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.
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.
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.
This week’s blog is a rant about the sequester that went in place in March. If you are sick and tired of the discussion, check back next week for something else. If you want to understand the impact of irresponsible leadership, read on. I promise this will step on everyone’s toes.
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.
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.
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.
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?
The Gallup organization just released its latest survey results about the perceptions of honesty and ethics for 22 professions. There are honest and ethical people in every profession. Rankings such as this reinforce a very important principle: Scandal paints with a roller not a brush. When enough people in any profession act dishonestly and unethically, it hurts everyone in the profession.
The people who have moved from success to significance in the personal lives don’t give because they are successful. They are successful because they give. They are not merely thankful for their success. They are thankful for the opportunity to strive. Research cited by Dr. Robert Emmons in his book, Thanks! How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier, suggests that people who operate from a heightened place of gratitude and thankfulness typically experience better overall health, fewer physical symptoms, higher income, more energy, larger social networks and stronger marriages.
A thought struck me as I contemplated the observance of Veterans Day here in the United States and Remembrance Day in Canada: Have you ever wondered why we don’t have an Excellent Service Day parade? Is it only because that excellent service is so rare? Or, is it because there is a significant difference between providing service and actually serving?
This blog was first published in 2010. Considering we are near the end of perhaps the most divisive Presidential elections in recent U.S. history, it is an excellent time for all of us to reflect and ask ourselves - are we leaders or liars?
The American economy needs to grow again. Not the 1.5 – 2.0 percent growth we have seen over the past months. We need real growth in the 3.5 – 4.0 percent range. That is the [...]
What would you do to secure your 15 minutes of fame? How about to increase your financial well-being? Would you exploit your child on national television? Would you reinforce and applaud behavior that is likely to create lifetime problems for your child? Would you become the family that everyone loves to ridicule? For the parents of Honey Boo Boo, the uber-precocious child with her own show airing on TLC, the answer is yes and a lot more.
The "Weeds" series finale on the Showtime network left a lot of people disappointed. I was one of them until it hit me: The entire ending was about Nancy Botwin’s key question. What is your key question? Embracing your question provides the measuring stick for your success. It lights the path toward the results you need to achieve in order to be fulfilled. And, it defines what it means to be significant and contribute.