Lighten Up: Leading is Half the Fun

Have you not learned great lessons from those who rejected you, and braced themselves against you, or disputed the passage with you?  -Walt Whitman A story is told of a boy who asks his father to explain the difference among irritation, aggravation, and frustration. The dad picked up the phone and dialed a number at…

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5 Traits of Curious Leaders

We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths – Walt Disney In Bits & Pieces there was a story told of a sign in the window of an English company that read: We have been established for over one hundred years…

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5 Rules of the Blame Game

A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, a little less than his share of the credit. – Arnold H. Glasow John Killinger tells a story about the manager of a minor leader baseball team who was so disgusted with his center fielder’s performance that he ordered him to the…

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Matrix Organization: At Best, a One-Off

Whenever volatility occurs in the market, companies start thinking about how to reorganize themselves so that they can cope with those changes effectively. But since they’re trapped by traditional thinking, they tend to recycle old models rather than to create new ones. One such model is matrix; and like so many that have gone before…

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How Disagreements Can Work For Your Good

Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. – Albert Einstein In his book, Living Above the Level of Mediocrity, Charles Swindoll tells of meeting a man who once served on one of Walt Disney’s original advisory boards. The early days were tough; but that remarkable creative visionary refused to give up. What…

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Boost Employee Engagement – 3 Questions to Ask

3 Questions You Must Ask to Boost Employee Engagement to Build a More Positive, Productive and Profitable Organization One of the key ingredients necessary to build stronger customer and workplace relationships involves keeping your employees engaged, motivated and happy. If your employees aren’t happy; employee engagement, productivity, and customer satisfaction will be diminished. In my…

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Three Troubles That Give You Trouble

Drag your thoughts away from your troubles…by the ears, by the heels, or any other way you can manage it. – Mark Twain A story is told of Somerset Maugham, the English writer, once wrote a story about a janitor in St. Peter’s Church in London. One day a young vicar discovered that the janitor…

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An Organization Devoutly to be Desired

We all fantasize but the object of our fantasy is seldom an organization, an ideal one, the one we would create for us to work in if we were king. Of course, if we were king–or queen–we wouldn’t be worrying about working, but I digress. Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones reported in the May 2013…

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Up To the Minute Tips For Posting to Facebook Pages

Recently, I’ve had the opportunity to hang out with an assortment of highly successful facebook page owners and administrators.  The include the manager of a popular band, two Fortune 500 Company Social Media Directors and the CEO of a firm that manages hundreds of high traffic-high profile pages.  Collectively, they’ve given me some good advice…

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Four Ways to Lead Through Conflict

Difficulties are meant to rouse, not discourage. The human spirit is to grow strong by conflict. – William E. Channing   French novelist and playwright Alexandre Dumas once had a heated quarrel with a rising young politician. The argument became so intense that a duel was inevitable. Since both men were superb shots they decided…

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Performance Requires More than Motivation and Ability

People often think that for employees to perform well all they need are the appropriate ability and skills and the motivation to achieve great results. But there is a missing ingredient: opportunity. So says John Boudreau in a recent issue of Talent Management Magazine (p. 10). He is spot on. You can be well trained…

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Embracing a ‘More Beyond’ Attitude

Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude. – Zig Ziglar   In Valladolid, Spain, where Christopher Columbus died in 1506, stands a monument commemorating the renowned discoverer. Perhaps the most interesting feature of the monument is a statue of a lion destroying one of the Latin words that had been part of Spain’s…

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Is Hierarchical Thinking Inhibiting Performance?

Companies 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…

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How Social Media Can Increase Employee Engagement

Managers: What if I told you that you could leverage social media to increase your employee’s engagement and job satisfaction? Do you think I’ve lost my new-media mind?  Let me ask this: Have you ever received an award at a company event (conference, banquet, etc.) and then the next workday, had boundless energy and motivation?…

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