Category Archives: Uncategorized

The Scary Side of Mentoring

The old-fashioned view of mentoring is someone outside a learner’s chain of command who equips that learner with new skills and knowledge. It is an archaic expert to novice or smart to unwise philosophy. The goal is the transfer of information or expertise, much like pouring knowledge into the head of a passive learner. It is the model that antiquated teachers used to teach facts students only recalled long enough to score favorably on the test. Continue reading

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Past Success Proves You Were Right … Once

You own your logo and marketing message. Your customers own your brand relevance in the marketplace. And when your customers say you are irrelevant, no amount of advertising, positive press, or sales promotions will convince them otherwise.

Two iconic American brands are proving that every day. Continue reading

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Playing Favorites

Do you have a favorite employee?

Just thinking about admitting it causes us to cringe at the possibility of the negative backlash from those who are the not-so favorites, should they ever learn our true feelings.

But that’s the point. They already know. Continue reading

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Leaders Ought to Know

Have you ever watched a leader make a decision or take an action and think, “They ought to know better.”

I find that sentiment to be especially true when it comes to people issues. Leaders ought to know how to motivate others. They ought to know how to treat people with respect and act with honesty. They ought to know how to take action and make good decisions.

That is where Phillip Van Hooser comes in.

Phil knows what leaders ought to know, and he shares it in his new book, Leaders Ought to Know: 11 Ground Rules for Common Sense Leadership.
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Opportunity Lost

In its “Economic Prospects for the Year 2000,” the writers at Business Week saw a glass half-empty and chose to see it as mostly full.

The world painted in its 1989 article would have been a great place. The vision that they created was completely possible. We missed the opportunity. We lacked the rigor in our thinking and failed to consider all the possible implications of our choices. We lacked the discipline to execute toward the vision. And, we lacked the courage to confront reality and put long-term success ahead of short-term reward. Continue reading

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Fernando, Fred, and Results

Fred 2.0: New Ideas on How to Keep Delivering Extraordinary Results is loaded with practical examples and compelling stories of how individuals, companies, and entire communities have decided to distinguish themselves through service to others. Continue reading

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Random vs. Consistent

Random acts of wow are wonderful. Do them. But that’s not where you’ll win or lose the game. Don’t think that some once-a-year special thing that you do ever takes the place of being the best at what matters most consistently. Continue reading

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Stop Complainers; Eliminate the Energy Drain & Get More Results

Are your people complaining? Do you see more work drama than work? Then, you’re not unusual. Seventy-seven percent of people spend at least 3-6 hours a week dealing with complainers and energy draining situations. However, before you start polishing up on your coaching and counseling communication skills, look at what’s creating the creating the negative behavior. Continue reading

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The Year Ahead – Our 2013 Predictions

I’ve offered observations about the year ahead each year since 2005. Lots of people do this, but unlike others, we grades ourselves on the past year.

Here is what we predicted last year at this time and four key ideas we see on the horizon for 2013.
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Posted in 2012 Business & Workplace Predictions, 2013 Business and Workplace Predictions, Business Growth, Business Strategy, Corporate Culture, Execution, Growing your business, Innovation, Leader, Leadership, Performance Improvement, Personal Development, President Obama, Randy Pennington, Results, Trust, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Connected, Aware, and Relevant

My December 31, 2012 social media post drew a lot of likes and one great question.

Here is the post: We shouldn’t fear getting old. We should fear becoming disconnected, unaware, and irrelevant.

The response from friends, fans, and followers was great because of the age span represented. I heard from people in their twenties and people in their sixties.

Here’s the great question I received: How do you change your mindset to keep from becoming disconnected, unaware, and irrelevant? Continue reading

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