I once played in a ballet orchestra. Those are the folks in the pit below the stage. I remember during a rehearsal of Prokofiev’s Cinderella there was a section where most of the orchestra was playing and I glanced at the basses who were sawing away quite furiously. During a break, I was walking around … Continue reading Listen hard, pay attention. Everyone matters.

I recently read an article that was criticizing the idea of servant leadership. In the article, it mentioned the thought that employees were only, in the final analysis, a means to an end and that leaders were really not there to serve. Let’s look at those two thoughts individually. Means to an end. When I … Continue reading Leaders run things and employees are cogs in the machine. Not!

I’ve recently become interested in design thinking. It began when I heard about something called service design. It piqued my interest so I did a little research and learned more about not only service design but user experience design, interaction design, product design, customer experience design, brand experience design, you name it, there seems to … Continue reading Design thinking should be the future of business.

It’s a new year, it’s a time to decide your direction. What will you drive forward this year? What success will you see? All of it is determined by what you do. Read that again. Will you gather a tribe of people who believe what you believe and begin leading them? Will you stand for … Continue reading It’s time to decide.

The big day of the holidays is over, and now we have what I call the “dead week” before we turn the page on the calendar. Why is this week so special? This is the week where your phone rings less and things are quieter, and that means you have time to reflect, ideate, and … Continue reading Now is the time to get to work on your new year.

It’s the holiday season, and no matter who you are, what you believe, or what your background, you can participate. So go ahead, celebrate: The people in your life who support and help you. The successes you’ve had. The opportunities presented this year. All the things you have that bring you joy. All the things … Continue reading Celebrate

The holidays are a time where we think about giving, or more specifically, sharing. We all have luxuries. These are things we don’t need, we just want because they make life easier, prettier, or more fun, but they are unquestionably things we don’t need to survive. Do you get your lawn mowed by a service? … Continue reading It’s a good time for sharing.

This is the time of year when there is a lot of selling going on. It makes sense. Most businesses make their nut during this time of year so selling is paramount. It’s too bad that we’ve made this season so commercial but that’s for another post. Anyway, selling, why this? My problem with sales … Continue reading Does your selling have integrity?

What is empathy? It’s the ability to appreciate the feelings and emotional state of others. And while you may not for the life of you understand why something troubles or brings joy to someone, the practice of empathy allows you a notion of their sad state or happiness. Empathy is by definition about others rather … Continue reading Empathy is an investment.

Thanksgiving is a great holiday. It’s open to all. It’s not tied to a religion, ethnicity, race, creed, or anything else. Everyone gets Thanksgiving on their calendar. It’s a day to be grateful. It’s a day to share. It’s a day to do good. It’s a great day to make these things habits. I’m very … Continue reading Thanksgiving is great.