What Brain Science Can Teach Us About Leadership
Much of your brain is hardwired from birth. Our primitive reflexes make us hyper-alert for bad news. Our brains detect negative information faster than positive information, and we have a stronger memory for painful experiences than pleasurable ones. This hardwiring...
The Carnival of HR
Welcome to The Carnival of HR. This is one of my favorite carnivals, and I am delighted to host this edition. We have been treated to a wonderful lineup of thought-provoking posts on leadership, workforce practices and talent development, and building relationships....
The Most Important Risk in Life: Be You
Guest Post by Doug Sundheim Things work better when you’re being you. You’re not wasting time trying to live up to some conjured-up ideal of perfection. You’re not trying to be all things to all people. Consequently, you have more energy to focus on other...
Why Good Teams Make Bad Decisions
Did you ever watch in dismay as a good team began to make a series of bad decisions? It can happen with any kind of team – a work team, sports team, political team, or volunteer team… in any kind of setting – business, government, school, non-profit. Here's what...
How To Write a Mission Statement in 5 Steps
A mission statement is a brief statement that explains your reason for existence or purpose - what you want to accomplish. A good mission statement helps guide you in determining your products and services because it answers the question “why?” and helps...
A tweet, a blog post, and a profound teaching
What's the best length for a blog post? Mine are usually between 500 to 800 words. However, through the discipline of writing tweets, I have discovered that it is quite possible to communicate an important concept in 160 characters or less. A Talmudic...
Fear of Learning
Guest post by Chip Bell Fear is as personal as a fingerprint. I have a daredevil friend whose idea of a fun Saturday afternoon is to ski off the top of a steep mountain after being transported to the peak by a helicopter. The thought of that makes me break out in a...
9 Tips to Increase the Likelihood You’ll Be Heard
Did you ever have an important point to make that wasn't heard or understood? What did you do? If you eventually gave up in frustration, you’re not unusual. When you have something important to say, a little preparation ahead of time can increase the likelihood...
The 12 Team Skills of Brilliant Teams
When Casey got the award at the annual meeting, no one was surprised. He was a marketing genius, and his team’s success was unparalleled in the history of the company. He was clearly a rising star. The problem was, his fellow team members thought he was a pain in the...
Looking for Vision? She’s Out Walking the Streets in Stilettos
Considering the compelling case for the value of vision, it's strikingly absent these days. Recent research by Kouzes and Posner demonstrates that "being forward-looking is the quality that most separates leaders from individual contributors." However, “it’s something...
The Value of Vision Series – An Interview With Doug Conant
I had the pleasure of interviewing Doug Conant, newly appointed Non-Executive Chairman of Avon and the former President and CEO of Campbell Soup, where he led the company through a dramatic transformation, reversing the declining trend in earnings and employee...
The Value of Vision Series – Mike Myatt
Is Vision Relevant Today? Mike Myatt CEO, N2growth on The Value of Vision In a word – YES! I’ve always said, leadership without vision is like trying to drive blind – it won’t end well. The best evidence of the importance of vision is what occurs in its absence–...