Under the Influence
Look familiar? Ever feel like you are trying to lead a team this way? I’ve worked with many clients at different levels of the leadership cycle, from CEO’s to new leaders. A common theme amongst them all is the challenge of leading by influence rather than through power. Whether it’s a CEO working with an advisory board, or a new leader working with … Read More
It’s OK to Quit
It’s OK to quit. In fact sometimes it’s better if you quit. Quitting has gotten a really bad rap. I can remember back in my Girl Scout days, promising “I will always finish what I begin”. And some of you may be thinking that quitting doesn’t align with reaching your potential or being the best you can be. Or does it? What if quitting just means … Read More
Sheryl Sandberg’s Luck
What’s Luck Got To Do With It? I find it interesting that many times when we look at others' successes, we make quick judgments that they were lucky. Take Sheryl Sandberg, now being called the $1.6 billion woman in the New York Times. The woman has had enormous success, but she has also worked incredibly hard to get to where she is today. She wasn't the daughter of … Read More
Whine or Wine?
One of the best management rules to adopt for your direct reports is: You get 5 minutes to whine, but you may not whine unless you also come with solutions. This keeps the whining to a minimum and the solution thinking maximized. Seth Godin's take on whining was outlined in his blog Two Problems with Whining: It doesn't work and it's a reverse placebo. The more you … Read More
Your Signature=Your Brand
When did signing your John Hancock get to be so important? Most people have no idea how valuable their signature can be in the online world we live in today. How many times have you gotten an e-mail asking for a response, you decide to just pick up the phone to make it quicker and 'Bam!', you are stopped dead in your tracks because they didn't put their phone number in their … Read More
The Ponzi Scheme of Networking
If you believe there is a get rich quick scheme or a magic process that gives immediate results, then don't bother reading any further because if I had such an answer for you, I would be incredibly rich and way too busy to write this post. When I first started my business, I joined every network that I thought would fit with my business plan. I quickly found out which ones worked for … Read More
Eat your own dogfood
It's Saturday night and I'm kicking back after a day downtown at the Superbowl festivities in Indianapolis. The city looks great, the transportation and customer service was impeccable and the zipline was amazing to watch (didn't want to wait in line for my turn and would prefer a zipline over a rainforest in the Caribbean rather than a concrete jungle in the Midwest). Back … Read More
Listen to more Mozart?
Do you think that what you listen to can make you smarter? Do you think it's the content, or do you think it's the actual exercise of your brain? This was the topic of a recent article in Popular Science magazine entitled "Will listening to Mozart really make me smarter?” This was a long-held theory in 1993 which showed that students listening to Mozart … Read More
The Flux Generation
This recent article in Fast Company says a lot about the state of our business world today. The crux of the matter is that today's business world is one of constant change, flux, and chaos. In fact, the people who are most comfortable with these things are probably the ones that will see the greatest success in our future. Now, that can be pretty frightening to someone like me, who put … Read More
Girls on the Run®
I recently learned of a fantastic organization here in Hamilton County, headed up by Susan Foellinger as their counsel director. Being a runner myself, I just couldn't help but be excited about the possibilities that this organization enables. Girls on the Run® is a non-profit prevention program that encourages preteen girls to develop self-respect and healthy lifestyles through … Read More
