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Tips

Three leadership imperatives from The Biggest Little Farm

It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature. If you’re old enough to remember this ad campaign, you’re probably also old enough to remember when people threw trash out the car window, and kids were allowed to follow chemical trucks spraying for mosquitoes. For younger readers, this alternative universe was.

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A Bad System will beat a Good Person Every Time

The waitress was late with the food. She looked frazzled and frustrated. After she rushed off, we discovered the salad we requested with dressing on the side was doused in ranch. Clearly, she wasn’t a good server. Or was she? Edwards Deming said, “ A bad system will beat.

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The Imagined Response

We were in a team meeting discussing a creative new initiative.  People were wondering if we should loop in a peer from another department, we’ll call her Sarah.  “We probably should,” they said. “It’s part of her area.”  Yet as they anticipated Sarah’s response, the room started to dim. .

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Are you stuck in 1985?

“I’ve sat through the same sales meeting since June 20th 1985.” When our client, the EVP of a large commercial bank, dropped this statement, it got me thinking. How many communication norms from 30 or 40 years ago are still in place today simply because no one recognized how.

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Why Being on Time is a Big Deal

How long is 5 minutes? It depends.  If you’re the one rushing to make a meeting, 5 minutes flies by.  If you’re the one who showed up on time, and you’re waiting for someone else to arrive, 5 minutes is a really long time. Every organization has timeliness standards..

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How Tinkerbell and NASA Get Tough Stuff Done

Have you ever seen Tinkerbell fly through the air at Disney?  It’s magical, as she flies through the sky from the top of Cinderella’s castle, it appears effortless. But of course it’s not. Tinkerbell’s magical flight is the result of some genius cross-departmental tension. At Disney, two of their.

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Are You Ready for a Red Table Talk?

Do you ever have to address emotionally charged topics at work, or in your personal life?  We all do. A quick glance of the headlines reveals, we’re not all skilled at having difficult conversations.  Whether it’s racial discrimination or sexual harassment, these aren’t easy topics to discuss, especially at.

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Venting Doesn’t Release Negativity – It Rehearses It

It starts with the speeches. You know, the little speech you rehearse in your head, getting ready for the big moment when you finally let them have it. Perhaps you practice it in the shower or your car. Or perhaps you share your frustration with others. Maybe it’s the.

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13 Awkward Situations at Work and How to Deal with Them (Head On)

Have you ever found yourself in an awkward situation at work? We all have, whether it’s what to say when your colleague beats you out for a promotion or dealing with a smelly co-worker. When LinkedIn Learning asked my partner Elizabeth Lotardo and me to create the course:  Navigating.

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Noble Purpose: A Business Strategy, Not Just A Slogan

All the cool kids have a purpose. Philosophers have been talking about purpose and meaning since the dawn of time. But since I wrote Selling with Noble Purpose in 2012, and trademarked the Noble Purpose methodology for business, the idea of purpose in business has become mainstream. More and.

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