Yesterday, while traveling, I received this email from my 20 year old son Parker . . . Just something funny I wanted to say I am currently working on printing cds with your face on them.  After the first one I noticed what I believed to be a small blue smudge on your shirt and

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Meetings are meant to be a time for people to exchange ideas and insights. While there are many components to effective meetings, one factor most people would put on that list is engaged participants. I mean, a good meeting can’t be quiet, can it? Maybe, at least at times. Let’s start with my main premise

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Courage is an attribute usually attributed to very ill people and people in extreme danger. I mean, we need courage as we navigate a minefield, look danger in the face, or stare down a dire diagnosis for our future. Courage isn’t usually thought of as a trait we need to navigate cubicles, look in the

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Today’s quotation is in part about presentations, which I give many of and have the chance to give feedback and coaching on many others.  Whether you give presentations or not, or whether you take Mr. Webster’s words literally or not, the point he makes is important and worth applying far beyond presentations. “I would as soon appear

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In the training work that I do, regardless of the subject matter, communication is always part of it in some way or another.  I recently read the quotation that follows, and it elegantly states a very important communication principle. (Leave it to a poet to be elegant!) “Saying nothing sometimes says the most.” – Emily

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Forget more money and better benefits. We think that is what people need, to which most managers and leaders say – “I can’t give them more” or “That’s out of my hands.”   The good news is those aren’t the things that will move the needle. A recent (February and March of 2012) Career Builder survey of

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It is one of those milestone birthdays. 50 years. When my Dad turned fifty he said “I can’t decide if I am going to start counting backwards next year, or just adjust my birthdays to the Celsius scale.”  I was 30 when he said it, and it made me laugh. It still makes me laugh.

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Dear Learner,I don’t know why the training is on your calendar. Maybe you are being told to go. Maybe you don`t even really know what it is about. Maybe you’d rather be in training than work on your project/task list. Maybe you are really looking forward to attending and are excited about it. Or maybe

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Have you ever had a problem and needed to vent or just share what you were dealing with? When you are in this situation, are you always necessarily looking for advice, input, or counsel? If you are like most people, probably not. So why is it that when people come to us with their problems or

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Effective coaching is a big topic. Here are just a few examples where being a more effective coach can make a difference: at work, for your children’s sports teams, for a friend and in your community. As with anything as important and as pervasive as this topic, there are lots of resources available to you.

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