Thoughts on people, teams, organizations, communities, effectiveness and success
The voicemail left on my phone was all-too typical. “Mike this is Kelwin. I just wanted to let you know that I’ve applied for a few jobs and you may be getting some reference calls. Thanks for any help you can send my way. I’m really hoping one of these jobs work out.”
Limp job references, like limp handshakes, are never a way to make a decent impression.… Read the rest
Sometimes the best (and hardest) lessons you learn are when you’re a child. They can also happen when you’re a parent of a child.
In both situations the best you hope for is that everyone comes out learning something from which they can grow. Your wish, in effect, is that it’s the silver lining that gets explored, not just the hard edges and rough lessons of the dark cloud that envelopes it.… Read the rest
The art of the good, strong start is something that many of us should master, but few of us seldom do.
Why? Probably because it’s a little like that set of occasions (weddings, funerals, baptisms and bar/bas mitzvahs etc.) that happen enough to notice but seldom enough to avoid generating a best practice mindset.
Many schools – like my son’s grade school Marin Country Day School in Corte Madera – have the practice down to a fine art, in part because the start happens on a regular basis, they believe it’s important to do it right, and if you’re smart enough to do it well it can form a foundation for a host of activities and programs to follow.… Read the rest
Motivation comes in many forms, and knowing what motivates the people you work with can make all the difference from “has done” to “has been.”
Pay, or as the HR people like to say, compensation, has turned out not to be the end-all-be-all for motivational purposes. As Dan Pink has ably exposed in his latest book Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us (and TED presentation here) research demonstrates that money in certain situations degrades, not improves, performance.… Read the rest
Many of us live a life where there is too much going on in too little time; it happens at work, at home, and any other shred of life that’s left. But like many things, it doesn’t have to be that way, and there are a least four ways to make a change.
One element that does make life better is serendipity, but it doesn’t run on a schedule.… Read the rest
You work hard, try to do the right thing, and frequently put the interests of others ahead of your own. You’re a good guy. But does that mean you’ll be a success?
“Nice guys finish last” is an adage we all know, and it suggests that not only do nice people do poorly in the competitive world of things sports and corporations, but apparently can even finish badly in the dating game.… Read the rest