In Memory of my Mom – A Leader in Life
My mother passed away on Monday at the age of 96. Although out of college she worked as a fashion illustrator and shoe designer, and for some years as a young widow she worked in the business world, it was in her life that she was a true leader. So in what way was Pearl a leader? A leader makes a difference in people’s lives, acts as a role model, is ready to look outside themselves and their immediate world to have a wider vision, is willing and able to support the growth of others, continues to learn and grow themselves, challenges...
read moreIntroverts in an extrovert world?
The United States is one of the world’s most extrovert culture, and business is a place where it is particularly prized. Do we lose something from that? What if you’re an introvert in an organization where the extrovert behaviors are the benchmark? Some say that the single most important aspect of personality is where you sit on the spectrum of introversion/extroversion. It influences career and spouse choices, how we communicate, make decisions, resolve conflict and show love. It influences what kind of leader we become. Both ways...
read moreChanging a culture of bad service, or any other culture
How do you change the culture of an organization if it isn’t working? I’ve thought about what I’d do if I took over the large ophthalmic practice where I suffered through an unpleasant experience this week. What is culture?: John Kotter wrote in a Forbes Magazine blog on September 27th that organizational culture is often misunderstood, both what it is and how it works. He defines it as “group norms of behavior and the underlying shared values that help keep those norms in place.” It doesn’t matter what you say your values...
read moreNifty Free Visionary Thinking Tool for Business, Nonprofits and Individuals
You’ve got to take a look at this elegantly simple Business Model Canvas. It could help you gain clarity whether you’re creating a whole new business, a new product or service, getting your non-profit to think more like a business, or even looking for a new job. Use it to strategize and communicate to others. Here’s what it looks like but don’t underestimate it! You can download it for free at...
read moreGetting a wider perspective; big picture seeing
Leaders need to think big picture. Have wide angle vision. See the curves in the road up ahead. Clients ask me, ‘how do you do that when you’re caught in the day to day?’ Shift your focus to looking at the background, not just the foreground of what’s in front of you. Because we can’t possible take in everything around us all the time, we develop selective filters. Those filters start to become habit. Think about how you don’t notice the background noise of your refrigerator until it stops during a power outage. We...
read moreNew Problem Solving Technique
“How do I get a new perspective on intractable problems when you’re not here?” a client asked me. I suggested he try an idea I’d just read about. Describe your problems with different words, namely, eliminate the verb “to be.” Why Eliminate To Be: The theory is that our language and our words form our abstract concepts, and they contain hidden traps. The verb “to be,” was identified as containing the most traps, and creating distortions of reality. If I say my employee is lazy, it implies certainty and objectivity,...
read moreOptimism, Courage and the Power to Lead from Anywhere
Having optimism (the ability to see the best in yourself and others), and having courage (the willingness to risk failure) are necessary to be a leader (able to create and carry out a vision that takes you into the unknown). All well and good, but where do you get optimism and courage? Not at the mall, that’s for sure! I spoke on this topic several days ago at the American Business Women’s Association(thanks for the invitation, ladies). We started the meeting in the dark, a 20 minute reminder of the power failures most of us suffered...
read moreWhat does your customer or patient experience with you?
Do you know what it’s like to be your own customer or patient or client? What’s it like to work with you? I’ve recently experienced some pretty lousy customer and patient experiences and it’s got me thinking about how you and I can improve how we provide service. So there’s my mom lying on a bed in the ER having been brought in by ambulance for a long-standing chronic but dangerous condition. When the ER physician came in he started telling her things about her condition rather than asking questions. He even told her that what...
read moreTiny Acts that Matter Big
Don’t overwhelm yourself with big steps. A continual aggregation of tiny acts can be all you need to achieve something important. A Swedish client once told me ‘you can only eat a potato one bite at a time.’ I have a goal I’ve set for myself this year, but I don’t have hours to devote to it. If I set out to take big steps, I’d quit right away. So my plan is once a day to do something. It’s manageable to commit myself to just one little action every day, whether a phone call, a piece of research, or just a few minutes to...
read moreSuccess Keys to Achieving New Goals
Here’s 6 secrets to successfully accomplishing new goals, resolutions, or whatever you call them. Want to make more successful sales calls, be a better team leader, or prioritize your time effectively? Focus on tips 3 to 6 because you’ve probably already done the first two. Haven’t set goals? Look back at last year (Use this evaluation) for clues. 1. Clarify your goals. Be extremely specific about what you’d like to achieve, what success will look like for you, what are the behaviors and results you’d like to...
read more