Expressing gratitude breeds optimists
Children don’t seem to say ‘thank you’ any more in public. This worries me. Not because I worry about ‘values’, but because I worry about ‘expectations’.
Let me explain. ...READ»
Changed by a lioness:I was once charged by a lioness and the experience changed me. For one thing, it gave me an insight into leadership.Have you ever been charged by a lioness? No? Well, I guess that makes me the expert. And ...READ»
Don’t fear to delegate smartly:There’s a lot of fear out there, I know, but now is not the time to do stupid things just to prove how valuable you are to your employer.Like doing more and working harder.OK, maybe these are not ...READ»
Believing differently creates insight:A long, long time ago two shoe-salesmen went to Africa. Soon the one wrote to his boss, “Coming home. People don’t wear shoes.” The other telegraphed his office, ...READ»
Saved from a lioness:
I was once charged by a lioness in the African bush. Obviously, I got away from her because here I am telling you about it. So what saved me?Leadership. Leadership in the form of the game ranger.Although ...READ»
Create your own job security:What do you say to someone who has lost her job? At the rate at which companies are dumping people they once held dear you are bound to face this quandary sooner rather than later.I suggest you say as ...READ»
Time to get high:
It’s time to get high. All this stress and uncertainty, anger and fear is driving me to it.
I use to live in a place where it was easy and cheap to get high and so I got high quite often. But where I live ...READ»
Weave with purposeHave you had the opportunity of watching a drunk struggle his way home?Well, I recently watched something similar - a guy with a metal detector combing an early morning beach. I was standing on a balcony which gave ...READ»
Control your span:
One of the reasons the typical organization hierarchy looks like a pyramid is because of a concept called the span of control.
The span of control is the number of subordinates who report directly to you. ...READ»
Leaders should fail early
How do you react to failure? Do you view it as the end of something or as the beginning of a new phase?
Do you accept failure as something that has shrunk you in some way, possibly because it has ...READ»
When sick people work:
Do you feel flu-ish? Please don’t be an inconsiderate pig. Stay home.
That, dear listener, is easier said than done. You are caught between a rock and a hard place. Doctors want you to stay home, ...READ»
Assemble your team:
Believe it or not, I used to play rugby in my younger days. I liked it because whenever I touched the ball, I had fourteen muscled guys backing me up. If I fumbled a pass or missed a tackle, they stepped ...READ»
Struggle easier:Are you struggling to find a new job? Well, maybe you should stop struggling.Many of us were taught that life is a struggle. We heard adults say silly things like ‘no pain, no gain’ and ‘if at first you ...READ»
Progress with those left behind:I worry about the people left behind by this recession. No, I don’t mean those who have already lost their jobs. I mean those who are still holding on, desperately.Many of those who have lost ...READ»
Going down the toilet:When I hear that the economy is going down the toilet, I think about that other office cubicle. The one that is confusingly labeled the bathroom or the restroom.The state of this cubicle can predict whether ...READ»
Cut out play acting:Here’s what I dislike about the movie industry. Their ability to shout ‘cut!’ and do it all over again. I’m jealous of that.Imagine having the power to shout ‘cut!’ and to do it over and over until ...READ»
No time to evolve:This month, two hundred years ago, Charles Darwin was born. Fifty years later he published a theory that caused quite a stir. In this country, that theory continues to cause a stir.I don’t care whether people ...READ»
No time to evolve:This month, two hundred years ago, Charles Darwin was born. Fifty years later he published a theory that caused quite a stir. In this country, that theory continues to cause a stir.I don’t care whether people ...READ»
This summer I read David McCullough’s book on the building of the Panama Canal. The book, called ‘The Path Between the Seas’, is as much about the engineering miracle as it is about the triumph of leadership and ...READ»
Manage fear, not action:I worry about the fear in the workplace. Don’t get me wrong. A little fear is a useful management tool. But I’m talking about too much fear of the kind we have today.Too much fear makes us do stupid ...READ»
Become a skeptic.
We are beginning to hear lots of conflicting reports about the state of the economy. It’s getting better. No, it’s getting worse. Better! Worse! Did! Didn’t! Did too!
Oh for Pete’s sake! ...READ»
Cooperating to compete:People are strange. We dominate the planet mainly because of our ability to work together and yet we compete with each other like crazy.Our ability for premeditated team work has enabled us to expand our ...READ»
We’re in this together:Last week I said that humans are strange. We dominate our planet because we can work together and yet we compete with each other like crazy.Here’s another bit of crazy. We don’t mind so much if bad ...READ»
Set your compass:We drove to Baltimore recently to see a show but we almost didn’t get there on time. My wife had printed out detailed directions and assumed these would be good enough.Detailed directions are normally good ...READ»
