Exactly 100 years before America put a man on the moon, the nation had accomplished another astonishing technological feat: the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad. The ambitious transportation route spanned the width of the United States, connecting residents of America’s Pacific Coast with those on the Atlantic Coast. The newly constructed railway cut travel time…

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If it is true that almost everything we become and accomplish in life is with and through other people, then the ability to create rapport with them is the most important skill we can learn. Looking back at the early and middle stages of my career, I identified six practices that helped me to connect…

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  By themselves, significant moments do not alter a person’s behavior. Events certainly can make powerful impressions on us: they stir our emotions, capture our imagination, provoke our conscience, or bring revelation. However, events do not automatically transform us, and the feelings they evoke usually are short-lived. Leadership breakthroughs happen when we seize the opportunity…

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In the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s the Berlin Wall served as a tangible reminder of the Iron Curtain separating Western democracies from Europe’s Soviet-led Eastern bloc. The East German government had erected the wall in an attempt to halt the country’s “Brain Drain,” in which ever-increasing numbers of prominent citizens were fleeing westward. The barricade…

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  All leaders are salespersons. Though they may not be peddling a product, leaders are selling a picture of what the future could be and should be. They seek to persuade others to buy-in to a particular vision. Unfortunately, skepticism toward leadership abounds throughout society. Every year since 2004, Harvard’s Center for Public Leadership, in…

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Following a 34-17 loss on October 2nd, Santonio Holmes, wide receiver and team captain for the New York Jets, suggested fault for the defeat lay with his team’s quarterback and offensive linemen. In venting his frustration, Holmes violated a team rule to keep criticism of fellow players internal to the organization. The wide receiver’s comments…

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With $50 in his pocket, Dustin Hoffman headed to New York, hoping to find work as an actor. Inexperienced and unknown, Hoffman struggled to find employment. Acting gigs were not paying his bills, so he worked an assortment of odd jobs to stay afloat, including typing for the Yellow Pages, stringing together Hawaiian leis, and…

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While reading a magazine at a dentist’s office in Paris, Philippe Petit became engrossed in an article about the Twin Towers in New York. As an 18-year old street performer, Petit was constantly on the lookout for venues for his high wire balancing acts. Studying an artist’s rendition of the World Trade Center, Petit came…

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Before the days of GPS devices, my glove compartment was stuffed with area maps, and I consulted them to navigate the roadways. When planning vacations, I pored over printed maps to plot my route from one point of interest to the next. I recall being assigned the role of navigator on family trips and hunching…

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“No man can live happily who regards himself alone; who turns everything to his own advantage. You must live for others if you wish to live for yourself.”~ Seneca In Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, The Ghost of Christmas Past transports the cantankerous old miser, Ebenezer Scrooge, back in time to the place Scrooge first…

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