Most teams run by working through an agenda and then sending everyone out to do their thing. They rarely work together and even worse, just assume that everyone understands how to be a good team member, as if it is genetically programmed. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, most people don’t know how to be on a team and even if you played on your HS Soccer team or were in Drama Club, operating as a team...

Getting the right jump on your morning can set the tone for your entire day. You already have your ritual in play and it may include reaching for your phone to see if your boss sent you an email over night or checking out the morning’s news shows where you’ll get caught up in the next global tragedy. Research now shows that how you start your day off sets the tone for whether you view your day as successful. In...

I attended a meeting last week with my mastermind group and our coach, Alan Weiss in Washington, DC. I was discussing Retooling Leadership Development (my new book with Michael Couch due out in early 2020) and the best ways to promote a book after it is released. The group came with a variety of best practices that had worked for them and given that this group had written over 70 books in total (with Alan writing about 60 of them)...

I was listening to an interview that Krista Tippit (from the podcast and radio show On Being) did with Sylvia Boorstein, who is a Buddhist teacher and psychotherapist living in Detroit. She talked about Buddhism’s five “genetic fallback glitches,” which are biological explanations for how we behave when we are challenged. These are: Fretting or worrying (anxiety) Anger Discouragement Self-blame Seek out comfort (“where’s the chocolate?”) Her point, which we’ve seen validated in our work with leaders and in organizations,...

Last week the hottest IPO of the year came on the stock market. Beyond Meat (symbol sticker BYND) was priced at $25/share but opened at $46 a share and closed the week at $66.79, up a whopping 163%. Are you ready for your next soy based “Beyond Burger,” now available at TGIFridays, Del Taco and your neighborhood Safeway? The push to plant-based foods has its origins in many places. Of course, healthier eating is usually cited first and foremost, but...

In the movie “The Right Stuff,” actor Ed Harris, playing John Glenn starts humming “Battle Hymn of the Republic” during re-entry from his first orbital flight. His fellow astronauts on the ground remind everyone that this is how Glenn deals with stress and of course, he makes it back, cool as a cucumber from that fiery ordeal. Wouldn’t it be nice if we call could just settle ourselves down even in the most challenging of situations? Guess what, we can....