I wish I had a buck for every time I heard a CEO, president or other executive leader lament about the lack of strategic thinking skills in their organization. I suspect that if we could peruse the succession plans for the Fortune 500 group of companies, that “strategic thinking skills” would be among the top three overall needs in each and every one of them. These companies are not wrong to suggest that strategic thinking is at short supply in their firms, but they aren’t entirely right, either. (more…)

We have all heard the stories, from our friends, family and quite possibly out of our own lips. About the company that wants, needs  and demands more. More effort, capability, performance and results. Demands from an overworked and stressed-out boss who has the time to portion out work, but not to provide the  feedback and development to help achieve the outcomes. (more…)

In a recent article, I talked about the importance of the words we speak. How they have the potential for an indelible impact, either positive or negative. Almost equally important to the words we choose is the manner in which we deliver them. Our non-verbal cues have the potential to round up or down the effectiveness of our communication, based on a series of subtle and not so subtle messages. (more…)

Nothing is more influential on the circumstances of our lives than the words that we use to express ourselves as our lives unfold. Think about it for a moment. Every thought, idea and inspiration is held captive by the words we choose to express them. Now that’s what I call at-stakeness. (more…)