One of our sweet family members recently shared this powerful poem that his grandfather used to motivate him during tough times: When the world says, "Give up," Hope whispers, "Try it one more time." Faith whispers, "You can do it, ignore all those who doubt" Commitment whispers, "Never give up" Success SCREAMS " I TOLD…
In 7 Moments… that Define Excellent Leaders some of my favorite stories appear under a moment to invest. Here is one of them… In the late 1890s, two young men were working their way through Stanford University when, during the semester, their funds got desperately low, and they came up with the idea of engaging Ignacy Paderewski,…
A common misperception among leaders is that once you get to a certain level, you should consider only a 30,000-foot perspective (i.e., the big picture) of your business. Although a high-level perspective is necessary for leadership success, it must be accompanied by an in-depth understanding of your team’s operation (e.g., your drivers of cost, profit,…
The more we lead, the more we work with leaders, and the more we parent, the more we see compelling parallels between leadership and parenting. Leaders are parents, and parents are leaders. They are in different settings with parallel roles. Here is an excerpt from a poem by Dorothy Law Nolte, Ph.D. titled, "Children Learn What They Live." As you…
A great leader is a great coach. For years, we have asked clients who the best leader they ever had was. Predictably responses include that "My best leader... pushed me believed in me helped me realize my potential invested time in developing me." In other words, these really good leaders were really great coaches. They also…
Unfortunately, this has been a banner season for hurricane trackers. A hurricane’s outer bands can extend a few hundred miles from the center. Hurricane Andrew's (1992) rainbands reached 100 miles out from the eye, while those in Hurricane Gilbert (1988) stretched over 500 miles. The hurricane's eye is a relatively calm, clear area usually 20 -…
Nearly half of your daily activities are habitual, for better or for worse. You don’t think about them, you just do them. You have simple, decades-old habits, like brushing your teeth, that you don’t have to think about. You also have more modern habits like waking up and instinctively grabbing your cell phone to check…
In the positive coaching model below, the left side is a leader's choice. The right side are the consequences. You can choose positive coaching and get alignment, engagement, ownership, accountability and commitment. Choose to push it off or cheat on the positive coaching habits, and you will predictably get the opposite. Win or lose, you choose!…
We all experience plenty of negative situations and people. The key is to be prepared to consciously respond to these negative inputs. One way to help keep your emotions in balance regardless of the circumstances is to use the simple 5 × 5 Rule: If it won’t matter in five years don’t spend more than…
James Pennebaker, a professor at the University at Texas, has spent 40 years researching the link between writing and processing emotions. In studies, he has divided people into two groups, asking some to jot down emotionally charged experiences, and others to write about whatever daily occurrence popped into their mind. Both groups were tasked with…
