Posted on July 7, 2015
Years ago, I discovered a technique for converting every meeting, conversation or interaction into a success-building opportunity. I followed a maxim, taught to me as a child: Everywhere you go, always bring a gift. It had long been a part of my social style, but when I applied this to my business life, success quickly …
Posted on April 1, 2015
Too many <entrepreneurial> people I know are constantly multi-tasking in their careers. Sure, when Benjamin Franklin endorsed pursuing “a network of enterprises,” he was promoting career and interest diversity. It was good for our creative thinking. But he emphasized they be “networked” with each other. Lately, I’ve wondered if our constant spreading out of business …
Posted on October 21, 2014
It’s late October, the heart of the Fall season where we finish off the year and set strategies for the next one. Of all months, it’s the crunch one that counts. By mid-November, you are into the holiday season and before you know it, January is pressing down on you asking, “What have you done …
Posted on September 25, 2014
If you’ve attended a conference or visited the business section of a bookstore recently, you’ve likely been encouraged to bring your creativity to work. There are dozens of books out, promising help you get unstuck and start your creative juices flowing. Almost half of the lectures involve a discussion on the pressing need to be …
Posted on September 9, 2014
Quick, name a Hall Of Fame player that was also a head coach. It’s quite rare, actually. but if you take this test on a company’s sales or product group, the answer would be different. We often graduate the rock stars of business to middle management and beyond. That’s the bench strength program of the …
Posted on September 4, 2014
Over the last decade, I’ve had the opportunity to be the opening keynote speaker at over 300 conferences, meetings and conventions around the world. Agents at speaker bureaus instinctively knew to recommend me when a meeting planner was “looking for someone to set the tone for our event.” Instead of defining my current vocation as …
Posted on August 21, 2014
Mentorship is an opportunity to build relationships and give gifts. Mentoring up, to those above you in rank or stature, may be one of your best career boosters. Really. This post will show you how to do it without getting shot for the message. There’s a common misconception in our business culture that mentorship is …
Posted on August 7, 2014
Your work culture is a conversation, led by leaders or troublemakers, about how things are done around here. If the leader isn’t driving the conversation forward, troublemakers can move it sideways or backwards. Troublemakers include the naysayers, doomsdayers and taker-types. Much of our work life is spent in conversations with others. When these conversations move forward, …
Posted on August 1, 2014
Read any recent white paper on leadership, and you’ll see numerous references to agility as a key area for development. From learning agility to innovation agility, it’s clear that leaders need to focus on how to go fast but stay graceful. Prior to my recent talk on this subject at a leadership conference, I conducted …
Posted on July 23, 2014
What it takes to succeed as a leader has been redefined by changes in the workforce and mega trends. Gen Y is more motivated by identity, mastery and purpose than they are by money, power and stability. Tech-Globalism accelerates the rate of change, be it in consumer attitudes, retail habits and government regulatory actions. As the …
