thoughts Optimism and Your Choices “Unless you believe that the future can be better, you are unlikely to step up and take responsibility for making it so.” — Noam ChomskyOptimism isn't optional, it's a requirement for living and for
purpose Lifebook We utilize something we call Lifebook in the IBP. It's an interesting approach to looking at the future, what your goals are, and aligning what you should be focusing on now towards those
leadership Am I a Leader? "I never thought of myself as a leader but as I turned around, there were people following me. When did that happen? How did it happen? What do I do now?" I've heard
thoughts Personal Commitment to Excellence I had a friend pass this along to me and it landed with me (actually, made the hairs on my arms stand up - that's saying something to me).I am the sum
conscious capitalism How Conscious Capitalism Can Help You And Your Business Grow *** Original post from Forbes.comMore and more, we are hearing about purpose statements, values-based cultures and social responsibility in the marketplace. Personally, I feel like this emergence has been a good thing, as
purpose Learn to Work Hard I was having a discussion the other day about a young man that's trying to figure out what to do after graduating high school; is it college? He may not be ready for
thoughts Recognizing Frustrations Recently I realized that frustration is rooted internally. We regularly blame externalities for this feeling but those are just the triggers for our inner challenges. Far too often though, we don’t recognize
thoughts Focus to Rise Leaders rise above context rather than just living in it. The don't contribute to the chaos. It’s not only our job to navigate ourselves and others while in the emotion but to
culture What is Culture? Culture is the intersection of people and values such that it produces behaviors. Sometimes those behaviors are positive and beneficial; other times they are negative and destructive. Ultimately, its these behaviors that shape
thoughts Connection vs Effective In interacting with those around you, look to be connected not just effective. Connection can bridge the rough spots that inevitably will show up. Focusing on being effective means you'll hit those bumps
life Gifted Kids are a Gift Gifted is typically defined as 2 standard deviations above the mean (statistically). That's nerd-speak for "way out there" and often times that shows up when you talk to the kids. I'm
life So busy! In reading this great post by Omid Safi, The Disease of Being Busy a lot resonated with me. Far too often I've answered the question, "How are you doing?" with "
thoughts Stop Trying to be Happy As I've continued my gratitude practice, I've come to realize that more and more of my challenges come from focusing on the wrong things. When we guess at what would make us happy,
culture Great Quote... "Maybe rounds down to a "No" when you're talking about culture. It's far to easy to make excuses than do the hard thing - say No. Especially when it comes
thoughts Why You're Not Wrong...Just Different "I'm a logical person and I arrived at my conclusion because it's right.” "You arrived at a different conclusion; it's because you're wrong.” People start from different places. We all have
culture Experiencing Culture "A persons ability to experience a culture is directly dependent on their up-line's internalization of it. You have to live a culture for it to be alive." If you haven't figure
thoughts Systems Thinking (and a little money thrown in) I just read this article Thinking in Systems and was impressed by both the way that Matt illustrated how systems are adapted, from a gaming perspective, so you KNOW that's dear to my
trust Missing a Deadline Missed deadlines is a failure of leadership and not solely of execution. Many don’t want the responsibility of that statement but then, why are you in leadership? It’s our job to
improving My Company is Weird It's Thursday - that means my kids are with me and I was picking them up from school but it wasn't just any Thursday, it's Thirsty Thursday. That's the one day a month
life Deliberate Acts of Kindness There always seem to be calls for people to exercise "random acts of kindness" and while I appreciate the heart that they're speaking to, I prefer more deliberate ones. Being kind
thoughts Programmed to See the Lack A math professor walks into class one morning and starts the day by writing a 2 column chart on the board. He numbers them 1 to 10 in the top row and then
Who are Leaders Alright, so you don't have the role. You don't have letters after your name. You don't even have "Senior" in front of your title. How can I possibly be a leader?
leadership Compassion In Leadership "[leaders] may entangle themselves in the complications of their own assumed competence and use their specialism as an excuse to avoid the much more difficult task of being compassionate." -- Henri
Letting Go Hi, my name is David and I'm a geek. Have been all my life really and it was something that I took identity from (especially once I got past the stage were it
leadership Drucker quote Only three things happen naturally in organizations: friction, confusion, and underperformance. Everything else requires leadership.