It's exciting, isn't it, when we stumble across crumpled notes that have been lodged in our wallet for years ... to discover timeless gems that we may have forgotten? I've earlier reported on the piece of paper carried in the wallet of John Wooden, famed UCLA basketball coach, which bore…
Recently, I wrote, 7 Swing Thoughts to Overcome Adversity, inspired by Dustin Johnson's heartbreak at the recent PGA Championship. It was a controversial call except among golf purists but it resulted in a terrible calamity for the young golfer.Yet, Johnson has shown remarkable aplomb and resilience in the face of…
I've often used this line as a metaphor for the process of accountability and follow up that makes a real difference in executive performance.Just being there ... letting people know you really meant it when you asked for something to be done ... or that it remains important even though…
The recent 92nd PGA championship ended tragically for Dustin Johnson based on a questionable and controversial call. What virtually every observer, from fans to PGA champions, saw as a sandy area of the rough outside of the ropes was declared by rules officials as a sand trap even though spectators were standing in it. Under the rules of golf, that resulted in a two-stroke penalty because a player can’t ground his club in the sand. It cost him a chance to participate in a three-hole playoff for the trophy in one of golf’s four major championships.
It was heart-breaking to watch and even brought a roar of disapproval from the usually reticent golf crowd. For most casual observers, it’s a distinction without a difference … but in the rules-driven PGA tour, it was a judgment call without heart or soul. Mr. Johnson’s disappointment now competes with Armando Galaragga’s recent loss of a perfect game in baseball.
What do we do when we suffer a major disappointment, e.g., the loss of a major client we served so well or the departure of a valued employee to whom we thought we had extended every opportunity? (more…)
Tim Berry called my attention to a great post on the ThinkGeek site. If you're hungry, dig in ... dig in, that is to the hilarious post showing the "cease and desist" letter they received from the National Pork Board claiming that they infringed on the slogan "The Other White…
If you don’t think social networking is on an intergalactic trajectory, you haven’t met my nieces and nephews. Ages 8-11-14. NOT from a technology-driven family … so for those of you who are, strap in!
Facebook – old news! Facebook chat – “call me on my cell, Uncle Lary, and I’ll boot up my laptop so we can chat,” my 8 year old nephew proclaimed. Download apps to turn your phone into a walkie-talkie? Check. Waiting at the front door all day for the delivery of your new cell phone, in the color purple? Check. Kick your uncle’s butt in every video game, including the slower ones that I actually understood like golf? Check.
Their grasp of technology is not what’s remarkable. It’s how deeply embedded it is in their DNA (more…)
With thanks to Carmine Gallo, his recent post, The Three Elements of an Inspiring Pitch, reminds us of the power of emotion in telling our story to an interested community. The three critical elements of a pitch that he identifies - Understandable, Memorable and Emotional - are valuable in all forms…
A recent NY Times interview with Dan Rosensweig, CEO of Chegg, a firm that rents textbooks online and by mail, brought some valuable but simple tips about meeting discipline to mind.
Be present, engage in hearty conversation.
Phones, texting, communicating outside of the room is not invited or allowed. (Yeah, I know … you’re thinking … I don’t do this, do I?)
Seriously?
In an article entitled Five Ways Pixar Makes Better Decisions, Tom Davenport, a Babson College professor, refers to what I call “after action reviews” as a critical element of the creative decision-making used at Pixar.
In my earlier post, Powerful After Action Reviews, you can learn more about this concept, built and nurtured by the US Army.
For Pixar, Davenport reminds us how movie makers use “dailies” to review their work in progress, showing movies to other filmmakers every few month to solicit critical insights that often make the movies better.
Nothing we couldn’t accomplish with a Daily Huddle, right? (more…)