General Advice
Developing a New Skill is Not Easy
This is for all the people who believed an ad, a speaker, or a well-intentioned coach who told them that developing a new skill would be fast, easy, and fun. It’s not. I talked to a young woman yesterday who is sick of hearing about how great things could be if only she learned to […]
Continue ReadingBetty Friedan: Another Author Icon Gone
Betty Friedan died today at age 85. In a weird sort of way, I miss her already. I read “The Feminine Mystique” sometime in the 70s, when I was old enough to want to understand my mother in a societal context (because I certainly didn’t in a self-absorbed teenage angst) and because I was intrigued […]
Continue ReadingHelp me understand “Whatever.” Imprecision threatens success.
I had an “oh, boy” moment this morning. That’s kind of like an “ah, ha” but not in a good way. It’s more like an “uh, oh” moment. It happened when I started thinking about how imprecise our language has become and how a lack of clear, meaningful communication can lead us nowhere good. I […]
Continue ReadingPoor Feedback for Leaders is an Ignored Organizational Ailment
Here’s a critical and often ignored organizational ailment I heard this morning: “How am I supposed to be confident when my boss keeps telling me how terrible things are? ‘The economy is fragile, jobs keep moving overseas, if we don’t perform better, we might be out of work.’ I know all that stuff, but I […]
Continue ReadingTechnology, and the successful people who use it
Jason Weaver, CEO of SWAY Connection Marketing, is a techno-genius. I spent the morning with him yesterday and I was amazed at his incredible knowledge of current technology and the way in which he ties applications to important benefits. As he talked, he played his laptop like an old-fashioned pinball machine, showing me what he […]
Continue ReadingThe Difference Between Sense of urgency or Impatience
I gave some feedback to a client today that was not well received. I said that his impatience was creating tension among his subordinates and having a negative effect on their productivity. He pushed back pretty hard. Said that I was blaming him for their lack of initiative and that his sense of urgency–not generally […]
Continue ReadingNew Year’s Resolutions of Perseverance
It’s January 10. I wonder how many people have already given up on their New Year’s Resolutions? How many didn’t bother to make any this year because they never keep them anyway? How about you? Perseverance is a funny word. It sounds like it stands for something difficult, daunting, even grim. Heck, severe is at […]
Continue ReadingMore Than Ever Our Country Needs Critical Thinking
The political season has reached the final stages of a very long battle and I’m dismayed by so much of what I see: Professional journalists coming unglued. Bloggers spewing opinion spiked with venom—many displaying their lack of education with horrific spelling and grammar. Candidates judged on the basis of oratory skills, hairstyles, verbal gaffes, and […]
Continue ReadingImprove the World with Class and Civility
For being such a smart lady, Ann Coulter sure says and does some dumb things. Her latest big-mouthed idiocy, essentially calling Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards a faggot, was simply uncalled for. Worse, it adds to a growing coarseness and recklessness in our public discourse that serves no one. Coulter is no dummy. She’s an […]
Continue ReadingThe Daily Occurrence of Cell Phone Indiscretion
We live in a “nobody in the world but me” state of unconciousness too much these days. Cell phones have done a lot to get us there and I marvel every time I see the local high school let out. Almost every one of the kids has a cell phone planted to his or her […]
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