Who’s Afraid Of A Little Change…? Part II

Monday, August 31st, 2009
Marketing A few months ago, I wrote about an insurance agent I met while on a cross country flight. It seems his entire staff, along with his forty year practice, was being taken to the cleaners by a cute little gecko with an Australian accent. It was very unfortunate. They were frozen... stuck in tradition and old habits... about to go under, and all they could think of, in…  
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Who’s Afraid Of A Little Change…? Part I

Friday, August 28th, 2009
Marketing It could just be a vision thing, or I suppose... you could call it a lack of vision thing. But it seems that quite often, we see... or don't see... whatever it is that we expect to see. In other words, our expectations color our perceptions... and then our actions. And yes, of course, you guessed it... they also influence our inaction. I've been thinking about several conversations that I've had recently with business leaders on the subject of change.…  
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I Think I’ve Heard This Before…

Monday, August 24th, 2009
Marketing The story you are about to hear is true... but Bob's name has been changed in order to... well, you'll understand in a minute. ******************************************************************** Walking to my car the other day, I was scrolling my received calls list and checking messages when a voice from the past came across my phone. “Steve... this is Bob. I know it's been a couple of years, and I know I totally disappeared, but...”…  
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Position Of Leadership…?

Friday, August 21st, 2009
Leadership Nowhere is the concept of "Leadership" more often misunderstood than it is in Corporate America. On the other hand, nowhere is its presence (or lack thereof) more evident than in our nation's charities and non-profits. Unless, of course, we're talking about politics... and then all bets are off! Ahh... but I digress. I recently ran into the parents of an old friend that I hadn't seen in years. I asked where Joel was living, what he was…  
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Leading From The Street…? Part III

Thursday, August 20th, 2009
Leadership If we understand "leadership" to be the act of influencing the actions, behaviors, or outcomes of people and their circumstances... then we could agree that leaders exist at one level or another throughout society. To be sure, within about 45 seconds, you or I could easily identify the "leaders" at any event... whether it be an after-hours business function, a gathering in your local church fellowship hall, or a group of school children on the playground.…  
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Leading From The Street…? Part II

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009
Leadership I was once very close to a musician who played the blues. No, that's not really accurate... HE LIVED the blues. It was all part of his desire to reach the lost through music... through connection... through ministry. He was going to the street... to look the people in the eye...
to lead them with authenticity. At least that's how it started. However, it wasn't long and HE was being led... into drugs... alcohol... theft... you name…  
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Leading From The Street…? Part I

Tuesday, August 18th, 2009
Leadership Yesterday afternoon, I received a message from Laurie Zieber, a friend who leads an important and powerful women's ministry in the great State of Texas. Her question was, "Do you believe that while a person is homeless, jobless, living on the streets; he/she is also capable of being an effective and positive leader?" An easy enough question... requiring a simple…  
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Beat The Rush…

Friday, August 14th, 2009
Leadership Okay, so here's the question of the day... We're about half-way through August... what percentage of the population is now formulating goals and plans for 2010? Answer... the same percentage of the population that will nail the goals they set. Yeah... I know. Football season is still four weeks away.... but that's how it works. You see, studies show that the average American will set their New Year's resolutions during…  
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Unbelievable…

Tuesday, August 11th, 2009
Leadership So, here's a story from A DECADE AGO that still brings a smile to my face every time I think about it. Need proof? I'm smiling right now... see? Back about 1999, I was speaking with the CEO of one of our vendors... just a peer to peer discussion about politics... business... and life. You see, we had developed our relationship over the previous twelve years or so... and he relied on me as much for my coaching advice, as he did for my company's business. The…  
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Seeing Opportunity… Part II

Saturday, August 8th, 2009
Leadership I once read a study that claimed that in the course of every human life there are two or three absolute game-changing... life-altering moments that could radically and positively transform that person's existence from the ordinary... to the extraordinary. In every life? Yeah... pretty much. Somewhere, somehow, people have figured out how to take the right population sample and the right questions and come up with these survey results that,…  
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