Show me a successful individual and I’ll show you someone who had real positive influences in his or her life. I don’t care what you do for a living—if you do it well I’m sure there was someone cheering you on or showing the way. A mentor. — Denzel Washington Last month I wrote […]
Building Your Management Skills—Even Without Help from Your Company
The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves. —Ray Kroc, Grinding It Out When I first started managing employees (in the early 90s), my two top responsibilities were identifying potential roadblocks that would affect the schedule and providing financial oversight so we met budgetary restrictions. My project management skills […]
Leading with Gratitude: No Longer just a Hippy-Dippy Theory
Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up with more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough. —Oprah Winfrey One might argue that of course Oprah feels grateful, because she has everything and is now the wealthiest […]
The Power of Saying No – Part 2
“The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything.” —Warren Buffett You may think that you and Warren Buffett are worlds apart, but you both actually have one very important thing in common: the ability to say no. He does it all the time. You […]
Change Your Outlook, Change Your Life – Part 1
Positive thinking will let you do everything better than negative thinking will. —Zig Ziglar Is there a “Downer Dave” or a “Negative Nancy” in your work or home life? You know the type: no matter what happens, these people always have a negative outlook. They are frustrating and exhausting to be around, because their […]
Dream Big: Strategize Now to Achieve Your Goals in 2017
With the frivolity (and stress) of the holidays behind us, it’s time to get back to work. But before jumping into business-as-usual routines, take a moment to think about what you want to accomplish over the next year. No, I’m not referring to the New Year’s resolutions people make at the start of a new calendar […]
New Year’s resolutions? What resolutions? Five Steps to Get Motivated Again and Achieve Your New Year’s Goals
I know how hard it can be to stay motivated day after day (year after year). Everyone struggles with this (including me!). But persistence does indeed pay off! Take a look at these famous examples: It took Thomas Edison 1,000 tries before he successfully created a carbon-filament incandescent electric light bulb. Fred Smith, the founder […]