Photo by Emily Morter on Unsplash That's a bold question to ask, isn't it? In my lifetime ... and it's longer than most ... I'm not sure I've seen a changing landscape like the one we're seeing today. Sure, we've been through rampant inflation, recessions and stock market collapses, and…
It’s fascinating to me how our learned behaviors so often get in the way of our otherwise sound instincts. Imposter syndrome is one of these afflictions. Although it is defined in several ways, it refers to a fear of failure and doubts about your capabilities. People who experience that syndrome…
I don’t know of a single leader among the hundreds I’ve coached over the last few decades who wouldn’t nod their head and say something like, “Yup. That’s about right.” when they see this quote from the book, The 4 Disciplines of Execution: You don’t hear leaders saying, “I wish…
The week that ended last Sunday is my favorite sports week of the year. There are a lot of reasons why I love that week. For one thing, the contrasts are extraordinary. Unbridled enthusiasm, competitive zeal, office pools, no million dollar salaries … (except, er, the coaches) … there’s every…
This quote speaks volumes about the changes the pandemic has provoked across the Workplace. If you don't take it to heart, the uphill battle is even steeper. Stay tuned. There s more coming in this week's Sword Tips newsletter. If you missed the one from last week, you can find…
If anything teaches us about how to handle ourselves in public, er, how NOT to do it, the incident between Will Smith and Chris Rock at last week’s Oscar’s event, and its aftermath, is a textbook example of exactly how NOT to do it. It provides an instructive roadmap about…
Sylvester Stallone is a box office legend with movies like Rocky & Rambo. What you don’t know is that he was once so broke he had to sell his dog at the 7-11. You also may not know that the lop-sided grin you see on his face is not, as…
One of the most popular words in the business lexicon these days is collaboration. Everyone’s eager to flatten the organization, get rid of hierarchy, eliminate command-and-control structures and collaborate across broad multifunctional teams. Do we really understand collaboration and why it’s become such a ubiquitous battle cry? On most days,…
There’s an apocryphal story that you may have heard from your Dad growing up: Five frogs are sitting on a log. Four decide to jump off. How many are left? The first time I answered, “One.” “Nope,” he responded. “Five.” ”Why is there Five?” I asked. ”Because there’s a difference…