Your success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties. – Helen Keller A story is told of a young Greek artist named Timanthes studied who under a respected tutor some 2,000 years ago. After several years the teacher’s efforts seemed to…
DetailsGoogle, I’m sure you will agree, is a business built on metrics and analytics. Well, they recently completed an comprehensive, rigorous internal study about what made great managers…at Google. The New York Times article says that Google wanted to build better bosses. Now, that certainly strikes a positive chord for me and boy does it…
DetailsA number of years ago my wife and I attended a workshop on how to facilitate dialogue. The session was led by our colleagues Will Stockton and Marjorie Herdes of Mobius, Inc. They do tremendous work, especially facilitating large group and community dialogue sessions, using a “roadmap” they’ve evolved over the years which they call…
DetailsPeople finally matter at work. Lip service be damned. – Marcia Conner A story is told in The Book of Business Anecdotes about marketing whiz Stanley Arnold working at Young & Rubicam in the 1950’s. He was asked to help with a marketing campaign for Remington Rand. Its chairman at the time was retired General…
DetailsProductivity is becoming more important every day. Fundamentally, it means doing much more with much less. And to be sure, there is scope for making, not only workers, but also the environment in which they work more efficient. You’ve probably noticed, for example, just how many organizations in both the public and private sectors waste…
DetailsWhat’s your social capital? If you’ve been through job interviews recently, or have been considered for a promotion or a big account, I’ll bet you’ve been asked about “your social capital.” Employers, clients and prospects want to know what and how much social capital you have to improve their connections, word-of-mouth advertising, potential partnerships, resources…
DetailsIf the world is cold make it your business to build fires – Horace Traubel In a recent Gallup Business Journal feature, Scott Simmons and Christie Fraser reported on the state of customer service in the hospital industry. Notable in their findings: hospitals try to deliver the best healthcare outcomes and good customer service, but…
DetailsCompanies like to think of themselves as having up-to-date thinking. They assume they are of the 21st century ilk because they’ve flattened their hierarchies, removed unnecessary levels of management, and empowered their employees. The truth is that many of them are just as traditional as they’ve always been. They still think about how to manage their…
DetailsSummer is almost here which means if you’re a member of a professional association there is a good chance you will have an opportunity to attend your annual convention or conference in the near future. Even companies who cancelled their annual meetings last year due to the poor economy are back on track this year…
DetailsFor my entire life, I’ve heard this one: Time is money! However, most of the people who say this haven’t yet figured out how to fully sell out their time. That means that for them, time could potentially be money, but in the end…it’s just time. This misguided view causes us to be impatient, utilitarian…
DetailsIn my keynotes and workshops focusing on building rapport, relationships and connecting with others to build a more positive, productive and profitable organization, the foundation for success starts with everyone having a positive outlook and good attitude. Keeping your attitude adjusted is not always easy. Even extremely positive people have moments when they grumble, groan,…
DetailsInfluence – “the action or process of producing effects on the actions, behavior, opinions, etc., of another or others.” – Random House Dictionary Jeremy Lin, Hillary Clinton, Warren Buffet, Adele, Justice Anthony Kennedy, Tim Tebow, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, and Stephen Colbert; what do these people share in common? These individuals are on the Time magazine…
DetailsCircumstances don’t make a person; they reveal him or her. – Richard Carlson The story is told of two hunters who came across a bear so big that they dropped their rifles and ran for cover. One man climbed a tree while the other hid in a nearby cave. The bear was in no hurry…
DetailsCompanies have been served a wake up call in light of the recession and ongoing economic uncertainty. They are being driven to become more efficient while at the same time improving levels of quality and service. As a result, the shared services model is becoming an increasingly popular organizational structure to help achieve business objectives.…
DetailsFor those who haven’t been keeping up on recent business and management books, Daniel Pink came out with an absolutely great book, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. I mentioned it briefly in a blog post last Fall before it came out. Then, in February, I wrote a book review of it. Now, here’s…
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