Years ago, a colleague of mine, Harold Knutson, was faced with a difficult decision: support the company plan to outsource, or take a stand for his belief that it was a bad idea at that point in time. As one of a handful of vice presidents, he could have put his head down and gone
You don’t want to fall short of expectations. And you probably have to rely on other people to help you deliver on your expectations. If those people are different from you, they likely interpret standards and expectations differently. The bottom line: excellence requires consistent accountability for results, and fostering consistent accountability is challenging. A friend
A senior executive recently admitted to my brother-in-law that his organization was more focused on doing tasks than being customer-focused. My brother-in-law is a partner at a global management consulting firm, so he naturally set out to answer this question: How do organizations remain customer-focused amidst the continuous pressures on employees to get their work
Sometimes I experience what civil rights leader Howard Thurman meant when he said, “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” Like this morning, when I was working with a group of people on their influence skills,
We’ve all seen the PowerPoint, the plaque or the “About Us” page with feel-good concepts like Respect for Employees, Safety First, Concern for Customers or Be the Industry Leader. These typically come from well-intentioned leaders who want to document what the company stands for and where it’s going. Too often, though, those words become corporate
During a team meeting last week, one of our colleagues did something that set off a tidal wave of emotional applause throughout the room. We were responding to an unselfish act of communication. This colleague abandoned her insecurities and spoke with a level of passion and force that we had never seen. Because she showed
When I reviewed the results of my leadership 360-degree assessment, I was confused. My lowest score was “Demonstrates insight into how his emotions and behaviors affect others.” This didn’t make sense to me because I think I’m sensitive to how others act around me, and no one has ever told me I’m negligent in this
We were walking through our neighborhood on Father’s Day this year when we spotted a man doing yard work. “Happy Father’s Day!” I called out. “What I want to do today is be productive!” he replied. I understand that—it feels good to get things done. The most recent book I highlighted on my Recommended Resources
A recent youth soccer match gave me a surprising insight into organizational psychology. The players fell into two categories: the shooters and the passers. When shooters got the ball, they drove toward the goal, regardless of the screams from the coach or wide-open players on the field. Passers’ first instinct, on the other hand, was
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
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