Special 12th Anniversary Guest Column KIM S. CAMERON: Building on the Positive When Faced With the Negative We are all familiar with the principle that leaders should emphasize the positive, build on strengths, and focus on abundance rather than deficits. We know that providing positive feedback is likely to produce higher productivity and higher engagement that criticism … Continued
My 21-year old daughter stopped me in my tracks. “Have you ever heard your tone of voice with Jack (her 14 year old brother)?” she asked me this week. The implication was clear and clearly troubling! Of course, none of us do hear just what we sound like. Nor do we measure how often we … Continued
Friends, He was 79 when he fell from his bike on a steep road this past spring. Although he lost consciousness, there didn’t appear to be lasting damage. But he fell ill at a family gathering in Idaho and died peacefully — a week ago today — surrounded by his wife and nine children. I … Continued
Note from Dan: Sally Helgesen is one of those thinkers who is both original and yet sensible. She breaks new ground and yet she makes perfect sense. When Sally and I discussed some ideas that are fascinating to her, I latched on to the one below, and encouraged her to write about this. I hope … Continued
Friends, I don’t know an American who doesn’t have a sense of pride at the Declaration of 1776 and the freedom and democracy it bequeathed to us. And I also don’t know anyone who’s not frustrated with today’s politics. The money already spent is sick. The distortions, flip-flops, over-simplifications and manipulations will abound. You could … Continued
Friends, In my law school class on leadership, my students teach themselves a lot about their natural strengths in leading as well as their areas of challenge. Two third year women posted online an identical point of frustration and determination: they hated being late and were determined to do something different in their next job. … Continued
SPECIAL FATHER’S DAY EDITION What to Get Dad: Compassion and Curiosity As we celebrate Father’s Day, explore with me two questions: How do dads lead? And what do dads need? Back in the day – through the ’50s and ’60s – dad led by protecting and providing, establishing order and rules. In the identical 1,400 … Continued
Special 12th Anniversary Guest Column AMY LYMAN: How a Simple Action Can Become a Story In the thirty years that I have been studying organizations and leaders, I’ve come to greatly appreciate the value of storytelling as a way of sharing values and lessons learned. During my time working with the 100 Best Companies, I’ve come across some fantastic … Continued
Friends, I recommend you watch today’s RFL, which I shared on Maria Shriver’s website last week.* I realize that many read RFL at work and may not be able to watch video, so below is a written piece which parallels the points in the video. As always I’d love your comments. It’s a three-headed … Continued
Friends, So, 46 days ago Fr. Mark, instead of collecting money at the offering, distributed purple envelopes containing cold hard American cash. There were no receipts. You just took it. I got $100; Jack got $10 (Jennifer was out of town that day). We were asked, as in a famous biblical parable to invest “our talents” … Continued