Poll ten highly successful people and you’ll likely find that nine have a very high need for closure. You know that you’re among them if you: Feel most comfortable when a meeting ends with a good recap and solid next steps. Get an unusual sense of satisfaction out of...
Learning Matters
Evaluating Social Media: Metrics that Matter
I know that it’s customary to set goals, evaluate results, or just think and plan in terms of years. But for me, nine months is the magic number. Maybe it’s because with a thoughtful nine-month assessment, there’s still time left to course-correct and deliver annual...
Career Conversations: It’s All About Becoming Unbalanced
Supporting employee development. Learning about others. Exploring options and possibilities for growth. What do all of these conversations have in common? To be effective, they require you to become completely unbalanced. I’m not suggesting developing vertigo or...
Building the Organizational Habit of Career Development
Let’s be honest. Engaging in career conversations is not that hard. It’s inherently simple to talk with other people about what they’re good at, what they’re interested in, and where they see themselves going. It’s good for business to understand and leverage the...
Reflections from a Reluctant Receiver
I have totally internalized those early messages about how ‘it’s always better to give than to receive.’ Perhaps too much. My anxiety starts creeping up when I realize that I’ve been to someone’s house for dinner twice in a row without reciprocating in between. I...
The New DNA of Training and Development Success
I recently had the privilege of working with the training department in a large insurance company headquartered on the east coast. Their challenge is to continue to scale their efforts. More projects. Larger engagements. Closer partnerships with internal clients....
Make Sure to Learn from Your…. Successes
“Learn from your mistakes.” How frequently do we hear that - or something similar? Failure is touted as one of the most powerful teachers we’ll ever meet. It’s been elevated in some cases to a magical status that can produce outcomes of legendary proportions. (Think...
Rediscover Your Natural Ability to Connect
Today's guest blog post is written by my friend, Sonia Di Maulo and celebrates the launch of the hard-copy edition of her book, The Apple in the Orchard: A story about finding the courage to emerge. The story provides a vision for the new world of work and was...
Career Conversation: It All Starts with a Question
Career development is one of the most misunderstood management activities today. Too frequently it’s all about the forms, checklists, and annual deadlines. But genuine development doesn’t happen like that. It happens a little bit, everyday. And it happens thought...
Shining a Light on Focus
Last week’s blog post addressed focus and how most of us have been brainwashed about what it is and how it works. I shared my view that what 90% of the population considers to be focus is actually a huge threat to long-term progress, results, and success. And I...