David Blaine is a magician who has done amazing, death-defying things.  He was buried alive in New York City in a coffin for a week living on nothing but water. He froze himself in a block of ice for three days and three nights.  He stood on top of a hundred-foot pillar for 36 hours … Continue reading A Magic Lesson

A key to success in business or almost any organizational endeavor is alignment, and by alignment I mean everyone on the team being tuned to one objective, a common goal.  In sports, it is typically winning, and more specifically winning a championship.  I can’t imagine any sports team that wouldn’t list that as their ultimate … Continue reading Getting Your Business Aligned to the Real Business of Business.

One could say that art is, from a survival perspective, unnecessary.  I mean, if you are stuck on a mountain in a blizzard with little food or shelter, you're probably not thinking about art, yet art is what gives life most of its spice, its wonder, and its inspiration.  In the business world, there is … Continue reading Embrace the Unnecessary

I have a friend who recently had a major malfunction in his house.  His water heater stopped working dramatically in a way that could have resulted in fire but thankfully stopped short of that.  Anyway, it was still under warranty and he called the manufacturer to get a replacement. Sounds simple, right? It all started … Continue reading The Power of Certainty

We have several old clocks around our house - a collection of sorts – and most of them don’t work properly, my wife and I just like them.  Anyway, while walking through the house the other day, I passed by one of these non-working clocks and said something to my daughter that my dad used … Continue reading Learning from a Broken Clock

I often speak to people about changing the world but I usually don’t mean the big world, I mean the small world of those around us. We all have the power to positively change someone’s world and we can do it simply with words. Whatever the interaction, whether with a friend, colleague, customer, or as … Continue reading The Power of Small Words

So many business people are looking for the magic bullet when it comes to customer service.  Well, there isn’t one as far as I’ve seen, but I have found something that I do believe helps in a significant way. I believe the real trick for making service remarkable is getting people into a mindset where … Continue reading Are you listening?

Art Barter’s book Farmer Able is a story of transformation. It’s the story of a domineering farmer who is fixated on bottom-line results and efficiency. He’s an Industrial Age, command-and-demand manager, constantly basing all of his success on what’s in his bank account. The problem is, the more he pushes those around him, the more … Continue reading Book Reviews: Farmer Able and The Servant Leadership Journal