Ever heard comments like these in your organization? “How many people work in your organization?” “Oh, about half.” “The most dangerous place in this organization is at the exit door around quitting time. You’ll get trampled.” “Working is like a nightmare. I’d like to get out of it, but I need the sleep.” “I used […]
Read post »Early in my career, I worked in a company led by an inspiring and emotionally intelligent CEO. He often said, “If you love what you’re doing, you never have to work again.” I loved that idea. Most of us hate work. It’s a four-letter word. Hard work is why I left our family farm. Whenever […]
Read post »Today is Star Wars Day. May 4th has become an annual commemoration of the Star Wars media franchise. “May the Fourth be with you” is a punny take (I do like to jest for the pun of it…) on the Star Wars catchphrase “may the force be with you.” I don’t dress up on any […]
Read post »An author writing a book on motivational techniques asked for my thoughts: How do you feel about increased Personal Time Off as an incentive? Flextime? Job sharing? Work from home? Employer-sponsored socializing (BBQs, bowling, game night, etc.)? Are there any hidden drawbacks to these incentives? If these approaches are used to “empartner” people, they can […]
Read post »Bob was clearly frustrated. “I keep telling them, but nobody listens,” he fumed. As we looked at his 360 feedback on his communication practices, it was clear why nobody was listening to him. Bob’s communication skills were awful. Bob scored quite high on technical expertise and analytical skills. A big part of his communication […]
Read post »This month is the fortieth anniversary of Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope run through our community — Waterloo Region. Having lost a leg to cancer, Terry Fox embarked on a cross-Canada run to raise money for cancer research. Terry’s shuffle-and-hop running style took him about 42 kilometers or 26 miles per day! I think jogging […]
Read post »Are people in your organization leaping out of bed eager to get to work? Or is work a four-letter curse word? What’s the Laughter Index in your workplace? In the most effective organizations, leaders are often “leading in the key of E” by engaging and energizing people. It’s so vital. And too rare. Leadership researcher […]
Read post »I was waiting to deliver a workshop on “leading change” at a company’s management meeting of their top leaders. The new CEO was setting the context with observations of his first few months, his vision for the coming years, and the strategic priorities for the next year. Essentially his message boiled down to, “you’ve been […]
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