Have you ever noticed that the lessons that serve you well in your professional life are often reinforced in the most unexpected circumstances? The other day as I was driving my daughter to school, I reminded her, “Do your best on the standardized reading test today.” “I don’t care about the test,” she replied. “It’s
I work closely with a company that designs and manufactures expensive boats. One of their long-time customers, a large boat dealer, asked for a meeting with them to discuss boat design improvements they believe are needed to sell more boats. The dealer has a long pattern of harsh criticism and negativity. At the same time,
On January 18, SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 rocket with four crew members to the International Space Station. It’s another successful mission for SpaceX. Behind its explosive growth, of course, is the sometimes volatile CEO Elon Musk whose tirades are well documented in Walter Isaacson’s biography and elsewhere. Isaacson also describes the numerous people who
T.S. Eliot wrote what is widely regarded as one of the most important poems of the 20th century, “The Waste Land.” Even so, Eliot himself attributed much of its success to the support of his editor, Ezra Pound. Pound never held back when confronting Eliot with feedback on his writing, and Eliot appreciated that. In
A colleague recently made an important decision that affected me without asking for my input. It wasn’t the first time this happened and probably won’t be the last. It seems to be a pattern, to make decisions without involving others when the decisions impact others in meaningful ways. The question I’m wrestling with is: Should
Recently I worked with a group of struggling managers who have been under pressure to boost results within their teams. These managers care about their work, and they have several opportunities to influence the people they lead — meetings, leading by example, email/text correspondence. But none of these opportunities has the focus and depth of a
If you were coaching an actor before a performance, you’d have them rehearse their lines. If you were coaching an athlete before a competition, you’d have them practice and train. As a leader, mentor, friend or parent, you also have opportunities to help others improve key skills. Every Leader Is a Coach After nearly 20
I recently joined one of my clients for a Zoom meeting with participants from three departments in their organization. As discussion of the topic got underway, it quickly became apparent to me from my vantage point as an outsider that one department had the power, one felt marginalized, and one didn’t really care. In fact,
Social interactions have been key to human survival for thousands of years. So it’s not surprising that hard feelings like rejection, disapproval or disappointment from others can be nearly intolerable. For example, one executive I know is currently facing the massively difficult task of possibly removing one of his key leaders. Several employees have complained
John recently had a high-stakes meeting that did not go well. He became flustered and defensive when the CEO hit him with unanticipated questions and ideas about his team’s status. John admitted that he didn’t have good answers to the questions. But he also insinuated that the CEO’s questions weren’t relevant (after all, John had
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