Have you found yourself bogged down in the weeds? Does your life’s progress seem like a wash, rinse, repeat cycle? If you answered yes to either of those questions, you are living life and managing your efforts in a maze. Here’s what maze managing means. Imagine a big, even giant maze. You know, like...
What does value mean to you? When you think about anything as being “valuable”, what does that mean? I once worked with a highly successful CEO who accused me of not creating value in my work because I was a banker. In this guy’s mind, I just pushed paper and ran numbers. He saw...
Yes, I spelled that right. One of the most powerful words is BUT. It has far reaching impact on several levels; most are not good. Individuals who achieve the most in this life seldom give in to BUT; they stay off their BUT. Personal Reflection On a personal level, BUT gives us convenient...
Are you on track toward creating the life you want in 2017? Or are the four D’s of Dream Destruction going to keep you stuck in place, spinning your wheels until you find yourself changing your calendar again, wondering why you’re no closer to your dreams in 2018 than you were in 2016? I...
How do you handle adversity? Being on top has its own way of humbling you from time to time. Leaders face an ever-present force that can turn in just a moment. Wile E. Coyote, the trouble plagued foil of the Roadrunner cartoons, was always taking a fall from a bad idea. His ventures usually...
Visit the best business schools on the planet and you are likely to hear a robust debate about the virtues of leadership. The central question is whether great leaders are born or bred; nature versus nurture. One theory argues that true leadership is an inborn trait that few possess. The other (and prevailing thought)...
If you think of yourself as a leader, the first test is who are you attracting? Leaders attract followers. A real leader has a following. People are wired to follow something or someone. It is natural to want to pay attention to someone whom we respect and admire. I’m not talking about celebrity status (although...
Executive leaders deal with making career moves multiple times in their life. There’s an old ballad sung by Kenny Rogers, called “The Gambler”. The other day a catch phrase caught my attention and I began humming the tune. As I merrily strolled along my way, it struck me that these words are pretty solid advice...
This is the time of year when many people think about gift giving. Whether you celebrate Christmas or simply year end, gift giving is factored into the equation. As I reflect on the phenomenon of giving gifts, I am struck with several key aspects of why one gives a gift. First and foremost, people...
Many organizations have now entered the fourth quarter, the home stretch. But it is also time to begin hard planning for 2017 – and that makes it offsite season. Here are a few tips to help your meetings be most productive. Have the offsite “offsite.” This seems obvious, but it is worth pointing out...