Recently, I coached an accomplished CEO as he was preparing to deliver a university commencement speech. He had fascinating stories to share that revealed profound truths about life, work and meaning. He spoke with confidence and warmth. And yet somehow still, listening to him, I felt bored and detached. I stopped him and asked what
Last week I reviewed a proposal with a potential client. It had several elements, which would take me at least five minutes to explain, and like a proud author wanting the reader to reserve judgment until they’ve read the entire book, I wanted to cover it all before getting a reaction. But a voice whispered
Rowing is perhaps the toughest of sports. Once the race starts, there are no time-outs, no substitutions. It calls upon the limits of human endurance. The coach must therefore impart the secrets of the special kind of endurance that comes from mind, heart, and body. -George Yeoman Pocock Our family was on spring “break” this
My friend has been trying hard to fit in at his company. Like all of us, he carries insecurity and tries hard to say and do the right things. So he was excited to join the recent team diversity and inclusion training day. Here’s a chance to connect authentically with other team members, he thought.
Chances are, your email owns you. It’s open on your computer as you read this, or it’s an app away on your device. Your inbox is an endless fountain of opportunity—and challenge. Because it doesn’t matter whether you fight to control it or resign to the flood; either way it owns you. Its constant flow
I’ve been talking about why and how people stay and leave organizations, so the unique retirement letter outgoing Google CFO Patrick Pichette wrote and posted to Google+ caught my attention. I was particularly struck by this admission: I am completing this summer 25-30 years of nearly non-stop work (depending on how you wish to cut
In recent posts, I’ve explained the importance of valuing ourselves and others for who we are more than what we do. In fact, who we are is at risk, but we do everything possible to minimize it. And the harder we try, the more anxious, bitter and tedious we get. In attempting to minimize all
Recently we made the difficult choice to terminate a team member because she wasn’t producing sufficient results. The measures were clear, but the decision wasn’t. She is a person of integrity, professionalism, courage, compassion…and I could go on. We wanted to keep her on for her intrinsic value, but the numbers weren’t working out. For
I have a confession that hurts to write: I don’t have much appreciation for people who aren’t useful to me. When someone works hard and improves their results over time, I’m invested in the relationship. When they aren’t demonstrating the activity I expect, I distance myself from them and consider ways to “fix” the situation.
Your adrenaline is pumping. You hide your eyes and scream out in terror, clutching the arm of the person next to you. Even though you know you’re safe and what you’re seeing is just make believe, a particularly scary horror movie can elicit some pretty strong reactions. So it’s ironic that, from an early age,
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