Articles

Innovate or Die.  Often the mantra of CEOs and entrepreneurs.  Stagnation of ideas and lack of change leads to lost market share, drop in retention rates in both clients and employees, and simply isn’t smart business.  This is also true on a personal level.  Nothing...

I have to admit, I’ve always been skeptical of those pop psychology claims of the one thing you need to do to be successful. Most of those claims are simplistic views of the problems we face or a single concept taken to an illogical conclusion. Having said that, I now...

It’s the time of year we all make New Year’s Resolutions.  Losing weight, heading to the gym, being better with money, spending more “me time”, giving up smoking - the list goes on. Most resolutions never see fruition.  Most people give up before the end of January...

One of my favorite childhood games was Labyrinth, where you had to negotiate a metal ball along a tilting floor, trying to get it as far through the maze as possible without dropping it into one of the many holes along the way. OK, I’ll admit I still enjoy playing...

Every workplace, no matter the size, has its own well-established political economy. There are no perfect meritocracies, no perfect Kumbaya environments in the corporate space. We can bemoan it, but we must deal with it. As you navigate the choppy waters, keep these...

Last time I wrote about how adjustments in communication style can help someone avoid being relegated to “blah blah blah” status in the office. For executives, underlying the need for effective communication is the bedrock “must” to be truly trusted by your...

Charles Schulz’s “Peanuts” comics featuring Charlie Brown and his ragtag gang were far ahead of their time in many ways. One recurring joke I always loved was how parents and teachers were universally portrayed as off-screen characters talking in “blah blah blah”...

No pain, no gain. Anyone who has broken a bone or torn a tendon knows the pain of physical therapy and the corresponding reward of healing. Anyone who has worked with a therapist to cure psychological trauma knows how frightening facing your fears can be. Done well, a...

As we go through our morning rituals, we look in the mirror and work our magic, making sure we’re well scrubbed and ready for what lies ahead. It’s a routine thing, something we don’t think much of. We then check in on ourselves throughout the day, making sure nothing...

Boxers sparring with their stronger hand tied behind their back, tennis players serving blindfolded, righty baseball players batting lefty. Coaches of high-level athletes — and athletes with high potential, as yet unrealized — sometimes deliberately handicap their...

You are in the office, but you are not truly “present.” You are comfortable at your organization, but you are not challenged in a meaningful way. The pay is good, the situation isn’t threatening, you have worked hard for a long time to get to this point, your team is...

We humans like to put things in boxes. Situations that we cannot easily and quickly characterize generate some level of unease, whether conscious or not. We are most comfortable with what we can file neatly and label. The same goes for how we view the people we meet...