Min Work Max Life

Have you heard that a team is only as strong as its weakest link?  I’d be shocked if you haven’t.  I believe this is true, but I also think it falls a bit short.

I believe that people, humans, culture, society, etc… is the chain and that we as individuals are the...

I don’t like the term ‘change your mind.’

The term ‘change your mind’ has all sorts of negative connotations associated with it.

First, we use it in reference to changing another person’s mind, and that is a difficult, if not an impossible task.

Next, we use it...

Understand that you can’t fully be there for your team if you are not fully there for yourself.  A leader is a person, and people have emotions, feelings, and issues.  We all do.  We need to have those things under control to best help others.

First, how can we be there for...

How often do you get bad news? What about a surprise or a problem? All the time right?

Did you know that how you reply can make things a lot more difficult?

But, don’t worry, how you reply can make things a lot better too!

You have to be able to think quickly, and for a lot of you, overcome...

Lost your spark?  Focus on helping others.

Throughout the year, quarter, month… energy levels rise and fall.  Interest wanes, and motivation comes and goes.  When you are in a lull think about the purpose of your leadership.  Focus on helping others.

No matter how much...

So, I’ve been watching ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’; just got through the first season.

And, Agent Coulson displays a lot of strong leadership characteristics. The writers did really good work here.

Most of us are surrounded by horrible leaders and managers, and that horribleness...

Are you diverse?  Do you consider yourself an individual?

Is there anyone else in this existence exactly like you?  Nope.

We are all unique.  Everyone is their own person with their own life, experiences, and backgrounds.  Each person has had different and unique perspectives...

Is your team just going through their work; day in, day out?

Maybe your team is starting to make a lot of mistakes, miss deadlines or go over budget?

Sure they are getting things done, but you want your team to excel.

You’ve tried to give incentives and rewards, but you’re not seeing...

Your team wants calm.

People excel when things are known and the future is predictable.  Your team has confidence in what they are working on when they are left alone to work on it.  Folks put in time and effort if they believe that time and effort is worth something.

Think back to...

Practice for goodness’ sakes

It drives me crazy when people don’t practice. It doesn’t matter if they have asked me for help, received help from others, or read a book or watch some videos. The vast majority of people do not practice what they learn.

How do they expect to...

Can you describe your team’s culture quickly and easily?

Almost half of younger generations would prefer being unemployed than work in a job they don’t like, a recent study found. They look for and prefer companies with cultures that share their own personal values.

All throughout the...

Let’s stop saying fail fast and let’s start saying learn fast.

So what happens when you ask somebody: don't think about a pink elephant? What does that person think about: that pink elephant.

So when we go around and we say the catchy phrase of “fail fast” what is everyone...