Perhaps you’ve heard about the historic feat climber Alex Honnold accomplished on June 3rd. He became the first person in history to free solo climb (by himself with no ropes or equipment) El Capitan in Yosemite, which is a 3,000-foot vertical wall up the Freerider path. He did it in under four hours. Mind-blowing. I
I worked for my dad for about ten years, during which time he persistently asked me this question: “How is your system working for you?” As he explained it, “Successful people develop a structured approach to their work. They are successful because they consistently work their system.” But for years, I frankly had no idea
I arrived with great suspicion at the baseball card shop on 98th and Lyndale last week, hauling five years of my childhood from the trunk of my car to the feet of the shop’s owner. I was burned by baseball card trades in my childhood, so I fully expected this guy might try to take
Last Friday, my dear grandmother passed away. She modeled a life of grace, strength, and love for everyone who knew her. As a tribute to her leadership, I invite you to read the following post which was originally published just over two years ago… We all have role models, people who show us the way,
Competing priorities are very evident when dealing with a two-year-old. Adults compromise, negotiate, persuade, enforce and request. Two-year-olds demand. Responding to those demands requires great diplomacy. Two-year-olds don’t have patience for unsatisfactory answers. And they don’t take the high road by letting you off the hook. One night last week, my two-year-old told me she
Four months ago, I began something that, although it didn’t start out that way, ended up being an experiment in gratitude. Initially, I was responding to my own frustration that I couldn’t seem to remember the things that others cared about. I’ve been carrying so many things about myself in my own head that it
I arrived home from work feeling very self-satisfied. I was on a roll. “How was your day?” asked my wife. “Great.” “Why?” “I got everything done that I wanted to.” And then she asked me this: “Is that how you measure the quality of your day?” Oh my, I thought. I certainly do. I mean,
I facilitated a workshop recently on the topic of “Leading Change,” and a senior hospital leader spoke up with a question: “You’ve been talking about gaining cooperation and commitment from people to change,” she said. “But when has that effort gone too far? When do you just need to tell people, ‘This is how it’s
I sat in my car last week with my eyes closed. I felt “off my game” and anxious. Only minutes remained before a very important scheduled meeting with a client. I’d never met this executive before and a lot was at stake based on whether she liked me and what I had to say. For
Several years ago, I was sitting in a team meeting when I noticed something. It was one of those recurring meetings, the kind that don’t have a lot of focus or urgency, and most people were sitting quietly on the sidelines…that is, until the topic arose of whether we should have cake or cupcakes at
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