Leading To The Side

Reminder

2009-04-01T19:22:00.003-04:00

Just a reminder for all you dedicated subscribers out there, this blog will become inactive soon. Check us out at our new home at http://rawguts.wordpress.com. Hope to see you there! Thanks.

Please Help Me!

2009-02-07T17:03:00.000-05:00

What would you like to read about on my new blog? Leadership Communication Team Building Otherview resultsfree blog polls

New Blog - New Location

2009-02-06T08:50:00.002-05:00

Just so everyone knows, I've moved to a new blog location. It's still a leadership blog and can be found at http://rawguts.wordpress.com. Please subscribe and check in often.I hope you'll check it out and say hi!Thanks.

W.W.N.G.D.

2009-02-02T12:45:00.002-05:00

What would the next guy do? If someone came in and took your place tomorrow, what would they do differently? What would they change immediately? What would they completely get rid of? What would they tolerate?In the daily grind of organizational leadership, we become familiar with our surroundings. We say things like "We've always done it this way", or "If it aint broke don't fix it". But,

"I Don't Know"

2009-01-20T13:02:00.002-05:00

How long has it been since you told your teammates "I don't know"? Often, we think that leadership is always having the answers and always knowing what to do. But, what about those times when you really don't have a clue how to handle something? Recently in a planning meeting I had a complete mental block. I couldn't think creatively and felt like my brain just shut down. My first thoughts

2009-01-17T08:00:00.000-05:00

Here's a great article I wanted to pass along from Mark Steven's blog. Hope you enjoy!I watched an interview recently with Ted Turner, the odd-ball genius who built a media empire, married a movie star and owns more land than anyone else in North America. He is one of the rare ones who speaks insanity and exceptional insight in the space of a single sound bite. As an example of the latter, he

Expectations

2009-01-15T20:55:00.004-05:00

At this point in my life, I'm having to do alot of public speaking. Every week, soon to be twice a week, I get to stand before about 60 people and speak. Other than singing or showing up in your underwear, public speaking is probably one of the most dreaded activities that most people face. Why is that? Everyone's looking at you. You're heart is racing and you just want to go and hide

Velvet Hammer

2009-01-13T21:33:00.002-05:00

I had a situation come up this past week on my team that could have been potentially ugly. We had a big meeting planned and one person didn't show up, or even bother to call and excuse themselves. I sat through about the first 5 minutes of the meeting and was a little irked, but then I had a light bulb moment. I thought: I will take VERY detailed notes for him and then email the notes and a

A Little More...

2009-01-09T08:30:00.000-05:00

Along the lines with yesterday's post, I wanted to pass along something interesting I came across on the internet:At 211 degrees, water is hot.At 212 degrees, it boils.And with boiling water, comes steam.And with steam, you can power a train.All that separates the two is ONE DEGREE! With hot water, you can make oatmeal. With boiling water, you can transport just about anything just about

Little Big Things

2009-01-08T08:00:00.003-05:00

I've been reading a book called "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell. (Actually, I've been listening to the audio book version). If you are a leader in any capacity, then I highly recommend this book to you. We as humans are trained to expect gradual cause and effect to take place. We have an understanding that "Rome wasn't built in a day". But, as he points out in the book, there is an

Greeter-Ship

2009-01-07T09:30:00.003-05:00

We say that you never get a second chance to make a first impression. I agree with that statement in the big scheme of things. You never get to meet someone for the first time...twice. But look at it with me on a day-to-day basis. Allow me to explain:What is your first impression of your spouse every morning? How about that employee that always comes dragging in at the last minute with that

Stay In The Proper Lane

2009-01-05T10:21:00.006-05:00

I'm back from the holidays...thank God. I wanted to share a quick story of something that happened to me recently. On the way home from Subway with my family, I saw that dreaded sight in my rear view mirror....blue lights! I quickly glanced at my speedometer, thinking maybe I was speeding...but I was okay on speed. So I pulled over to the side of the road and awaited the not-so-friendly

Why Are You Talking To Me?

2008-12-15T08:43:00.003-05:00

Why? Why are you doing what you're doing RIGHT NOW? You came into my office to give me an assignment or correct a mistake...and as soon as your next "order" is out of your mouth you are OUT THE DOOR! Or worse yet, maybe you just walk by me and say "Hi, how are you?" without ever slowing down long enough to hear my answer. Maybe when I ask you a question you give me a canned response without

You Can't Change Them

2008-12-15T08:42:00.002-05:00

You don't have nor will you EVER have the capacity to change someone. We know this in our head but how often do we frustrate ourselves by trying to change people? That person that is never on time is not waiting for you to fix them. The person who loses his temper at the drop of a hat is not waiting on your next great revelation. Now, I'm all for developing people. But development is very

No More Mr. Nice Guy

2008-12-15T08:30:00.002-05:00

Let's face it. No reasonable person LOVES conflict and confrontation. Most of us like to be liked, wouldn't you agree? Lot's of times I struggle because I am a nice person. There are some things that people just don't give me the right to say or do...because I'm seen as a nice person. If I was a jerk I could do anything I wanted and no one would think twice about it!It's okay to be nice...

Fix it Now!

2008-12-12T08:34:00.003-05:00

Sankofa is an Adinkra symbol used by the Akan people of Ghana. Adinkra symbols are graphic representations of popular maxims or philosophical concepts. The Sankofa symbol depicts a mythical bird which holds an egg symbolizing the future in its beak. The bird moves forwards while looking backwards to the past. The symbol is expressed in the Akan language as "Se wo were fi na wosan kofa a yenki".

Get Your Bearings

2008-12-10T10:12:00.000-05:00

I drove my wife into a busy downtown district in our area today. We had no clue where the office we sought was located, and I was not very familiar with the area. We drove around with no luck until finally I pulled over into a parking area, grabbed my PDA, and went to Google to seek wisdom. In no time, we arrived at our destination.Often in leadership, we are called upon to make decisions. Do

Easy Way to Motivate

2008-12-09T11:19:00.002-05:00

What does it mean to motivate? Dictionary.com's definition is "to stimulate toward action". To motivate your team members is to stimulate them toward action. So, how do I motivate my team? It's simple really. They are already doing what they're already doing. If you are already selling 5 widgets a week, you don't need to be motivated to sell 5 widgets a week anymore. What we as leaders

Hitler Could Even Be A Good Boss

2008-12-05T08:00:00.001-05:00

Check this story out I came across on www.foxnews.com:A maid for Adolf Hitler in the '30s is speaking out about what it was like to work for the dictator, saying he was 'a great boss.'"He was a charming man, someone who was only ever nice to me, a great boss to work for," 91-year-old Rosa Mitterer told the Daily Mail. "You can say what you like, but he was a good man to us."Mitterer, who worked

Appearances

2008-12-04T10:47:00.002-05:00

So I'm sure if you keep with the news you've heard about Ford, GM, and Chrysler and their attempts to "save" the US auto industry. The Big Three car manufacturers are in Washington today trying to secure some of the bail-out jackpot for their respective companies. Now, don't be confused...these CEOs are not doing all this for themselves. They seek to save the US auto industry and in the

Leadership Bucket

2008-12-02T09:22:00.002-05:00

What the....? I know. Bear with me.So think with me for a minute...What can you handle? How much can you handle before you break or stress out? I believe that each one of us have something like a "leadership bucket". The bigger your bucket, the more you can handle. Have you ever seen someone lead effectively in one situation and then totally "blow it" in another situation? I know I have.

What's Your Goal?

2008-12-01T09:24:00.004-05:00

It's the end of the month. You haven't quite met your quotas yet and you need that last little push to finish strong. Being in sales, I've been here multitudes of times. So what do you as a leader do? I've seen it handled a few different ways:1 - Threaten - "If you guys don't step up and accomplish x then I'm going to find someone who can get the job done."2 - Bribe - "If you accomplish x then

Leadership Lesson From a 7 Year old

2008-11-28T10:34:00.002-05:00

I observed something interesting at my family Thanksgiving dinner yesterday. I watched as 3 little girls were playing outside as the adults were eating. The oldest girl (she is 10) was very loud and assertive. At first it appeared that she was "the boss" and she was constantly directing the group of girls towards what she wanted to do. The youngest of the three (she is 5) was the quietest and

Thankful

2008-11-27T08:00:00.003-05:00

Have I told you lately...that I appreciate you? It doesn't make for a very good love song, but it's music to the ears of the people you work with. I received an email yesterday that said "I appreciate you" and it was so out of place that it made me think..."Have we lost our ability to value the people around us?" We spend most of our time either trying to convince OURSELVES that we are as good

Dance Monkey Dance!

2008-11-26T08:20:00.000-05:00

What do the people around you expect from you? If you're a bossy person then maybe they expect you to assert yourself to get your way. If you're an introvert then maybe they expect you to keep to yourself and appear shy. I am a parent, and I can already see that I have certain expectations of what my child will do in certain situations. I don't really know how my daughter will react to