“A great attitude does more than turn on the lights or bring up the music in our world.  It seems to magically connect us to all sorts of opportunities that were somehow absent before the change.”
Earl Nightingale
 
This is one of my favorite quotes on attitude – a topic I spend a lot of my time [...]

“You must do the things you think you cannot do.”
Eleanor Roosevelt

There are those who live in times of necessity, when the circumstances of the world around them transform them, and provide a clarity of purpose. Then there are those who live with an inborn clarity of purpose, who create their own circumstances and transform [...]

Let’s make a distinction between your company’s purpose and a mission statement.  Many organizations have mission statements and if you were to randomly ask an employee what that mission statement says, nine times out of ten they wouldn’t have a clue.  Someone might know where the mission statement is filed – if you’re lucky – [...]

“What’s your purpose”?  That’s one of the favorite questions of my good friend, Dr. Gil Lopez, a noted school psychologist for Dade County.  He loves to pose this simple, yet deep question to the young interns fortunate enough to receive his mentorship.  The truth is that it’s a great question for all of us to [...]

“I was taught / when the prince and the dragon fought / that the dragon was always caught / now I don’t even wince / when it eats the prince.”
Steven Sondheim (lyrics)
Steven Sondheim has a way with lyrics, doesn’t he? This one in particular is taken form the little-known 1965 Broadway musical, Do I Hear [...]

“Don’t just take command, communicate purpose.”
Commander D. Michael Abrashoff of the USS Benfold
 
The biggest challenge I hear from business owners across the board is how to keep employees motivated.  If the purpose of your business, though, is first and foremost to increase shareholder wealth, I can understand why you might have a motivation problem.  Put [...]

Posting and planning may only take five to ten minutes of your day, but in business today that can easily translate into five to ten million dollars lost or otherwise forfeited.  Am I being a bit too dramatic?  Maybe.  But then again… maybe not.  You don’t want to find out the hard way.  If you’re [...]

Many years ago, a manager I had taught me a technique for creating awareness which I still use every single day.  It’s called POSTING AND PLANNING.  Posting and planning should be done at the end of each day.  Preferably before you leave work.  You can also post and plan at the beginning of each day [...]

If you’re serious about success, you’ll need to seriously plan for success.  Effectively lifting your team will require an effective plan in order to successfully maneuver through life’s daily curves.  It’s inevitable.  Life will invariably throw some curve balls your way.  Planning is an integral part of your journey as it promotes awareness, and awareness [...]

There’s an unofficial fifth EMP afforded only to managers who are able to consistently deliver on the first four (below) – when you hire only the best, understand what makes them tick, place them in positions where they can succeed, and empower them to fulfill the company’s purpose.  When you  truly believe that it’s the [...]