When I was a kid, my uncle bought a go-cart that had what was called a governor on it. The governor purposely limited how fast the go-cart could go. That is, until my uncle overrode the governor. Suddenly this go-cart flew across the parking lot. Many of us in the workplace have placed mental governors on ourselves, limiting our God given abilities. These limits may come from lies you heard ...
According to Publishers Weekly, traditional publishers released more than 18,000 business and economic books over the past year. Self-published authors released thousands more. Add to that the business podcasts, seminars, and articles produced each year, and it could be easy to be overwhelmed with the volume of business insight that’s available to us. But the greatest time-tested source of business ...
Everyone on Karen’s team agreed that she created an accommodating work environment. She went out of her way to make sure everyone got along. Unfortunately, accommodating team members also meant that Karen struggled to make decisions. She delayed responses while she sought out everyone’s opinions in her effort to have every decision reflect the group consensus. Making hard decisions was ...
Up until the 1980s, pension plans were a common approach for employers to help employees with retirement. Unfortunately, the investment risks became a bigger burden to carry than many businesses felt they could afford. Ted Benna, a benefits consultant, however, shrewdly discovered a 1978 tax provision that could replace the investment risk of these pension plans with what became known ...
Valuable information tends to level the playing field when you are in negotiations. Recently, I was negotiating a contract. There was one significant item in the proposed contract that didn’t seem reasonable to me. This item was going to add significantly to my costs. So, I typed out my scenario in Perplexity AI and moments later I had a detailed ...
As a young employee in my first corporate job, I quickly learned that executives were powerful people to be feared and followed. One executive in particular, a former Navy officer, commanded authority. He knew his stuff and expected respect. But that image completely fell away when I walked into a classroom one evening to take a class on boating safety. ...
I was leading a non-profit board when we faced a divisive issue. Emotions were high, so we brought in a seasoned mediator to help us find a solution. The mediator recommended activities focused on building relationships and consensus to allow us to move forward. I, and a couple other board leaders, decided the issues couldn’t wait. We pushed through ...
In leading any organization there are constant challenges and decisions to be made. Some decisions are more difficult than others, which can leave me feeling inadequate at times. That’s when I yearn, and seek, the wisest counsel I can find. Fortunately, I have access to boundless wisdom. Recently, faced with some difficult decisions, I was reminded of the importance ...
I was leading a non-profit board when we faced a divisive issue. Emotions were high, so we brought in a seasoned mediator to help us find a solution. The mediator recommended activities focused on building relationships and consensus to allow us to move forward. I, and a couple other board leaders, decided the issues couldn’t wait. We pushed through a ...
Over the years I have served on many different boards. Occasionally, I’ll serve alongside another board member who dominates the conversation, expressing opinions on almost every subject. Unfortunately, center-of-attention kinds of people don’t usually ask many questions or seek understanding. Instead, they tend to only offer uninformed opinions. This means that their input often overlooks important facts. They haven’t ...
Equipping Others to Do Work Differently
