is a patient who lost a lot of weight … More The Art of ReFraming
Congruence is the fit or the connection between what you believe about who you are and your actual life. Everything lines up. When you take two Legos and put them together because they line up just right, they fit just right, and you can hear them snap together. They are congruent, they are meant to … More Congruence
What ultimately is the biggest difference maker that gives our organization a competitive edge? Culture. Why? Because of all the things you do, of all he attempts at employee engagement and retention, of all the customer service programs you initiate, where the rubber meets the road is the culture that is experienced. You see your … More Culture is the Difference Maker
We make promises all the time….to our employees, to our friends, and to our families. Sometimes we do so without thinking it through. We have the best intentions, but didn’t fact-check to see if it is possible, didn’t ask the powers that be if we could follow through with it, and frankly, sometimes we make … More Fulfill your promises
Yogi Berra is known for saying, “When you come to the fork in the road, take it.” Often in life and work we come to a fork in the road. These are season’s in life when we have to make a decision between two options. Go this way or go that way. Do this, or … More The Fork in the Road
As they passed each other in the hall, Gail, the VP of Administration and Ray, the HR Director. The VP noticed a slight twitch away from direct eye to eye contact. The VP said the usual, “hey, Ray, how’s it going?” The HR Director, responded, “good,” but then quickly looked away. It wasn’t a dramatic … More Noticing
“Men live their lives in quiet desperation.” (Henry David Thoreau, Walden) I read “men” as gender neutral. People live their lives in quiet desperation. There as so many people that live unfulfilled lives. It’s an existence really. They feel stuck, paralyzed, and succumb to the “this is the best it will get” attitude. And I’m … More The Void
I have found that Leaders are Learners. The greatest leaders were fanatic learners. Abraham Lincoln was—we all know how far he would go just to get a book. John F. Kennedy was, I’ve read that he in fact was a speed reader, consuming books like they were food. I’ve read that Phil Knight, Bill Gates, … More Learning for Leadership
The world of commerce is filled with empty promises. It’s more common than not to promote our product or service as the best, the biggest, the world’s greatest, the fastest, the strongest, and so on. I kid you not, there is a candy store located in southern Minnesota that promotes itself as “the world’s largest … More Empty Promises
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