The Color of Success
I learned the color of success on my first trip to Bali, Indonesia. The magical color of success is gray. My wife and I landed in Bali after speaking at conference in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. I had just given a keynote titled, “Flexible Authenticity”. When we arrived in Bali, we noticed the three colors of black, […]
Finding Strength in Your Weakness
I would like to argue against the theory that leaders benefit when they only utilize their strengths and surround themselves with people who have different strengths. Here are examples of that theory: “Employees are happiest when they can utilize their strengths every day at work.” Authors Tom Rath and Barry Conchie argue, “If you spend […]
The Truth About Authentic Leadership
People regularly worry about the implications of their behavioral profile and tendencies. They say, “give me the bad news.” Very often I get asked what is the best leadership style? I am a licensed behavior analyst and I have interpreted thousands of surveys over the years. It has been my experience that every style has […]
Start Beating Yourself Up!
The Only Person You Need To beat Is Yourself The cries of “my mommy beats me!” could be heard throughout the student-housing complex. The mother of the shrieking three year old was hoping in vain that none of the neighbors heard. She didn’t want to get a call from child protective services. If you didn’t […]
Act As If…Today!!!
Experience the fulfillment and happiness of achieving your future goals, your new year’s resolutions TODAY! Over the years I have learned a principle of success called “act as if”. Believe, think, act, dress, talk and feel like someone who has already achieved success. The idea is to begin to program your subconscious to find ways […]
When Being Too Smart Hurts You
Is being too smart getting in your way of being more effective as a leader? In his article “Leadership that Gets Results” (Harvard Business Review, March-April, 2000), Daniel Goleman reported on studies, which rated emotional intelligence as a predictor of success in business as more significant than intelligence and technical skill. He states, “New research suggests […]
Change Your Altitude
Imagine flying in a balloon and looking at yourself and your situation from a higher altitude. An intelligent and motivated executive may be negatively impacting their co-workers without realizing it. A small business owner may have a vision of what is possible; they invest countless hours and energy to achieve their vision, along the way […]
10 Ideas For Your Pursuit of Happiness
If you are like most of us on the planet, you are searching for happiness in your life. Where do you believe we find happiness: fame, riches, power? Do you know someone that has these things and is not happy? Or conversely has none of these things and is supremely happy? I believe that each […]
My Emotional Intelligence Experiment
In my job, I help organizations and individuals everyday to develop behaviors that will create optimum results. In my conversations with clients, the topic of emotional intelligence (EQ) comes up a great deal. Over the last decade, emotional intelligence has proven to be a commodity that leaders are looking to increase in themselves and their […]
Seize the Moment!
Everyone has the potential to be a leader. The word “leader” is derived from Greek and Latin words which mean “to act”. Leadership is not about title or rank, it is about the ability to act and “impact”. You have choices how to exercise your leadership.
Each of our lives is like the vast unchartered Louisiana Territory of leadership. We have many choices: We can stay safely in “St. Louis” and enjoy vicariously the adventures that lie beyond the horizon; we can venture out, but stick to the easy trails; However, if we want real adventure and if we want to make a real impact, we must do with our life’s leadership opportunities what Lewis and Clark did in the Louisiana Territory-get “lost” in order to “find” our dreams.