HAPPINESS: Bah Humbug!
I overheard someone telling another person in line recently that there is no such thing as happiness. “It’s not a state of being," they went on, "it’s a passing emotion like any other - like a breeze in the wind, here one moment, gone the next.” How sad, I thought. ...
The Problem With You People
Painting copyright Denny Dent and available at Denny Dent's Art Brokerage Page "You know what the problem is with you people? You only see what you expect to see!” That was the line that totally gripped me. Like a bolt of lightning it hit. WOW!!! Let me back...
Vision Statement or Values Statement?
What kind of business is your vision statement building? Image credit Frédéric BISSON via flickr under the creative commons license. Most companies have a classic vision statement. A mission. A concise definition of who they are and what they’re after. It’s a...
We're Asking the Wrong Question!
Photo courtesy Chris Piascik via Flickr, unchanged, under CC License What do you want to do when you grow up? It's the quintessential question that adults feel compelled to ask kids and it happened again last week at an event I attended with my wife and two...
Growth = Success
Recently, a client shared with me a story about his work. He’d been hired as the music director of a fledgling program at a university. Under his tutelage and amazing direction, the new program grew by leaps and bounds up to a recent show which had completely sold...
Leading the Job Interview
Last week we talked about the perception you choose when headed into a high-pressure situation, like a crucial presentation or a job interview. Followers, we said, have a perception and follow it--leaders have a perception and challenge it. When it comes to...
Be Unreasonable
Have you ever been in a job interview, a meeting or the presentation of your career and felt nervous or uncomfortable - like every one's against you and you're guilty until proven innocent? It’s easy to assume our listeners are skeptical, or that they believe us...
When a Failure is a Success
A prospective client once told me she was so afraid of failing that she was unwilling to try something new. The example she gave was driving in strange city for fear of getting lost. She wouldn't do it. But when it came time for us to meet, it was in a city with which...
To Step or To Leap?
Aren't the contradictions of life and leadership a kick? On the one hand we're told that the journey of thousand miles begins with a single step. Even my last post focused on taking it one step at a time. But on the other hand, we're told not to be afraid of giant...
Learning From Martin Luther King
"You need not see the entire staircase in order to take the first step" - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This quote, I have to admit, is kind of upsetting to me. Not because it's untrue--Dr. King certainly knew what he was talking about. But it begs the question: Where...
