Life in general and politics in particular can be very instructive for how leaders communicate. Both are full of examples, positive and negative. It isn’t constructive to focus on the problem alone if you can’t offer a solution. Anybody can spot a problem; leaders help solve them. Attacking your opponent is a weak strategy; focus…
DetailsIn Potomac Watch in today’s Wall Street Journal, Kimberly Strassel has written the most concise article I’ve read on what’s wrong in Washington during this financial crisis and an example of someone trying to fix it. Do yourself a favor and read her column What Leadership Looks Like.
Washington doesn’t get it. One reason so many Americans are opposed to the “bailout” bill is because they’re opposed to a bailout. The average American has not been educated nor sold on the benefit to “mainstreet.” The bill is in actuality a “wealth preservation bill” or a “financial rescue bill.” We’re not rewarding Wall Street…
DetailsThat’s the name of a new book by my friend Bert Decker. Bert, a former award winning television producer, is the founder of Decker Communication, one of the most respected executive speech coaching organizations in the country. This book is a classic bestseller that has been revised and updated and just released by St. Martin…
DetailsCongress is arguing over a bail-out. There’s much blaming going on. They’ll be time for that later; right now it is imperative to act as rapidly as prudently possible. Congress already did a poor job of providing oversight for Wall Street and bank dealings. The only thing they could do to make things worse is…
DetailsToday I spoke with a colleague who called to discuss a piece of business he seems to have lost. He was refreshingly candid in the two mistakes he had made and what he learned from them. Therein is the success of failure: taking responsibility for what one did wrong and learning from it. It is…
DetailsMy buddy Joe Calloway wrote a neat little book called “revival: a mid-life journey.” In one essay he says, “I don’t want to look younger than I am. I want to look my age…it seems that everyone wants to look better. And almost everyone wants to look younger. …If I want to look good, I’ll…
DetailsThere was a long line waiting for the train at Denver International Airport. At the last minute a weasley guy swooped around us all and boarded first. Why did he do it? Because he could. He put his egocentric needs above decorum or courtesy. It was an act of entitlement. The same principle applies to…
DetailsI’ve blogged about my recent trip to Bogota to speak on the International Customer Service Forum with Tim Sanders and Joseph Michelli. The three of us had lunch one day that was hosted by our friends at Hi-Cue. I hadn’t seen or spoken to Tim for quite some time (we sometimes communicate by email) and…
DetailsEach year I try to write something to appropriately commemorate the tragedy of 9/11. This year I will share, with her permission, something my friend and fellow speaker Shari Harley wrote: “Every year on September 11th I appreciate being alive and wonder why I’m not dead. I worked in the World Trade Center on September…
Details