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»
BYJames McIntosh Relevancy Score: 100 Wed Jan 28, 2009 at 5:36 AM
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»
BYJames McIntosh Relevancy Score: 100 Wed Jan 21, 2009 at 11:22 AM
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»
BYJames McIntosh Relevancy Score: 100 Thu Jan 15, 2009 at 6:24 AM
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»
BYJames McIntosh Relevancy Score: 100 Wed Jan 7, 2009 at 2:27 PM
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»
BYJames McIntosh Relevancy Score: 100 Tue Apr 21, 2009 at 6:28 AM
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»
BYJames McIntosh Relevancy Score: 100 Mon Jan 5, 2009 at 8:30 AM
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»
BYJames McIntosh Relevancy Score: 100 Mon May 11, 2009 at 6:53 AM
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»
BYJames McIntosh Relevancy Score: 100 Thu Oct 9, 2008 at 11:44 AM
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»
BYJames McIntosh Relevancy Score: 97 Fri Apr 3, 2009 at 6:38 AM
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»
BYJames McIntosh Relevancy Score: 94 Mon Feb 9, 2009 at 6:13 AM
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»
BYJames McIntosh Relevancy Score: 94 Thu Feb 5, 2009 at 5:57 AM
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»
BYJames McIntosh Relevancy Score: 87 Fri Jan 16, 2009 at 6:23 AM
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»
BYJames McIntosh Relevancy Score: 84 Wed Feb 11, 2009 at 6:31 AM
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»
BYJames McIntosh Relevancy Score: 84 Mon Feb 16, 2009 at 5:50 AM
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»
BYJames McIntosh Relevancy Score: 84 Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 6:00 AM
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»
BYJames McIntosh Relevancy Score: 84 Fri Jan 23, 2009 at 6:29 AM
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»
BYJames McIntosh Relevancy Score: 84 Tue Aug 26, 2008 at 7:13 AM
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»
BYJames McIntosh Relevancy Score: 79 Mon Jun 8, 2009 at 7:40 AM
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»
BYJames McIntosh Relevancy Score: 75 Mon Jan 12, 2009 at 6:46 AM
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»
BYJames McIntosh Relevancy Score: 75 Tue Jan 20, 2009 at 10:54 AM
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»
BYJames McIntosh Relevancy Score: 63 Tue Jan 13, 2009 at 10:01 AM
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»
BYJames McIntosh Relevancy Score: 58 Tue Aug 19, 2008 at 7:22 AM
Encourage your pet pessimist:
Do you have a pet pessimist at work? Good. Every organization should have at least one.
Pessimists matter. They enhance your decision making and protect your success by balancing overconfident ...READ»
