Ask my team and they will tell you I am full of (too many?) new ideas, and ask me and I will tell you that we don’t always innovate as much as I would like. Thinking about this paradox on a flight yesterday led me to look squarely at me. After all, if we aren’t

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Trust is all over the news these days. People don’t trust the judgment of a jury in Florida. The Yankees don’t trust one of their star players. The Congress doesn’t trust the President, and vice versa. And now the media is asking people if they trust candidate for Mayor of New York (and former Congressman)

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Mistakes – we all make them, but we don’t always handle them so well.  Today’s quotation struck me as a valuable way to think about them (and suggests an approach to them). I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Questions to Ponder –  How readily do I admit mistakes? –  When is

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Today’s quotation comes from a man who became President first by not being elected (when Franklin Roosevelt died) and remained after most thought he wouldn’t win re-election.  In this quotation he talks about how he feels his behavior was mis-perceived. I think it has application for us, which is why I share it with you

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The United States Congress passed the Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act in 1965, and in 1966 the first labels were placed on cigarette packaging – Caution: Cigarette Smoking May be Hazardous to Your Health I sometimes wonder if leaders should have a warning that they have to read regularly, to remind them of some important

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It happens often – this is just a recent example. I was leading a workshop with leaders across an organization, and the question came up about attitude. Specifically, I was asked several questions that, paraphrased, were basically this: I have some attitude issues on my team – how can I improve the attitude of my team? In the

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This week in 1979 the Sony Walkman was introduced.  Sony’s fortunes boomed.  It changed the way we listen to music. And all these years later there are lessons we can learn from this ground breaking product. No this isn’t a marketing post, or a cultural post, this is all about communication – and what we

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Last week, I gave you a metaphor to consider – the idea that we romance Clients or Customers to get them (like a first few dates), but after they are Clients, we tend to focus less attention on them (like 10 years after the wedding). If you want to avoid this tendency, both personally and

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It’s June – the month of weddings. And since I got married 27 years ago this coming August, I have but a vague memory of the courtship process. Here’s how I recall it:  You identify someone you would like to attract (we’ll call them a prospect), and begin selling. You work hard to be noticed,

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I’ve been blogging for over nine years, so I have written a lot of posts about leadership, learning, and a variety of related personal and professional development topics. I’ve recently decided to occasionally go back to some old posts to find inspiration for new posts (and to reflect on my growth as a leader, learner

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