Have you ever walked into your office and been jumped by the bookkeeper? "What's this check for? I can't read your writing. And Jimmy hasn't filled out his time card all week." When you aren't in financial manager mode, these questions can feel like an ambush. Have you ever interrupted your bookkeeper with [...]
My latest, favorite topic is getting stuff DONE. Leadership involves inspiration, information and implementation. Inspiration comes from asking and answering the big questions: What do I want? Why? It involves thought and journaling and meditation. Information, well, that's usually available isn't it? Leadership involves shifting through information and deciding which voices to heed and [...]
I love discovering someone's story. What are their interests, beliefs and their why? What are their habits and rituals? Was there a moment that changed everything and triggered a powerful, positive shift? Recently, an uber-successful businessman told me his story. He told me about being on top, crashing to the bottom, and rebuilding even better. A [...]
How about if you just...don't. You don't go to the party. You don't send the greetings cards. You don't carry on a tradition. What if, when it feels like a chore, you just...don't. What if, instead, you smiled a little more? What if you gave a few compliments? What if you found lots of [...]
Ellen and Gen. Russel Honore What a cool experience to speak at West Point! I participated in the West Point Leadership Academy, three days of speaking and exercises designed to expand our skills as leaders. And, oh, the setting! Every stone of the fort and military academy oozes leadership. (My presentation was called [...]
Are you struggling with your compensation program? I worked with a client who had a "circus train" approach to how they were paying office personnel. Every person had a different deal...salary, hourly and no justification for why one person made more than another. It took some planning and clear communication, but we fixed it. We made [...]
I love sharing the best of what I have learned in my long life and career. Mostly, I speak about simple financial systems and UN-complicated business planning. However, in most of my presentations, the conversation settles on employees. You need some help if you are going to clean up your financials, set up great scorekeeping [...]
Maybe because they're a mess. Maybe because you don't want to know. Maybe because you'll have to start holding someone - you? - accountable for getting them caught up and accurate? Maybe you don't really know what to look at or how to use them. Maybe because you'll have to...change? My friend Howard Partridge is [...]
Once, I was asked to submit a proposal for writing a brochure for a manufacturing company. I was on friendly terms with the president of the company, and he had asked me to take on the project. I put together a proposal and decided to deliver it in person. When I arrived, the president’s secretary [...]
I've been asking this question of my seminar attendees recently, "What one thing did you do in the past year that made all the difference in your life?" One fellow shared that he committed to a sugar-free diet and lost 52 pounds. He looked great and he said he felt so much better. "When I was [...]
