Are you too tightfisted with praise?
Yes, numbers are the language of business. Yes, company leaders need to focus on budgets, spending and other costs of doing business to strengthen the organization so they can better serve employees, customers and shareholders. Yet, do leaders really have to be as...
Why an ‘aha!’ helps behavior change
Want to lead others to behavior change? Don’t tell them to “Go fish!”… After all, who wants to listen to and obey a “command and control” dictator? Don’t teach them how to fish…. You might be able to listen and engage but it will be hit or miss to motivate someone to...
How bad learning drains/pains the brain
How many “knowing-doing” gaps did you deal with during the recent holiday season? Because of calendar quirks, I experienced two gaps—one pleasurable and one painful. On the pleasure side, even though I know better than to gorge on unhealthy food choices, I didn’t...
Avoid making these 3 mistakes
Whether you’re trying to identify good New Year’s Resolutions or wanting to building habits, please avoid making these three common mistakes. Taking on the “should do’s” not the “want-to-do’s.” Attempting to climb Mt. Everest before you’ve considered going to the top...
5 insightful business books for 2015
Staying cool under pressure—whether self-imposed, brought on by others or caused by the environment, especially the VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) world. Then figuring out how to work better with others and then performing at the top of your mental...
Craving certainty during the holidays
When my friend Connie lived on West 77th Street near Central Park West in New York City years ago, she threw one party a year. Like clockwork, the party was always on the Wednesday evening before Thanksgiving in her tiny 10th floor apartment, and well worth...
3 reasons why to ask and answer “Why?”
“Why do we exist?” “Why are we doing this now?” “Why should I care?” For the sake of your business, your brain and your anxiety level, you should frequently answer these “why” questions as well as encourage your team members and colleagues to ask you. What’s so...
3 good behavior lessons from Gustav
Back in 2012, when I first started studying behavior design in earnest and including it in my consulting and coaching practice, I didn’t realize the influence canines have contributed to the field. The first sign was the pre-reading for the behavior design boot camp,...
3 ways to blend, not bust, silos to get better results
While growing up in our native Oklahoma, my siblings and I felt like outsiders. We didn’t have any Indian blood, we weren’t related to Mickey Mantle, the baseball giant from Commerce, OK who seemed to be everyone’s cousin, and we didn’t eat Wonder Bread. Now living in...
