I got in the Lyft at 2:52 pm near Providence, Rhode Island. My immediate thought was Can I trust this guy? The driver, Joe, was a strong, heavy guy with sleeves rolled up exposing his fully tattooed arms. He wore a beanie style winter hat and was playing Motley Crue loud in his old, worn
Imagine working with your closest friends. Think about how it would feel to always love your work. Consider how energized you’d be if you could be your authentic self all the time — at work, home, or in the community. All of that describes my good friend Paul Batz. He doesn’t believe in work-life balance.
About ten years ago, our company decided to make MLK Day a company holiday. (Many companies in the U.S. elect to work on this day.) We intentionally made this choice to honor and reflect on the character, example, and message of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. And so this week, my family and I watched
The stakes were high for everyone. The selection of the executive search firm, not to mention the CEO the firm would be tasked with finding, was going to be critically important, expensive, and have long-term impact. So you’d think these three finalists among the search firms vying to run the CEO search would have strategized,
We’ve all been there at one time or another. A colleague leaves work early. Your child shouts at you. Your partner doesn’t meet one of your needs. In some way, you don’t appreciate their actions. The person’s behavior just doesn’t work for you. When that happens, do you have the courage to tell that person
Every day, a person walks by a house, and every day there’s a dog howling on the front porch. Every day. Howling. A man sits next to the dog on the porch, calmly rocking in a chair. Finally one day, the passerby stops. “Why does your dog howl every day?” “Because he’s lying on a
Are you dealing with relationship tension or conflict this holiday season? Feeling bitter or resentful toward anyone? Consider, just for a moment, that there may be another side to the story you’re telling yourself. Here’s an example: A client recently hired me to coach their leadership team, a process that started with me interviewing each
I paced nervously behind the stage. In a few moments, I would be expected to deliver a presentation at our annual company conference. A voice in my head warned me, over and over again: Do not get on that stage. The warnings triggered physical alerts: A quickened pulse. Short, shallow breaths. Tightened muscles. Ten years
This time of year, I love to watch “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” where I affirm my admiration for Lucy van Pelt. She’s clever and direct as she operates her children’s psychiatric booth, offering psychoanalysis for a nickel to her anxious friends. This makes her the only friend in Peanuts that other kids open up to.
It’s not easy to get others to want to work with you. In fact, it’s harder than you might think. Plenty of people have to work with you for a variety of reasons — you’re on the same team, they need your support, you’re selling what they need. So they’re going to be cordial, tolerant,
Matt Norman is president of Norman & Associates, which offers Dale Carnegie Training in the North Central US. Dale Carnegie Training is a global organization ...READ MORE