What’s your Strategic Narrative?
Storytelling has been around since humans began communicating. Whether it was in the form of cave drawings or primitive grunts. The earliest stories were developed as a way to help current and future generations survive. As speech evolved, stories evolved too. Stories were developed to help share values, beliefs and even hopes and dreams. The …
Differentiation is Easy, Once You Set Your Own Standard
When Dan Schawbel initially invited me to be a contributor on PersonalBranding.com I was honored but also confused about how a leadership and workplace communication expert could add value here. So, before accepting I took time to assess how I wanted to position my contributions.
I realized that personal branding comes down to how and …
Can You Spare 40 Minutes to Learn a New Trick?
They say an old dog cannot learn a new trick. I think that is categorically false.
If you really want to do something, you’ll find a way. If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse.
5 years or 20 hours?
Would you be willing to spend 20 hours to acquire a new skill? That’s only …
10 Traits of Great Leadership Figures
When hiring companies come to our executive recruiters in order to find them a great sales or marketing employee, leadership is always a quality that our clients ask for. Though, for the job seeker, to best be able to give the hiring company what they want, they need to be able to define leadership.
Therefore, …
If You are Surprised by Mornings…
If you find yourself surprised by mornings … Perhaps you need a different plan.
If you find yourself having all of your tasks and priorities assigned for you … Perhaps you need a different plan.
Caveat: If you like to be told what to do and if you like to be surprised by what you’ll …
How to Be a Successful Manager-Removing Obstacles
If we asked experts what the first job of an effective leader is, the conflicting answers would be plentiful: Some would say it’s to set a vision and goals. To others it would be to motivate the group being led. A few would even venture to single out something more clever like surrounding oneself with …
Ship, Shipmates, Self
I was meeting with a friend the other day and he mentioned these three simple words for setting priorities. He had heard these from an admiral while he was serving the U.S. Navy.
I thought about these three words for a while and can see …
Happy 10th Anniversary to the “First 90 Days”!
In 2003, Harvard Business School Press published professor Michael Watkins’ book, The First 90 Days, described on the book jacket as “Critical success strategies for new leaders at all levels”. Ten years later, the book has become the go-to guide for professionals transitioning into new leadership positions, and is being updated and expanded in a …
Minding your P’s and Q’s
When interacting with others we’ve always been told to mind our p’s and q’s. Well. maybe not always. But, when you were going to grandma’s house your mom probably told you to mind your p’s and q’s and expected a certain modicum of behavior from you.
Minding your p’s and q’s is still true … …
Say YES and Get Ahead
There is a fairly recent movie called “Yes Man” starring Jim Carrey. The premise was simple … say yes to everything!
To most people saying yes is NOT the first thing that comes to mind when asked to do something.
Think about the last time a friend asked you to drive them to the airport. …