Discipline
Keeping Between the Ditches
Have you ever driven a car with terrible alignment? Even on a perfectly straight highway, the vehicle will drift into a ditch unless the driver constantly compensates for its misalignment. As part of normal driving, the springs in a car’s suspension system gradually stretch out, and the vehicle’s highly calibrated internal components get knocked off-kilter.…
Read MoreAvoiding Dead Air Time
Connecting is the leadership ability to identify with and relate to people in such a way that it increases your influence with them. Connecting demands constant attention on the part of the leader so that people stay tuned in to the vision, values, and priorities of the organization. The trick is to keep the connection…
Read MoreHow to Think Straight and Concentrate
We train our brain by the things we do. For example, experienced taxicab drivers have an abnormally large hippocampus, the portion of the brain responsible for navigation. Veteran violinists or keyboardists have an expanded motor cortex, the area of the brain associated with fine motor skills. Our brain is literally shaped by what we repeatedly…
Read MoreWhat does your daily agenda say about you?
How would you describe your life? Are you achieving what you desire? Are you accomplishing the things that are important to you? Do you consider yourself a success? How do your prospects look for the future? If I could come to your house and spend just one day with you, I would be able to…
Read MoreLevel 3 – Production: Making Things Happen Separates Real Leaders from Wannabes
The 5 Levels of Leadership is almost here, and I’m excited. This is my best material, and it’s been tested and proven for over 30 years. I know the 5 Levels work. Here on the blog, I’ve been going over the levels, and this week it’s time for Level 3: Production. But before I get…
Read MoreLeading difficult people: Disorganized Debbie
Do you know anyone who’s always busy but never seems to get anything done? Maybe this person works for you. How do you lead someone who’s motivated and a doer, but still doesn’t contribute any meaningful results? Meet Disorganized Debbie. She works hard and wants to succeed. Unfortunately, she looks like a rocking horse: always…
Read MoreQuitting is more about WHO you are than WHERE you are.
Back in December, I wrote about the importance of starting well. In the comments, many people agreed with me, but they also pointed out the critical nature of continuing after you start. They were right. Like I said at the time, starting and finishing are the two covers of the book. The main part –…
Read MoreComplicated problems need creative solutions
I’m still traveling this week, but like everyone else, I was horrified to learn of the tragic devastation that occurred in Japan. I lived in California for many years, where earthquakes were a fact of life. But I never experienced anything like the quake that hit Japan last week. And of course, the tsunami took…
Read MoreThe 3 R's of Decision-making
This past week on Twitter, I’ve been sharing some of my favorite quotes on priorities and time management. Important topics for every generation, priorities and time management seem to become more and more crucial every decade. Today, in the age of the smartphone and social media, even technology has joined the fight for our most…
Read MoreAre you driven by Emotion? Or Character?
Earlier this week on Facebook and Twitter, I shared this statement from Dick Biggs: The greatest gap in life is the one between knowing and doing. Life would certainly be easier – and success more simple – if all it took to achieve was to KNOW the right things and DECIDE to do them, right?…
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