Blog
20Oct 2013
Yesterday was a beautiful fall day — blue skies, sunny and relatively warm (65 degrees F.), a slight breeze, luscious green grass, leaves starting to turn. So I decided to go on an “adventure” – and take along “Joy”, our neighbor’s dog (whom we are watching for the weekend. She would have come along with me, regardless, because she is
10Oct 2013
Friends, I am aware that the links to the two video clips did not work (they somehow got changed in the posting process). I have corrected the links and you should be able to view the videos now. Sorry for the inconvenience! * * * * * * About a week ago, a frustrated young professional posted a video announcing
08Sep 2013
The fact that people have different communication styles in not news. However, I have found a “word picture” that seems to really help individuals get a better sense of how different they are from others, and also gives a clearer understanding on the challenges they have in communicating effectively with those close to them. There is a wide range in
02Jul 2013
As I wrote recently, research was released by the Gallup organization that found only 3 out of 10 U.S. employees are actively engaged in their work from a mental, emotional and volitional (a choice of the will) point of view. Conversely, 52% of employees were found to be not engaged and 18% are actively disengaged. This latter group is a
02Jul 2013
This past week headlines of newspapers, website posts, and the talking heads on TV screamed about how U.S. employees hate their jobs (and that it is the fault of their managers). Here are some actual titles: Millions of Bad Managers Are Killing America’s Growth (The Chairman’s Blog) Workplace Morale Heads Down: 70% of Americans negative about their jobs (Subtitled:
19Jun 2013
Friends, I had the opportunity to be interviewed by David Hassell of 15Five.com for his blog. David is a young entrepreneur and sports enthusiast who was recently on the cover of Forbes magazine and cited as “the most connected man you don’t know in Silicon Valley”. I was able to share some of the lessons we have been learning about
06Jun 2013
This may seem to be a bit of an “about face” for me – given my previous writing on how cynicism is a result of “bad recognition” or when employees question the authenticity of appreciation communicated. But it occurred to me that, really, cynicism can be a positive influence in our workplaces. How? When people are cynical, they are giving
30Apr 2013
I continue to have the opportunity to provide career coaching for a number of individuals — from high school students, to college graduates, to adults considering changing their career path (and almost every stage in between). I thought I would share some repeated misconceptions I hear in working with career-seeking individuals in our culture. Here they are: *MISCONCEPTION #1:
22Mar 2013
In working with family-owned businesses for several years now, I’ve seen one pattern of relating that consistently doesn’t work over the long term. In many families there is a mantra that dictates the family members’ behavior, and that can carry over to the business as well. It is: “Now let’s all just get along.” While the “just get along” message
10Feb 2013
One of the benefits I receive from the work I do with family-owned businesses and successful business leaders is the opportunity to hear their life (and business’ life) story, and learn from them (hopefully!) . One of the questions we typically ask in our interviews is: “To what do you attribute your financial and business success?” Common answers are “perseverance”,