Recently, a friend and I were talking about setting goals for the new year. One of my questions to him was, “What do you dream to accomplish in 2017?” He replied, “That’s a good question”, then paused for a while and eventually said “I can’t answer your question, because I don’t know what I would dream to accomplish this year. I really have not thought about it!” Continue →
The First Step Toward a Successful 2017
I love this time of year! It seems like that for a brief time, generosity and relationships take their rightful place in our busy lives. As we come to the end of 2016 and think about the new year before us, we have a special opportunity… Continue →
Lone Ranger Decision-Making
For years I was “Mr. Idea Man” in our company. But that was my job, wasn’t it? As the leader of the company, I thought it was my duty to generate the ideas and map out how to implement them. Eventually, I learned that there was a better way to lead my team. I discovered a method for increasing innovation and managing change at the same time. Continue →
My Most Public Bad Decision
Have you ever made a bad decision? I have made many, but one stands out in my mind because it was a very public decision. I’ve thought quite a bit about what went wrong. Although at first it wasn’t obvious, I have discovered the root cause, which is present in many of our bad decisions. Continue →
Volunteer Leadership
Little did I know that in 1983 I would be asked to be the President of my local Rotary Club, an international volunteer service organization. A few weeks before I started, I asked our Board of Directors if it would be okay for me to arrange an off-site club assembly at the home of one of our members. Volunteer Leadership Continue →
Gratitude
Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow. — Melody Beattie Continue →
The Journey from Young Entrepreneur to Effective Leader
I started working in my father’s moving business when I was very young. One of my first jobs was folding the pads used to protect furniture and the like during cross-town (and cross-country) moves. I took pride in the task and tried to fold every pad with excellence. In fact, the moving crews used to call me the “automatic pad folder”. Little did I know, but my early years working on the Continue →
Two Problems That Can Sink Any Leader
I remember my days as a young leader. Some days, it seemed like I was on top of the world. Other days, I wanted to beat my head against the wall in my office! More often than not, my problems stemmed from people. But what I learned one day in 1989 would rock my leadership world and save my head from being used as a hammer! Continue →
Does Anyone in America Remember the High Road?
Watching the recent Presidential and Vice-Presidential debates and all of the political advertising has caused me to wonder why our culture has come to not only expect but also accept taking of the “low road”? Continue →
Do You Think Like a Gold Medalist?
At 43 years old, many would say that she is an unlikely Olympian. And yet, she is not just an Olympian, she is a medalist, a gold medalist. Continue →