In 1892, Andrew Carnegie and Henry Frick defeated their Iron and Steel Workers union. In a violent management vs. union struggle, it can be argued that Carnegie’s worldview resulted in ten people’s death. Andrew Carnegie was a devotee to “the survival of the fittest” philosophy. Social Darwinism gave Carnegie justification for ruthless business practices. Even though Carnegie’s workers were working ...
Doug, a retired business owner, shared with me recently that he had just returned from a week-long fly-fishing trip to Montana with ten younger men. Doug is in his 70s, but most of the group were in their 40s. Doug shared, “I don’t like fishing. I only caught 5 fish all week, but I’ve mentored many of these men for ...
Self-imposed deadlines can sometimes undermine my relationships. When fiscal year-end draws near, I can get too focused on achieving the goals that I have set. Instead of focusing on what I want for our donors or customers, I can get too focused on what I want from them. Likewise, in the sales world, there are goals and deadlines that can ...
When I was in banking, part of my job was to develop business relationships with some very prominent local companies. The CEOs of these companies were pursued by so many others, it would sometimes be nearly impossible to secure a meeting with them. I eventually learned the power of just the right gift. If I could invite the CEO to ...
Psychology Today published an article titled, “Are you really listening, or just waiting to talk?” In this article the researcher states, “Only about 10 percent of us listen effectively.” The researcher also notes that there is a difference between hearing and listening. “Hearing is a physiological act; listening involves our ability to unpack the meaning of words, and the silences in ...
Years ago, I worked in an office building with multiple organizations near each other. Ours became a tight-knit community with friendships, barbeques and other fun events throughout the year. Then, Jane was hired to work at one of the organizations. Jane began sharing with me negative comments she claimed others in the building had said about me, causing my relationships ...
Years ago, Truett Cathy, the founder of Chick-fil-a, spoke at one of our luncheon events. There were many key leaders desiring to meet with Truett while he was here, but Truett went missing. I eventually found Truett in a deep conversation with the doorman of the hotel. Truett was learning all about this man and offering up encouragement. As many ...
At my college graduation, the emcee requested that the audience hold their applause until all graduates had walked across the stage. When I crossed the stage, however, I saw my father leap to his feet and yell, “Way to go, Rick!” During my youth, my father wasn’t someone who gave much affirmation, but in that one moment, I knew my ...
In a CNBC article, Ginni Rometty, CEO of IBM, claims that their Artificial Intelligence system now predicts with 95% accuracy employees that plan on leaving the company. To gain these insights, it requires IBM to track each employee’s activities and behaviors very closely. Although it’s easy to see the value to IBM’s productivity, it makes me wonder how the employees ...
In a Harvard Business Review article, Karyn Twaronite, shared some great insights about building a sense of community in the workplace from her EY Belonging Barometer study. This study concluded that when people feel like they belong at work, they’re more productive, motivated, engaged and 3.5 times more likely to contribute to their fullest potential! Unfortunately, their study discovered that ...
Equipping Others to Do Work Differently
