There is no contest between the company that buys the grudging compliance of its work force and the company that enjoys the enterprising participation of its employees .- Ricardo Sempler Do you work with vampires? People who seem to suck the blood of positive culture right out of the room? You know, the sad, mad, sarcastic and toxically cynical c0-workers
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People often talk to me about all that is wrong with their workplace culture, they are disappointed and discouraged. And with low engagement, toxic leaders or co-workers, or uncertainty due to rapid industry change and outsourcing, they have every right to be. But let’s not set up camp, build a frustration fire to gather around and tell stories about broken
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(Special Announcement at End of Post) “Who you are today is a collection of your yesterdays.” I was inspired today when I read how this bit for wisdom was used by a Grandmother to help inspire her grandchildren to consider more carefully how their daily decisions would ultimately determine their destiny. I remember nearly 2 decades ago when an entrepreneurial friend shared
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Do we really want a strong leader? I remember having a wonderful discussion with someone I had just met about this topic. During the course of our conversation we both agreed that we loved the subject of leadership, and we had throughout our lives had many strong leaders that we loved. And others not so much. And it was
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“It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.” ~ Seneca Question: Does taking decisive action help you be bold? I mean we’re not talking about touching your tongue to a metal flag pole in December in Minnesota… this is about bigger visions, missions and innovations
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A childlike man is not a man whose development has been arrested; on the contrary, he is a man who has given himself a chance of continuing to develop long after most adults have muffled themselves in the cocoon of middle aged habit and convention. — Aldous Huxley We come into this world naturally curious, creative and optimistic. Sadly systems,
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“The real winners in life are the people who look at every situation with an expectation that they can make it work or make it better.” ~Barbara Pletcher I remember many years ago talking to my then much younger son Jacob as he was having to deal with a difficult situation and needing to consider some courageous choices. We spoke of adversity
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Two gas company servicemen, a senior training supervisor and a young trainee, were out checking meters in a suburban neighborhood. They parked their truck at the end of the alley and worked their way to the other end. At the last house a woman looking out her kitchen window watched the two men as they checked her gas meter. Finishing
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I was able to attend some great training and teaching over the weekend… it was simultaneously inspiring and humbling. Humbling because of the areas in my life that I saw more clearly I needed to work on and improve. Inspiring because, I was filled with a non-guilt driven desire to make the needed changes, and filled with the hope and confidence
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Let’s mix it up today with a little wisdom and an attempt at a little Friday Fun (a very little attempt). First a lovely quote from Dennis Waitley… that has helped me maintain or regain perspective more than once. “Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end.
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