In a recent article, I espoused the virtue of down time as an enabler of strategic, contemplative and deep thought, the type of thinking that leads to game changing performance. As it turns out, new research has demonstrated a linkage between daydreaming and breakthrough innovative thinking. Few will argue that down time presents some of the most fertile opportunities for daydreaming and hence innovating in our lives. (more…)

We live our lives in a sprint. Our agendas are chock-full of family and work activities that have blended into a dizzying slurry of stuff. Unlike our parents, we have “careers” not “jobs,” which means we are on the clock whenever it is ticking. Our personal lives have grown in complexity as well, as we shuffle through a dense schedule of activities for ourselves and our kids, the latter of who’s playtime looks a lot like our work time. (more…)

Most business leaders today live a hyper busy, stressed out lifestyle characterized by too little time for too many things. As companies have become increasingly more lean in the quest for a productivity advantage,  fewer employees are available to do the same (if not more) work. Not a lot of fun for the employees. Even less so for the leaders with whom the buck inevitably stops. (more…)

Few topics in organization development have garnered more air time than the discussion of what constitutes leadership and management. More specifically, how and when leadership and management overlap and how and when they do not. We seek to understand the drivers of these separate but related skills so that we can master them to achieve success. (more…)

The national unemployment rate has reached 9.4% on what looks to be an invariable procession to somewhere north of 10%. This number has only been exceeded one time (in 1982) since 1948. More people are out of work and looking for a job than has been the case for 25, soon to be 61 years. (more…)