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™.

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…

My Broken Record

Next to hubris, anger will sink a leader quicker than anything. Right now in the Democratic race, Obama has the upper hand not because of experience or even his superior speaking skills but because of his temperament. He stays calm, focused and seemingly unflappable even when he’s being attacked. He seldom returns the attack but…

Won by the Tongue

The next president of the United States will be elected primarily on the power of his or her ability to communicate well. This isn’t as it should be; it simply is as it is. Regrettably, style often trumps substance. Recall some years ago when Dennis Miller famously ranted that V.P. candidate Stockdale committed the unforgivable…