Mark is recognized globally as an expert on leadership, customer service and organizational performance. A member of the National Speakers Association Speaker Hall of Fame, he is the author of 8 books including the international bestseller, The Fred Factor: How Passion in Your Work and Life Can Turn the Ordinary Into the Extraordinary. Mark teaches his clients to BE EXTRAORDINARY™.

Hesselbein on Leadership

Frances Hesselbein is one of my favorite leadership thinkers. She helped reinvent The Girl Scouts of America and it thrived under her leadership. Of late she is involved with the Peter Drucker Foundation and writes and speaks on leadership issues. She is a livewire and a delightful person. Here are some of her ideas I’ve…

Living in the Past

Nostalgia is a powerful force. Research shows that we are all capable of creating an idealized memory out of a less-than-ideal past. There are psychological benefits to that, but not when you’re trying to lead people into the future. Obama has, somewhat surprisingly, positioned himself as an old-school Democrat with a bad case of nostalgia.…

How Far You’ve Come

That’s what you should focus on, says Dan Sullivan, founder of Strategic Coach, a premiere coaching organization. Don’t focus on where you wish you were. Most people focus on where they want to be and become discouraged by the gap between the reality and the desire. To feel legitimately good about your life, focus on…

Prioritize Your Learning

There is too much knowledge for anyone to know everything. One book claims Athanasius Kircher, a German polymath who lived in the 17th century was the “last man to know everything.” I’ve also read others who believe Francis Bacon, who lived at about the same time, was the last person to know everything (that was…