Power usually moves down organizational hierarchy and through customers to client-facing teams to support functions. With each pass through level or functional silo, people get further away from the epicenter of strategy and market demand. This distancing pushes people away from the planning process and into need fulfillment. The result is organizations filled with functional
I want to be comfortable. I like my daily routine and sleeping in my own bed. I want to be around people like me and do things I’m good at doing. But the truth is, I know that comfort is at odds with being fully alive. Last week, we took the kids to Disney World.
I’m on vacation this week with my family so, in lieu of a typical post, this comes from a friend of mine who’s job is to help homeless people to find housing… May the light of your soul guide you. May the light of your soul bless the work that you do with the secret
I have two selves: one wants to drive under the speed limit, the other groans and tails people who drive slowly; one wants to spend the last hour of the day with a hot bath and a good book, the other wants to answer emails until my eyes hurt. Paradoxically, I think I would be
People often want more responsibility and a bigger title. Whether it’s at a full-time job or on a volunteer board, leaders are wired to pursue greater influence. Increasing responsibility and influence is a way for us to be more valuable. One challenge with positioning ourselves for more responsibility is being promotable without being self-promotional. And
The only people that don’t admit to fighting insecurity at times are insecure about being honest. While insecurity is a part of being human, it can limit our clarity, creativity and communication. Dale Carnegie Training conducted research last year, and will follow with further research to be released next month, revealing that the feeling of
Many leaders, particularly entrepreneurs, become their idea or organization. Their advocacy and effort becomes their identity. Dedication is noble though many leaders become enmeshed or infused to a point where their emotional health is dictated by the success of their work. This past Saturday, I gave the opening talk at the Innove semi-finalist retreat where
We get in our own way. Impulse, laziness, fear and mindlessness often lead us away from what makes us most alive. Structure can save us. Whether it’s a cadence, routine, discipline or policy, we need to build structure into our lives and organizations to protect us from ourselves. At times in my life, I’ve felt
Structure is essential to inspiring creativity and self-expression. Neuroscientists have recently demonstrated that improvisation occurs when the self-monitoring region of our brain turns off through mastery of a foundational structure. Musician Yo-Yo Ma said, “An innovation, to grow organically from within, has to be based on an intact tradition.” I wish I could fully enjoy
We hold tight to people, pleasures and positions that make us feel more alive. Whether it’s our loyalty to children, health, or performance, these objects of our love are often very good things that benefit from our attention. They also give us status, meaning and happiness. So our grip on them is fierce, sometimes to
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