I have written often about the value of honest and candid feedback. I've included comments from Anne Mulcahy, CEO of Xerox, Ken Blanchard and a host of others. [quote style="boxed"]"Feedback is the breakfast of champions." ~ Ken Johnson[/quote] Here's the thing. It will not only strengthen your team, it will…
Nothing in life travels in a neat formation accompanied by bugles and cavalry.
A lot of it shows up filthy and unkempt, prominent in the mess we’ve made around our foxhole.
These lessons are typically the offspring of hubris, naivete and ignorance … or from overlooking the land mines hidden beneath our feet.
We’re sharing valuable and practical leadership tips and tools to help you BECOME a better leader.
First, you must start BEING a better leader … implementing NOW the changes necessary to adopt the proven strategies of successful leaders. You might start by building on the communication matrix and making sure you’re defending the castle to get done what only you can do. Make some time so you’re thinking past today.
The week just ended is my favorite sports week of the year. Some of you will say, “Nah, you got your calendar mixed up. Baseball season opened the previous week.”
Of course, I could say, “but the home opener for the Giants was that week” and then you’d say, “OK, so you’re a big Giants fan. I get it.”
A few of you may suspect that’s not the reason. Not that I don’t love the World Champion San Francisco Giants and all … but honestly? That didn’t even occur to me as I braced for the greatest sports week of the year.
There are a lot of reasons why I love the week that just ended. (more…)
Most of my clients and colleagues are hauling around an iPad just as I am … and when we’re meeting together, iPads at the ready, someone always asks, “Have you ever used a keyboard with your iPad?”
If you’re one of the 100 million+ users of the iPad, you’ve probably struggled with typing on its sleek glass face and wondered the same thing.
I just returned from the Social Media Marketing World event in San Diego. When I attend conferences, meetings or other events like that where it’s inconvenient to carry around my briefcase all day … that’s when I think of this option yet one more time.
Without the keyboard, I’m usually typing on the glass surface (unless I’m taking handwritten notes on my iPad, an option we’ll discuss another time).
If I’m in the right mood, I find some real value in the more demanding process that typing on the iPad requires … because it slows you down and makes each idea a little crisper … each word a little more thoughtful … so sometimes, it’s worth the time … but … (more…)
Here is a simple 8 step guide to jazz up your desktop with free wallpaper images.
When I bought the iPhone 4, I soon bought the Mophie Juice Pack, in a bold bright yellow so I couldn’t lose it, and carried it with me all the time. Of course, when the iPhone 5 came out, that version didn’t fit so I gave it to my niece.
Finally, though, I received my Mophie Juice Pack Helium for the iPhone 5 and it’s pretty sweet. (Note: This is NOT an affiliate link and is only provided to share some information that you might find useful.)
If you’re on the road … particularly at a conference or meeting where you don’t have all of your tools and toys with you … this is an ideal companion. (more…)
On a recent morning, I headed to a favorite place just down the street to fetch a couple of lattes for my wife and me.
Our forbearers would have awakened in woolen underwear, stepped in the dark onto a cold dirt floor, and stumbled outside to chop some wood to start a fire in the cook stove balanced on the rocks outside.
They would have tossed some coffee grounds into a beat-up metal pot … grounds that had already been used for several days … filled the pot with water, boiled it … and at some point, would finally get that first bitter cup of java.
No coffee house down the road, no car to get there, certainly no latte or cappuccino. Eat what you kill, literally. If you ain’t got it, you ain’t gonna get it.
[pullquote]“The secret of success is constancy to purpose.” ~ Benjamin Disraeli[/pullquote]
In many ways, we’re much less resourceful than our forefathers.
While we may have expanded the definition of community in many positive ways, using our physical and social media “mobility” to create unimagined connections, we’ve also become more dependent on external resources to get through our day.
In some ways it’s probably better that we’re co-dependent. (more…)
Experienced leaders know that they are standing in the Spotlight of Leadership all the time. I’ll tell you about a video you should watch just below.
Have you read any of the news stories and interviews recently with General Stanley McChrystal, whose new book is coming out now, My Share of the Task?
You’ll recall he is the four-star general whose resignation was precipitated by a Rolling Stone article which disclosed some unsavory remarks about the President’s executive team.
The reporter was given broad access to McChrystal and his staff, with few conditions, to see how the general and his leadership team worked together.
You can read the candid response from General McChrystal about this incident here. (more…)
I've written several columns about Mom, but what about Dad? Dads never get any credit, yet they offer unique insights into the world and how we should live.