Motivational speakers are like Chinese food. You’re hungry an hour later. “Ever hear that one? Somebody is eating at the wrong Chinese restaurant if they’re hungry an hour later, and if the motivational speaker left you wanting, he or she wasn’t very good. Why are motivational speakers the butt of jokes and criticism? Like any…
Well, I am always interested in how people define normal in terms of the lives they lead. When I meet people on ski lifts they’re loving the mountain experience and dreading going back home to “normal.” When I’ve vacationed at the beach I hear similar sentiments. After congratulating someone on an award they’ll sometimes talk about…
Well, maybe not everybody. I like a good celebration, and birthdays are a good reason to celebrate. I’m guessing you like to celebrate too. And what about the people you work with-do they like to celebrate? So if most everybody likes to celebrate, how often do they get the opportunity? Regrettably celebrations at work don’t…
Pessimism goes much deeper than just seeing the glass as half-empty. It ties into an underlying fear that not only is the glass half-empty, it is half-empty with no hope of getting a refill. The combination of pessimism and a scarcity mindset virtually guarantees a losing outcome for everyone involved.If we believe we have what…
There are problems with goals. Suggesting that is heresy to many.Goal setting have been such an important part of the vernacular of success that some have come to accept it as sacred. Goals are good, but there are some often ignored downsides. Technology is good but can be used for bad. Food is good, but eat…
Wealth is an accumulation of assets, tangible and intangible, that have value. A person’s net worth is the difference between what he or she owns less what he or she owes. In times like these, many if not most have seen their net worth decrease. Our investments are worth less as are our homes. We…
It is easy to stand out in an extraordinary way when you work for a less-than-extraordinary organization. But what happens when the place you work has a world class reputation for service? Recently I stayed at the Ritz-Carlton in downtown Atlanta. My friend Joseph Michelli has written an excellent book called “The New Gold Standard”…
Whether the coming year is exciting and new or redundant and boring is up to you. To create an encore year-the kind of year you’d like to repeat again instead of forget about forever-develop a plan. Here’s what I suggest: Be a game changer. Why does Starbucks get so much attention? They were a game changer. Historically…
Leadership Lessons ezine by Mark Sanborn
July 2008 Leadership Lessons ezine by Mark Sanborn Live Like Your Life Depends On It Life is like a bowl of soup (with apologies to Forrest Gump). Featured Blog Post (posted 07/15/08 ) Lessons Leaders Need to Know These are lessons I either learned early (thankfully) or I wish I had learned earlier (regrettably). 1. The…