Blog

I was recently at one of my favorite coffee shops, grabbing a cup of coffee, before hitting the road for a long drive. The shop was unusually busy that morning, which was not that big of a deal, other than that it took a long time and I was in a hurry. I was having a great time "people-watching"...

I love the mystery of how the brain solves puzzles. One day a problem can be so complex that you can’t see your way through…then suddenly after a good night’s sleep, a new idea appears and a whole new view presents a solution. What was insurmountable yesterday, falls neatly into place today. Pers...

Here in America we define ourselves and those around us by what we do. Think about the first question we ask after introducing ourselves…. “So where do you work?” and “what do you do there?” In part, this is good small talk. We naturally ask these questions in succession. The other part has to do...

August is the summer tradition for road trip vacations in my family…a tribute to the final days of summer before back-to-school and changing to the more structured tempo of fall.  As we pile into the car with more duffle bags, suitcases, and boogie boards than clowns in a Volkswagen Bug, the...

What happens when you get where you think you want to be to realize it is not the right place or you find yourself compromising your values or passions to an upward position? If you are a leader and have not experienced something similar, hold on to your boots, you probably will. Is the school of...

Have you ever found the perfect new team member? A person who fits exactly what your organization needs from their skills, experience, talents, connections and even personality? Hopefully you have had this experience at least once in your leadership career. It is one of the most exhilarating feel...

  The higher an executive advances up the organizational latter, they are less dependent on technical skill and require more effectiveness in interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence. Coaching is an effective tool for improving the bottom line performance in executives and organiz...

There are those of us that are really good at estimating how long a particular project will take, or how much effort can be reasonably expended in a period of time. And then there’s the rest of us. Whether it is through sheer hope or lack of experience, we often underestimate the amount of time ...

I was recently traveling and stuck in Chicago International Airport for over 8 hours due to inclement weather. About every 90 to 120 minutes they would update the monitors to let us know there was still not a plane or crew for us. Typically, I would just work during this time (after finding a luc...

A manager who once told me that his goal for me was to find time for 20% open thinking time in my work day. At the time, I thought this was a silly concept considering I had so much to do and not enough time to do it. I was so busy with tasks that needed to get done. Coming from a strong work eth...

“I am big on mercy”. This was the statement that caught my attention and sparked this blog. I was listening to the radio while getting ready for work a few mornings ago. The DJ made a statement about the poor performance and the mistakes being made by a certain athletic coach. The sports announce...

It’s hard believe we are past the half-year mark for 2014.  Have you pulled out your goals and reviewed your progress?  How are you doing?   If you are in the majority, you probably are not doing so well.  Why? There may be a few reasons: Setting goals has become just ...

A few days ago I was sitting at my desk after dinner going through a few emails.  I was really tired, but it was not a draining tired, it was an energizing tired.  I started thinking on this a little more.  Recently I have been very tired and also exhausted, but this was different....

I had the privilege of hearing author, Jim Collins, speak recently.  He said a lot of things that made me think, a sign of a good SME (subject-matter-expert), and one thing in particular stood out: “ First, great leaders must have strong values and a strong will and then skills”. How many pe...

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say and what you do are in harmony”, Mahatma Gandhi.  This is a meaningful quote and one I find to be true.  I have worked in leadership and with leaders for over 20 years and I am still surprised (although I should not be) when I work with a ...