The Power of A Second Chance
The planners of the 2015 National Speaker’s Association Influence conference had every reason to believe he was up to the challenge. After all “Sam” had just received the coveted CSP (certified speaking professional) certification (proving he was a...
The Most Important Question to Ask When Facing a Big Decision
What if you could pre-screen a movie of your life to help guide you in making your most pivotal decisions? Can you imagine knowing how your screenplay unfolds would guide your answers to the biggies: Should I follow my passion and shift careers? Should I relocate my...
How to Motivate Yourself
I had just finished reviewing the syllabus with my Masters level leadership class, and asked my typical follow-up question. “What else would you like to cover?” Lin raised her hand and asked sincerely, “Professor, you are so passionate about what you...
Excited vs. Excitable: The Real Secret to Executive Presence
The situation would have sent any leader who cared running for aspirin. I asked Mark, the Senior VP, “Are you okay? Are you stressed? What needs to happen next?” Mark responded, “Karin, I don’t get stressed. There’s no use in that. But as...
Managing Millennials: What’s Really Different
A working student in my evening MBA program approached me to talk about a work situation that was driving her crazy. She gave me the gory behind-the-scenes view: a few apathetic employees were fully taking advantage of a system that had let them get away with...
Effective Delegation: An Easy to Use Tool
When you’re overwhelmed, stressed, and busy, you know the natural answer is to delegate more. But there’s a risk. When you’re moving fast it’s easy to get sloppy or overbearing in your delegation: (see 3 delegation mistakes you don’t have...
5 Big Rules For Productive Conference Calls
It’s easy to fool ourselves into the illusion that “just having a conference call,” instead of a face-to-face meeting or one-on-one, will save time. In fact, it’s that kind of thinking that leaves many managers moving from call to call with little time to...
What To Do When You're Really Stuck
I received this email from subscriber (modified enough for anonymity). Let’s call him Guy. Would you be up to offer a little free advice to beat down manager? I have been in some type of leadership position for over a decade now. Two years ago I took over as manager...
