Sometimes you get lucky… very lucky. Luck, of course, almost always occurs when preparation meets opportunity. Earlier this week, I had the great honor and privilege of presenting and leading a discussion for 200 leaders of Affinity Health System, a highly successful integrated health system located in Northeastern Wisconsin. The presentation/discussion was titled,Leadership Excellence: The …
How does Starbucks take an ordinary… some would argue a mundane product… and transform it into an extraordinary business success? Starting with a single store in Seattle, the Starbucks’ name is now virtually interchangeable with the word coffee. Even with some recent setbacks and bumps in the road, Starbucks continues to grow and innovate while …
Some of the most beautiful and precious gifts in life are wonderful friends and colleagues who provide great personal and professional value by providing highly relevant “tips” from time to time. A perfect example is my long-time friend and colleague, Calvin Colbert. Calvin is a Vice President with Challenger, Gray & Christmas, the well-known and …
Want more security, money, power, clout? Every well-read and well-connected leader has read or heard the advice… become irreplaceable! Bad advice… for a million reasons… very bad advice! For the most part, our planet has done quite well for billions of years before you and I arrived. The people who inhabited our planet for thousands of …
Fifty-three years old… and he just completed his MBA from Emory University in Atlanta. One might conclude… “Slow Learner.” That conclusion would be wrong. Dead wrong! Jim Wetrich, President, U.S. Wound Care Division and General Manager of Molnlycke Health Care, United States & Latin America, did in fact just recently earn an MBA from Emory …
A recent issue of Fortune Magazine included an interview with Bill Gates. The interviewer, Andy Serwer, questioned Gates regarding some of the best advice and critical lessons learned in his personal life and as Co-founder and CEO of Microsoft and Co-founder and Co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. You can read the entire …
The Secret Weapon to a Sharper Mind and Better Business… How Exercise Changed My Life. That is the title of an article Mel Robbins wrote for Success Magazine after interviewing Dr. John Ratey. Dr. Ratey is the author of the book, Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain. The interview with Dr. Ratey …
Warren Buffett wrote the forword of a book I am currently studying. Notice I said studying rather than just reading. This excellent book is entitled The Ten Commandments for Business Failure. The book was written by Donald R. Keough, the former president of The Coca-Cola Company. In the forword, Warren Buffet describes his highly successful life-long …
Articles, books, speeches, training and more training, conferences, seminars, blogs, tweets, and probably billions of spoken words… all about the ramifications and “how to’s” of integrity. There has probably never been a time when integrity was more discussed yet more bent, broken, abused and ignored. A recent Harvard Business Review article, entitled The Practice of Performance …
“Reset priorities to face the new reality.” “Keep investing in the core.” The most successful leaders and companies never stop funding their most critical competencies. “Communicate like crazy, balancing realism and optimism.” “Your customers face new problems, so give them new solutions.” “Reevaluate people – and attract other good ones.” “Reexamine compensation – what is …
This time of year, we hear and see much about giving. Television and radio broadcasts feature individuals and organizations that are giving to help the less fortunate. The Internet is full of emails, podcasts, tweets, and hundreds of thousands of written, audio and/or video stories featuring individuals and organizations that are giving in order to …
Reid Hoffman has always been interested in improving people’s ecosystems, whether civic, education or economic. He has always had interest in finding ways to reach people and then change and improve their lives. As an undergraduate at Stanford, Hoffman thought the way to accomplish his mission was to be an academic. As a graduate student …
Nancy Gibbs wrote an interesting essay in the November 23, 2009 issue of Time Magazine. The essay, entitled The Happiness Paradox, is well worth the read as well as serious thought and reflection. The essay discusses results found by highly credible organizations that conduct surveys, 365 days a year, year in and year out, that measure …
Christina Bielaszka-DuVernay, former senior associate editor at HarvardBusiness.org, interviewed Tim Butler recently regarding the topic of Staying Focused on Your Career Goals in Today’s Turmoil. Tim Butler is a senior fellow at Harvard Business School and director of its career development programs. Tim is also the author of Getting Unstuck: How Dead Ends Become New Paths (Harvard Business …
“The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality.” –Max DePree, Chairman Emeritus, Herman Miller, Inc. According to John Maxwell, “Hope is not a strategy… realistic thinking leads to excellence in leadership and management because it requires people to face reality… leaders who think realistically and plan accordingly position their organizations to win.” In …
If you have an upcoming sales meeting, team meeting, department meeting, division meeting or company wide meeting, you may be looking for a highly credible and easily remembered set of success principles that support your mission, culture, and objects… success principles that people can easily remember… and hopefully use on a daily basis. Or, you …
Pam Bilbrey and Brian Jones have written a new book that is unquestionably highly relevant to all leaders… and to each and every person who is truly committed to greater personal and professional success (however they define success). Thoughtful reading, with a desire and willingness to take action and make personal, professional and organizational changes, …
As I write this Tips for Success, I am sitting on Waikiki Beach, the Jewel of the Pacific. The most famous resort and recreation spot in the world. Don’t worry… I’m not in the sun! Can’t afford any more wrinkles when you are my age. On the other hand, at my age, who gives a …
Feed, nurture and exercise mind and body… simultaneously for exponential potential and guaranteed results. A winning combination for successful people! John is an avid walker. When home in Dallas, he walks 3 to 5 times a week in an upscale, multi level shopping mall called the Galleria. Typically he walks briskly around the interior perimeter of …
Guest Author: Deb Stargardt, Dallas, Texas: A = x + y + z “If A is success in life, then A = x + y + z. Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut.” ~Albert Einstein Albert Einstein had a formula for success. Clearly, his brilliance wasn’t limited …