How do first impressions influence you? For the last few weeks I’ve been even more sensitive than usual to the their impact, probably because of the wide variation in quality that I experienced. Here are a few recent examples: We were fortunate to time a stay at our Florida retreat du

So, “Selfie” is Oxford Dictionaries’ “word of the year!” “Selfies,” of course, are those snapshots that we see practically everyone taking of themselves with smart phones and posting on social media. Oxford explains how “selfie” earned its distinction because of its impact on society

Day after day, day after day, We stuck, no breath no motion; As idle as a painted ship Upon a painted ocean. –      (Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Rime of the Ancient Mariner) Sailors know doldrums well – persistent stillness and lack of wind that prevents movement. They were the bane of a

I’ve been thinking about persistence a lot lately. It started in the middle of gathering firewood in the BWCA, sawing a downed log that was a tad large for my folding saw. I kept at it, and was eventually rewarded with enough wood to grill our freshly caught bass. Over dinner, convers

Physical therapy following shoulder surgery and back issues gave me a new appreciation for “core strength.” Physiologically, core strength is primarily a function of our abdominal and lower back muscles, pelvis and diaphragm working together to provide support, balance and power when

In older days, “Clear the deck!” was a common command to prepare for doing battle at sea. The command focused attention, cleared visibility to gain a better perspective on the action, eliminated distractions and quickly channeled resources where they were needed most. Literally or fig

Most of you have witnessed (and perhaps been victims of) disappointing or even disastrous organizational change efforts. A 2010 IBM comprehensive global study of organizational change initiatives revealed that 60% of them fail; JCP (the retailer formerly known as J.C. Penney) is the l

Early on the second day of a client engagement, I found myself at the dentist’s. The nagging tooth ache that we thought a filling fixed had gotten worse; I needed to be “on” in a couple hours, and was leaving town early the next morning. X-rays were inconclusive about whether a root c

A new year lends itself naturally to reflection and planning, leading for some to make resolutions. My reflections and resolutions revolved mainly around what to let go of and what to make room for – what’s “out” and what’s “in.”  Of course organizations and their leaders need to make

Yes, I really do mean values proposition, not value proposition. We’re accustomed to thinking of an organization’s or business value proposition – the degree that it meets the needs, wants and requirements of target markets and customers. We pay less attention to how the values of an