“You’re grounded!”
These words have been uttered by many a parent as punishment for mischief-making teenagers. “Grounding,” in this sense, means you are taking the kid out of the action and putting her on the sidelines for a bit.
One mom I know said that grounding doesn’t work as a deterrent for her son because he likes [...]

Chade-Meng Tan is my new hero.
Meng, as he is known, is one of Google’s original software engineers. He has won numerous awards and his academic and technical achievement records are impressive.
But what impresses me the most is his pioneering spirit in the area of bringing meditation and mindfulness practices to the workplace. Right here in the [...]

Resolutions schmezolutions! 
That’s the conclusion I came to years ago when I vowed never to waste my energy on New Year’s resolutions again.  
I’ve just never had much success with making resolutions — typically they felt like an external goal I was trying to reach, sometimes realistic and sometimes not. Usually it felt more like a “should” than [...]

Here’s a startling thought:  “It’s tougher recovering from a downturn than being in a downturn.”
This statement was made by Ira Jackson, Dean of Claremont’s Drucker School of Management, who was participating at the World Business Forum last week (Oct 6-7 in New York). The Wall Street Journal put together the video below, highlighting top management [...]

Accountants say, yes!, according to a survey by Ajilon Finance, a leading specialty finance and accounting staffing firm, and the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA).
Two findings I thought were particularly interesting:
1. Soft skills ranked as more important than hard skills.  Thirty-three percent of the accountants who responded felt that an ability to inspire and motivate [...]

Professional Services Marketers are keenly tuned in to production mode, there’s no doubt.  My business partner and co-developer of the Marketer as Leader program, Jodie Charlop, NCC, co-wrote an article with me that appears in the July ‘09 issue of the Legal Marketing Association Southeastern Chapter newsletter.
Production “trap” implies there just might be an escape [...]

When I worked for an A/E (that’s Architecture & Engineering) firm as director of corporate communications, I had the privilege of learning what engineering is really all about.
On the surface, engineers seem like logical, rational-thinking, super smart people. And they are!  But engineers are also highly creative and intuitive, full of imagination. They see the [...]

“Mystery is at the heart of creativity. That, and surprise.” Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way
I’m noticing the whir of creativity in the air these days. The oft-cited economic turndown we’re in has sparked its share of woe, of course, but underneath it all seems to lie a bubbling pool of creative juice.  I [...]

I’m a big fan of Lee Glickstein, who teaches “Relational Presence” through his work with Speaking Circles International. I’ve taken his trainings and participated in a Speaking Circles Study Group for several years. His process has removed my fear of public speaking, enhanced my ability to authentically connect with an audience, and boosted my confidence [...]

You know coaching has made it to the “mainstream” when comedians are poking fun at it. I got a big kick out of this clip from The Daily Show from a few years back. Some separate Executive Coaching from Business Coaching from Life Coaching. I believe the lines are blurred — anyone with a life [...]