One is too small a number
A Chinese proverb states, “Behind an able man there are always other able men.” The truth is that teamwork is at the heart of great achievement. The question isn’t whether teams have value. The question is whether we acknowledge that fact and become better team players. That’s why I assert that one is too small…
Read MoreMe and Michael, Jr.
At the Gateway Men’s Conference last week, I sat down for an interview with the comedian Michael, Jr. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did…
Read MoreThe Undercover Millionaire
“These people cannot be millionaires! They don’t look like millionaires, they don’t dress like millionaires, they don’t eat like millionaires, they don’t act like millionaires–they don’t even have millionaire names. Where are the millionaires who look like millionaires?”~ VP of a trust department, after dining with several first-generation millionaires The above quotation opens Thomas J.…
Read MoreOvercoming Barriers to Communication
On May 10th, Microsoft announced its whopping $8.5 billion-dollar purchase of Skype. Why would the software giant pay such a princely sum for a company that had suffered $689 million dollars worth of losses in the previous year? Put simply, because Skype has lived up to its stated purpose: “to break down barriers in communication.”…
Read MoreDon't lose your marbles!
My friend Dwight Bain sent me a story of a ham radio operator who overheard an older gentleman giving advice to a younger man. “It’s a shame you have to be away from home and family so much,” he said. “Let me tell you something that has helped me keep a good perspective on my…
Read MoreRemoving the U from Failure
Do you think of yourself as a failure? Maybe not in every area of life, but in at least one important one? Well, you’re not alone. Many people think that having failed makes them a failure. Too many people. So many, in fact, that I wrote an entire book, Failing Forward, to challenge that perception. Seeing…
Read MoreBurying Your Ego
BURYING YOUR EGO Best known to Americans as the Mexican general at the Alamo, Santa Anna consistently made catastrophic political and military blunders. During the course of his public career, Santa Anna lost 1/3 of Mexico’s territory in warfare, and sold another 30,000 acres to the United States to finance his attempts to suppress revolt.…
Read MoreCommunication 101
COMMUNICATION 101 “Instructions for making a speech: Be sincere; be brief; be seated.” ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt In Communication, Speaking Overtime Is a Crime, so…SAY IT SOONER Mark Twain once attended a church service during which the city missionary passionately appealed for donations to aid the community’s poor. “The appeal had so stirred me that…
Read MoreCommunicating Credibly: More Than Lip Service
In 1988, pop group Milli Vanilli shot to superstardom with the release of their album Girl You Know It’s True, which spawned three chart-topping singles. The following year, the group captured a Grammy Award for Best New Artist. However, Milli Vanilli fell from fame even faster than they had rocketed to celebrity status as a…
Read MoreJohn’s Favorite Books: The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership
“The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership,” the best known book written by John Maxwell, highlights 21 timeless leadership principles.
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