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3 Things Most People Dislike on Social Media
Social media is ubiquitous. In 2015 Digitaltrends reported that Americans check social media a staggering 17 times a day, or at least once every waking hour. I want to talk about three things that are...
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Five Things Leaders Can Do to Make the Most of a Slow Down
Leaders generally don’t like it when things slow down. It usually means that business isn’t as brisk as desired. And even though many complain about being too busy, just as many or more complain about...
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Regrets, I’ve Had a Few (Here are 8)
Frank Sinatra sang that even though he’d had regrets, they were too few to mention. I’ve had more than a few business regrets and hopefully I’ve learned from them. I share some of them here in hopes...
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A Matter of Life and Death
Everybody eventually dies. At an emotional level that is very sad. At an intellectual level it is merely fact. We don’t spend much time thinking about our eventual end. Lacking that awareness, many...
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Terry Bradshaw’s Playbook for Life | Guest Blog by Bernie Swain
Over 25 years ago when I was a young speaker in the business, I met Bernie Swain and Harry Rhoads, the founders of Washington Speakers Bureau. They were then and are now true class acts, and they were...
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The Real Danger in Not Changing
Lots of speakers and consultants like to scare audience and clients. “If you don’t change, you’ll become extinct!” Here’s the funny thing: I see lots of staid and stodgy companies that haven’t changed...
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The Biggest Change in Leadership Isn’t in Leaders
An audience member recently asked me, “What is the biggest change you’ve seen in leadership in the past 30 years?” I didn’t have to think about it long. “The biggest change I’ve seen isn’t in...
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This #GivingTuesday, Give Back
Today is #GivingTuesday, the National Day of Giving, in wonderful contrast to Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This day is about giving back, which reminded me of my dear friend, regrettably no longer...
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The Power of the Simple Gesture
This is an email I recently received from Uber. It is a simple but eloquent business touch: It reinforces my good behavior as a passenger. It reminds me that I’m being evaluated. It invites me to...
View Article5 Quick Tips for Motivating Others
Everyone is motivated. The big question is what are they motivated to do and why? Few subjects are more often discussed and less understood by managers and leaders than workplace motivation.To get the...
View ArticleTwo Clues a Leader is about to Fall
Success may leave clues, but clues often proceed failure. I’ve been following closely the moral collapse of two different leaders over the past several months. I was struck by how similar the themes...
View ArticleObservations from a Small Town
Normally I as a leadership speaker write more about the opportunities and challenges of leadership. Occasionally I share observations. This is one of those time and one of those posts. When I moved to...
View ArticleUnqualified Happiness
During a recent visit to speak for a group at Rough Creek Lodge and Resort in Texas, a woman spoke to me as we passed. “This place is amazing…except for the humidity!” She put a condition on amazing...
View ArticleBetter than Best Practices
Clients often ask me to speak about best practices, and here’s what I tell them: I don’t believe in best practices. The phrase—best practices—sounds grand and worthwhile. But the truth is, the concept...
View ArticleWhat a Football Coach Can Teach You about Getting Better
Woody Hayes spent twenty-eight seasons as the head football coach at Ohio State University, and then he was fired after a now-infamous incident in the 1978 Gator Bowl. With time running down in the...
View ArticleSpeaking: The Art of the Fast Start
“Hello, and thanks, Bob, for that great introduction. Really, I appreciate it. You read it just like I wrote it..ha ha! And good to be here with you tonight. Dinner was really good. Did you enjoy it?...
View ArticleThe Dangers of Overthinking and Underthinking
How much earth in cubic feet is there in a hole one foot by one foot by one foot? It’s an old question. The answer? None. It is a hole. Questions like that can trick us into overthinking the answer....
View ArticleReactions Provide Clues but Not Conclusions
For most of the six hours I was conducting the seminar, I had an attendee in the third row who mostly stared at the ceiling with his mouth partially open. It distracted me greatly and made me a little...
View ArticleThe One Thing Great Leaders Have in Common
What’s the one thing all successful leaders have in common? For thirty years, I have been asked this question and for thirty years I didn’t have a satisfactory answer. I could have made something up,...
View ArticleHow to Turn Customer Service Mistakes Into Happiness
The experience you create for a customer is important, but how they feel about that experience is critical. Welcome to the emotionl economy. In my new book, The Intention Imperative, I explain how to...
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