Are You Your Biggest Problem?
I am. I am a big fat problem for myself. So are you. We all are. That’s the way life is. It’s natural to think you are normal…but you’re not and neither am I. We are all quirky as hell. Of course we have a self-protective inner story to tell us that we’re not…but we […]
Three Conflicts & The Only Way Not To Be Bullied
Over many years of my leadership consulting practices, I’ve had to facilitate agreements among unreasonable people. Often these battles have occurred between chest pounding executives who are frustrated or frightened. I’ve also refereed Boards of Directors of merging companies and unions and management. On a few occasions, I’ve been ambushed by spouses of clients who […]
How to Have a Career That Matters
Are you whispering or are you singing at the top of your lungs? When I was doing research for Save the World and Still be Home for Diner, I interviewed scores of people who wanted to matter. Not in the look-at-me way. Not in the I-want-to-be-famous-on-YouTube way. They just wanted to bloom where they were […]
How You Think – 5 Ways We May or May Not Be Wired for Achievement
We have learned more about how our brains work during the last five years than the last 5,000. For instance, we know the old “right-brain, left-brain” model is a gross over simplification of how our brains really processes information and decides to act. The brain functions like a network drawing on vital information that is […]
Ask More of Yourself
I’ve been invited to attend a meeting of area executives to discuss corporate social responsibility in the San Diego (California) region. We will be discussing good things like how to increase volunteerism and sustainability among the large and small businesses fortunate enough to be located here. This is good stuff… but not great stuff. For […]
Becoming Great is Simple, Just Not Easy
(Note to readers: the response to my recent blog, Three Reasons Why We Need Women Leaders Now has been nothing less than astonishing. What’s clear to me is that there is a deep thirst for practical leadership advice for women who want to excel as leaders, as well as a business need to elevate more […]
How Clear is Your Vision?
The essential responsibility of a leaders is to form, hold and promote a clear version. Having a vision of a better future is both noble and powerful. Virtually all that we have and enjoy that is worthwhile is the result of someone’s vision. Great vision, world changing vision, focuses on one thing…creating new value. By […]
Vain Ambition
The reason that nothing gets done in Washington D.C. is vain ambition. It’s a lesson for all of us in the downside of vanity. Have you read “This Town?” It’s written by the chief national corresponded for the New York Times Magazine. He rather proudly says that he is a part of the political -media- […]
When It’s Bad To Be Great
Based on current standards of business leadership, David Novak is a superstar. He is the CEO of Yum! Brands. The company that brings you the great foods of Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut. They have nearly 40,000 locations worldwide and open a new one every 14 hours. David is a star because he really […]
Losing Is Normal
I just finished reading Eleven Rings, the book by the brilliantly successful basketball coach Phil Jackson (pictured above). True stories are always the most interesting ones to me and it was fascinating to read his story of winning an NBA championship as a player and coaching his teams to win 10 more. One thing that […]
