Our brains enjoy novelty. It is good for us and helps us create new neural connections. What do you enjoy? Seek variety in your life. Consider peppering your life with some high-excitement activities to spice things up. For some, this may be skydiving or bungee jumping, but you can also reach new heights on the…
When the great American poet, the late Maya Angelou, reflected on her life and learnings, she said, “I’ve learned that… No matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow. You can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three…
A few years back, I had the privilege of interviewing the late Colleen Barrett, President Emeritus at Southwest Airlines and chief nurturer of their famed culture. She was a treasured friend. You can watch that interview here. Colleen was as good a follower as she was a leader. During our interview, she addressed the concept…
In an age when much more is being written than spoken, appreciation for the tone of the written word is being lost. For example, a typical cryptic text or email relies on emojis to communicate a serious, sarcastic, or playful tone. Even the craftiest emoji user loses subtle intended meaning. When you are speaking, the…
With Independence Day right in front of us, I wanted to share this video from a visit to the Statue of Liberty to illustrate how passion enables us to perform ordinary tasks in extraordinary ways. https://youtu.be/86ad8SmgkiU You can inspire your team to deliver passionate performance by fulfilling six universal needs: 3 Intellectual needs: Achievement, Autonomy,…
A good plan might get you into the game, but sticking with it catapults you into the winner's circle. Based on more than 20 years of field research with the highest-achieving leaders, here are the habits they stick with: Keep it simple.Think in threes to simplify strategies, metrics, messages, and actions. Apply the 80/20 principle to focus…
The Adherence equation has been field-tested for over 20 years and is featured in three of our books, including the best-seller Sticking to It. Here are a few of our quotes from those books to inspire you to stick to it. Sharpen Focus The most important decision in life is to decide what is most important. Complexity…
Very few tasks are performed completely in isolation for today's leader. Leaders harness diverse resources and collaborate across functions. In fact, our favorite definition of teamwork is "connected independence." The success of most organizations is directly proportionate to their leaders' ability to inspire excellent teamwork. High-performing teams consciously apply the Team Effectiveness and Alignment Model (T.E.A.M.). As…
On March 4, 1914, my late father, Peter Colantuono was born and would soon become part of the Greatest Generation. Over 100 years later, I sit in my ergonomic office chair gazing out my window at a beautiful tree line. It’s a welcome mental break from considering a particular client’s challenge and polishing up a…
Most of us are so technologically connected that we couldn’t disconnect even if we tried. Many of us fear having to stare down that dark tunnel of technology withdrawal. What we are talking about, however, is connecting human-to-human versus being connected via technology. We live in a high-tech world, but building healthy relationships is still…
