Many people have a hard time accepting compliments. When you tell one of these people they look great, they brush off your compliment with something like, “Yeah, right!” Or, “You certainly need a new pair of glasses.” Similarly, if you compliment them on something they’ve done, they come back with, “Any idiot could have done what I…
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal talked about Lars Dalgaard, chief executive of SuccessFactors, a software company based in San Mateo, California. As a young man working his way up the ranks of a consumer products company, Mr. Dalgaard was so nasty to his subordinates that a coach had to pull him aside…
I recently climbed into a bloodmobile to donate a pint of blood. As I looked around, everyone there was either about to be stuck with a large needle, in the process of being stuck, having blood withdrawn or having a needle removed from their arm. To someone who has never donated blood, this may sound…
The summer vacation time is fast approaching. Vacations are good things: they help us get back to feeling our best, make us more creative and productive and, for a number of reasons, make us healthier. The problem is that all too many people look at vacations as luxuries rather than necessities. I just came off…
A recent article in USA Today revealed the lengths to which some companies go to electronically monitor their employees’ behavior at work. Some not only monitor their emails, social network and internet use, but their location and physical activity as well. The article stated that the primary reason for the monitoring was to increase productivity…
A recent article in USA Today revealed the lengths to which some companies go to electronically monitor their employees’ behavior at work. Some not only monitor their emails, social network and internet use, but their location and physical activity as well. The article stated that the primary reason for the monitoring was to increase productivity…
A recent article in the Arizona Republic contained some sound advice for getting ahead at work. The article mentioned things like adding to your technical skills, pursuing additional education, networking and demonstrating integrity in everything you do. Then the article quoted Scott Smith, a managing partner at the executive search firm of TowerHunter, Inc., who…
Inspiration, that special stimulus that arouses our thinking, feeling and action is necessary before we can accomplish anything worth of note. In the words of German Poet, Johann Von Herder, “Without inspiration the best powers of the mind remain dormant, they are a fuel in us which needs to be ignited with sparks.” Those sparks…
Succeeding at a high level requires two key ingredients: vision and action. Vision is the picture in your mind of the future you want to create or the dream you want to come true. If you read the biography of any successful person, you’ll find their journey to success started with a clear vision of…
The formula for success in business has always been pretty straight-forward: You out-work, out-hustle and out-innovate your competition to provide superior products, services and customer experiences. These are the things that make business both fun and exciting. Yet, there are a number of people who view cheating as some sort of short-cut to success. They…