Reinforcement

As a corporate trainer and an adjunct professor, one of the things I stress is applying what you learn. I tell my participants/students that if they “throw their notes up on a shelf and never look at them,” then it has been a waste of time – both theirs and mine. I then suggest that … Read more

Let It Go!

I am currently reading Jack: Straight From The Gut which is the autobiography of Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric.  When he became CEO, Jack had a philosophy that if any of their 40+ businesses were not #1 or #2 in that industry then they must either be “fixed, sold, or closed”. The … Read more

Stressed Desserts

According to the American Psychological Association, around three-quarters of adults (76%) said they have experienced health impacts due to stress in the prior month, including headache (38%), fatigue (35%), feeling nervous or anxious (34%), and/or feeling depressed or sad (33%). There are many reasons that people feel stressed but what should leaders do about this? … Read more

How To Be An Effective Influencer

A leader that is influential versus controlling and/or authoritative is much more effective.  By influencing others to achieve an objective, a leader is empowering them which is much more productive and beneficial to an organization in the long run. Influencing others is not easy. So how to does one do it?  In most cases, trying … Read more

Be Bold!

If you think about true leaders, whether they are in a big or small company, in a service or product industry, one key attribute they must possess is being bold.  The leader does not have to be loud or overly demonstrative but must come across that they are the one who is directing their organization. … Read more

What’s In Your “Rolodex”

“Rolodex” may be a dated word but regardless if you use it or a contact database, it is important to use it correctly. How often do you comb through your contacts and reach out to people you haven’t spoken to in a while? Do you ever weed people out? Do you ever spend the time … Read more

The Importance of Effective Engagement

Recently my alma mater changed the name of their Alumni Relations department to Alumni Engagement, which supposedly other universities are doing as well. I thought this was a good idea because engaging someone is very different from relating to someone. The major difference is that you may feel there are commonalities with you and someone … Read more

ABCs of Your Career Journey – G is for Grade

When I was in school, there were certain classes I looked forward to getting my grades and others that I wished I could have had a pass/fail grade.  I was a good student but certain subjects like trigonometry were just tough.  Those tests and quizzes would come back with lots of red marks and a … Read more

ABCs of Your Career Journey – A is for Accomplishments

When I am coaching a client regarding their career or I am reviewing their resume or Linkedin, I find that most people do not fully embrace their accomplishments.  They either downplay them (oh it was not that big of a deal) or they forget to mention them at all.  The issue is that no one, … Read more

Identifying Blind Spots

When driving a car, you have to constantly check your blind spots in order to avoid an accident especially when you are changing lanes.  Looking to the right and the left several times hopefully ensures that fellow motorists or motorcyclists are not in your path.  The ones who did get hit usually are distracted by … Read more