Play the game of reappraisal
The Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck serves as an excellent role model for leaders everywhere. Rather than feeling bad when opposing players pummel him on the playing field, Luck turns the situation around and views it from another perspective. He...
Leading people through day-to-day living
“Any idiot can face a crisis; it’s this day-to-day living that wears you out.”— Clifford Odets for his screenplay of Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard This sentiment rings especially true during the holiday season. The holidays are a time for gratitude, enjoyment and...
3 tips for building new habits
Three years ago this week, I experienced Tiny Habits® for the first time with the psychologist Dr. BJ Fogg. Since then, more than 25,000 individuals around the world have joined me and signed up to participate in this breakthrough method for developing positive...
Books about 2014’s work challenges
Can you trust yourself to try new things without becoming overwhelmed, overburdened and overtired? That sums up my challenges for this year. That also describes the topics of my favorite business books of 2014. This year’s list features a mix of...
3 ways to avoid turkey behavior at work
With the season of appreciation, giving and year-end reflection in full swing, it’s more humane to honor turkeys, not ridicule them. However, we can learn a lot from humans’ “turkey behavior”—a popular slang term from a generation ago. According to the Urban...
Alter your words to jump start your actions
Whenever it feels too hard to do something, ask yourself this question: "How can I redefine my goal to make it easier for me to succeed?" Changing your language can help you jump start your behavior change and make it stick. This realization was one of my biggest...
Why you don’t want to be #1
Be careful of what you work toward…or at least how you describe your organization’s achievements. Being number #1 could be more of a curse than a blessing in today’s VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) world. When you’re number #1, you run the risk of...
Outsource and organize to improve performance
Remember a few years ago when “outsourcing” was evil? How fast things change these days! Today, outsourcing is considered one of the best things you can do for your brain. This outsourcing involves offloading information to “brain extenders” such as calendars, address...
Go offline for surveying meetings
Are employee surveys another example of a parallel universe at work? Those asking for feedback and those giving feedback seem to be in different spaces. Just when it felt safe and useful for more of us to ask employees for their feedback, it’s become harder to get...
