Tag: United States

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Navigating Office Politics: When Real is Fake

“War is hell” said William T. Sherman – and most likely right before he burned down Atlanta (image right) on his famous “march to the sea” during the United States Civil War.

Office politics are a close second, particularly in the types of workplaces that either tacitly permit them or promote them.

In those atmospheres – not unlike some of the world’s cultures – to operate effectively you have to be quasi schizophrenic; keep separated what you think and believe, and what you say you think and believe.… Read the rest

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Business Exec Outed as Gay; Does Anyone Really Care?

McKesson Headquarters, San Francisco
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Gawker was promoted buzz this past month with speculation that an exec from a leading San Francisco Bay area company was gay. It’s helpful to remember that this is the publication that uses headlines such as “Anderson Cooper is a Giant Homosexual and Everyone Knows It” or “Which Pregnant Actress Has a Famous Cheating Husband.” It may be published, but it’s clearly Rupert Murdoch-style journalism.… Read the rest

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[Life Back West] January 2011 – “Most Likely to Succeed?”

David Brailer does not have  a background that causes you automatically to pick him as most likely to succeed.

And that’s why his success story is interesting for me as an executive coach, and why it holds at least two insights helpful for you.

Brailer grew up in the coal mining town of Kingwood, West Virginia; his father was a coal miner and later a maintenance supervisor, and his mother a surgical nurse.… Read the rest

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Talent Wars: The “A” Player Hoax

We love easy solutions: take a pill and lose weight; go to the right schools and become a zillionaire; hire the right “A” player new talent while clearing out the “C” deadwood and make your business a great success.

But life (mostly) is not that way. As Ronald Reagan said, “It’s simple, but not simplistic.”

And here’s the hoax – the canard; the idea that if you just hire those “A Players” – people like the Legion of Super Heroes (pictured right)  – the folks in the top 10% of their roles – and “release” the untrainable B and C players to their future career path you’ll have stocked the right talent to have your company become a success.… Read the rest

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You Better Watch Out, You Better Not Cry, Better Not Pout . .

1914 Santa Claus in japan
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Colin Neenan noted that “Life just seems so full of connections.”

It’s those connections, and the behaviors that impact that, that inform my work. In my consulting practice coaching executives and teams, as well as career coaching, I’m focused on those actions and behaviors rather than the feelings and emotions behind them. That “behaviors first” approach in business enables individual and team coaching clients to achieve quicker, more durable and quantifiable results..… Read the rest