Archive by Author
The Carrot Principle by Chester Elton — Book Brief
Posted on 29. Jun, 2009 by admin.
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Hail the New Texting Champion!
Posted on 17. Jun, 2009 by admin.
There’s a contest for seemingly everything these days so I wasn’t surprised when I caught the news that we had crowned a new texting champion. That’s right, America has a new text message superstar, 15-year-old Kate Moore of Des Moines, Iowa.
Moore outpaced 20 finalists from around the country over two days of challenges such as texting blindfolded and texting while maneuvering through a moving obstacle course. Okay, there’s some creativity involved with that.
Let’s make it more meaningful
Maybe they should have added adult activities such as …
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Kids and Working: We Need to Get to Them Earlier
Posted on 17. Apr, 2009 by admin.
Most managers look at the generation coming out of school with a fair degree of skepticism that they’ll be able to make a serious contribution early on.
To a large extent, this view is accurate. Most young women and men aren’t adequately prepared to deliver even minimum wage value. Often times it’s a lack of basic skills but, too frequently, it’s the attitude toward work.
A lot of kids want money and know they have to work to get it, but they don’t care much for actually doing it. Work looks boring, tedious, repetitive, uninspiring, and generally uncool. Maybe this is because we’ve…
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How to Remind Yourself of What You Really Believe
Posted on 09. Apr, 2009 by admin.
I remember the first time I heard the line, “Those who can, do, and those who can’t, teach” — and I thought it was a strange viewpoint. Why can’t teachers “do” and “doers” teach? The truth is that they can, but the reality is it doesn’t happen as often as it should in a meaningful way.
I’m a bit unique in the world of trainers who lead courses on management and leadership, in that I actually…
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The Power of (Re)creation
Posted on 24. Mar, 2009 by admin.
I have trained a lot of people over the years and the courses I originally wrote and produced have held up well throughout continual change.
Truth be known, I’ve changed a lot as well. Because I’m not the same person I was almost a decade ago when I created the initial materials, I prefer not to present some of those courses. The information is still solid and value is high, but I’ve moved on and…
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How to Leverage Training (Part 2): Our Initial Results
Posted on 17. Mar, 2009 by admin.
In my last post I discussed the concept of making training — rather the followup to training — something that the entire staff can take part in. If you missed it, you’ll benefit from getting the background with How to Leverage Training (Pt. 1) — How to Make it a Whole Team Activity. This sets the stage for what’s in this segment.
We’ll report on our progress incrementally
When I decided to write about our shared training experience I figured I would let it all play out, and then report on the outcome. That changed when I…
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How to Leverage Training (Pt. 1): Make It a Whole Team Activity
Posted on 10. Mar, 2009 by admin.
Imagine if you could multiply the benefits of training, easily and in a way that produces greater value for all involved. That’s what I’m going to give you in this post.
Our story
We recently closed our company for a full day — mid-week — so that each member of our team could attend a leadership teleconference; 10 world class speakers and thought leaders, who deliver exceptional value that touches attendees in many ways.
For a small company this is no small undertaking. It would mean that work would pile up that had to be done the next day, and no sales calls would be made. It was a zero revenue day, and we had projects with deadlines.
Our manager felt that it would be a good time for the whole team to have a shared learning experience. I trust her judgment and during the course I began to think of a way to not just leverage the training benefit, but to…
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It’s Time to Say Goodbye to Hello
Posted on 07. Mar, 2009 by admin.
Every year it is suggested that certain words be retired from our language. If it hasn’t already been nominated, I suggest we stop using “hello.”
No, I haven’t lost my mind.
This is actually a contextual thing.
I don’t want to take such a warm and wonderful word out of general use, one we use umpteen times a day when greeting people on the phone, in e-mails, or in person.
“Hello” has a permanent place in our language (and in my heart).
What I want to see become quick history is the other version:
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Effort vs. Production — Getting People On the Correct Page
Posted on 06. Mar, 2009 by admin.
You have to love people who give 100 percent all the time. Athlete’s call it “leaving it all on the field.” There’s nothing left in the tank. You did everything you could to deliver the winning results.
Sometimes people in our organizations give this level of effort, and still fail.
What if a worker tries as hard as humanly possible, but fails on a regular basis? What should you as a leader do?
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It’s a Great Time For Boomers
Posted on 04. Mar, 2009 by admin.
If you’re in the Baby Boomer generation I hope you feel the way I do — that it’s a great time to be in the workforce.
Sure, some changes are more difficult than others to accept, and technology can be a challenge, but the generational makeup is in our favor.
Jerry, reduce dosage
I can hear some people say, “Don’t abuse your prescription medicine, are you crazy — the generational makeup is against us.”
Well, it would be if the Gen Y (aka Millennials, Gen “We”) crowd was more like the Gen X-ers, but in reality they’re more like Boomers.




