Proverbs 22:6 says, Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. Parents and educators frequently remind me about the importance of teaching the principles of The Fred Factor to children. The only thing better than learning these lessons as an adult is learning them as…
DetailsOne day my assistant informed me over the intercom, “There is a Cadet Green on line two. I think you’ll want to talk to him.” That was my introduction to Cadet Shawn Green, U.S. Air Force Academy. The Air Force Academy had been in the papers a great deal lately for various challenges it was…
DetailsSuccessful people are often asked for free advice. I don’t mean the kind of requests one gets at a cocktail party like “Jim, you’re a financial planner. Where would you invest $5,000 right now?” I mean time-intensive requests like, “Would you meet me for coffee and tell me how I can get started doing what…
DetailsLeadership Lessons ezine by Mark Sanborn May 1, 2006 (Adapted from You Don’t Need a Title to be a Leader: How Anyone, Anywhere Can Make a Positive Difference, Currency, September 2006 release) Everyone matters. Everyone makes a difference. I don’t think everyone knows that. Most people grew up being told they could make a difference, not that they do make…
Details“Communication is both a science and an art.” – Mark Sanborn 6) Entertain to engage Voltaire is reputed to have said that any speaking style that wasn’t boring was a good style. That’s because being boring is the unforgivable sin of communication. For a leader to be heard and understood, he or she must break…
Details“Communication is both a science and an art.” – Mark Sanborn Communication is the Tool, Not the Objective A sales manager approached me after I finished speaking about leadership at his association’s meeting. His mood seemed somewhere between perplexed and provoked. “You talked about how leaders communicate persuasively,” he complained. “Even with the word ‘persuasive’…
DetailsMy late 20’s and early 30’s were spent seriously exploring the world and adventuring. One trip I made was to Ecuador. For several days the group I was part of camped on the Agua Rico River in the Ecuadorian rain forest. Our guide was a man whose parents had been bible translators who had come…
DetailsA Mark Sanborn Classic You’ve probably asked and answered one of the most common questions posed to adults in modern history more times than you can recall: “What do you do?” The repeated asking of this question over and over is not a testament to the significance of the answer, but rather a window onto…
DetailsEveryone matters. Everyone makes a difference. The cynic might argue that he or she can choose to be neutral and make neither a positive nor a negative difference. In practice, that just isn’t so. Have you recently encountered a person who just didn’t seem engaged? They seemed wrapped up in their own private world, and…
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