Nat King Cole will remind us this month to be joyful, though life can be busy and hard, and our news feed reminds us of all that’s wrong in the world. This is why I love re-watching It’s a Wonderful Life each year. I need yet another voice to break through the cynicism, hurry and
On a Minneapolis radio station in the early 90s, a satirical disc jockey called the Chucker used to conduct hilarious interviews of famous people. The Chucker was obnoxious. The bigger the celebrity’s ego, the more the Chucker would frustrate them with his demoralizing behavior. Go listen to the recordings. They’ll make you squirm. Perhaps some
Megan Tamte is comfortable being vulnerable. She allows people to see her for who she really is—even when it’s messy. For the founder of the fast-growing women’s retailer Evereve, it’s something that goes back to the styling floor of her first store, in Edina, Minnesota, where Megan remembers facing “uncomfortable and awkward situations all the
In 2008, my good friend Jeff Dykstra* faced significant fear of the unknown. He’d already taken a huge risk leaving the private sector and moving his entire family to Lusaka, Zambia, in 2006 with World Vision. Now, he was only a few months away from finishing his commitment in Africa. His next career move weighed
I was part of an ugly exchange a few weeks ago with a delivery driver in my neighborhood. One that taught me the importance of being better instead of bitter, a phrase you may have come across before but paid little attention to until a certain scenario brought it to light. I’m embarrassed to tell
This post was originally published on December 22, 2015, and updated on June 11, 2019. Most people have an ideal self-image—one that often comes from things we admire or dislike in our own parents. Other people can crush this ideal through their criticism and we are wired to protect and defend. This defensive side of
*Spoiler alert: this post contains part of the plot to the “Avengers: Endgame” movie. It came as a surprise when I received one of the best leadership insights of the week from Thor, the Asgardian god of thunder. Actually, it was from his mother Frigga. During a time-travel back to Asgard in the latest Marvel
My dear grandfather Morris Norman passed away last month. He loved golf. And he would have loved to have seen Tiger Woods win the 2019 Masters tournament. I loved sitting next to my grandfather on the couch as a child, watching golf on television. He’d often comment about the character of the players. “That guy
The pressure to perform is always there. Only one vendor wins the contract. Only one person gets elected. In any number of day-to-day situations, you’re competing for resources, attention, or recognition. For my son, it’s his tennis ranking. He loves tennis, and he loves to compete. The fact that the USTA publishes weekly rankings for
I hope you’ll enjoy this guest post by Isaac Vogel of Roell Painting Company as much as I did. What humble leaders (fictional or real) inspire you? Growing up in central South Dakota, because there’s no real “local team” to speak of, cable television informed my rooting interest as much as anything, and thanks 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