A Thanksgiving Meal to Remember

A Thanksgiving Meal to Remember

Lots of people I know, when gathered around the Thanksgiving table, take turns listing their blessings. That’s a great tradition. I’ll start now by saying I’m thankful for my family and friends and my health and my faith and for you. That covers a lot of ground, so...
Facing Your Fears

Facing Your Fears

I know a hero when I see one. And when I came across this video of a young woman named Amanda with a speech impediment who, nonetheless, had the courage to perform on America’s Got Talent, Check out Amanda’s video. I was reminded of another young woman I met years ago...
Avoiding Conflict

Avoiding Conflict

I was recently talking to a friend who is building a new home. Things had gone OK until the very end of the job when the homeowner received an email from the builder detailing several hundred thousand dollars of cost overruns from the project. Some of these overruns...
Put Pen to Paper

Put Pen to Paper

Handwritten notes, on nice stationery, are rare, and that means there’s really no better way to make a good impression and show sincere gratitude. If you struggle with what to say and how to say it, fear not! You have tools you might not have even considered. I wrote...
Read, Share, Repeat

Read, Share, Repeat

Read, Share, Repeat Those of you who know me, know I love to read. And I love sharing worthwhile books just as much. You probably also know that I publish an annual “Top Read, Watch or Listen List” of books and podcasts every summer in anticipation of your vacation...
Achy Breaky Heart

Achy Breaky Heart

At a recent Vistage Chair meeting in Huntsville, each chair presented an overview of their practice. There was a lot of great information, but one statement really resonated with me. Scott Morrow, a fellow chair from Nashville, shared a powerful insight: “One...
Five Bs of Communication

Five Bs of Communication

A CEO received an email with a PDF attachment from her VP of sales. The email said, “Please review the attached territory realignment plan for next year and let me know your thoughts.” Two hours later, the VP received an email back from the CEO saying simply: “Too...
Vacation Dos and Don’ts

Vacation Dos and Don’ts

I’ve noticed that many executives, professionals and salespeople don’t really ever go on vacation. Instead, they just relocate their offices to their vacation destinations—it’s easy to do with laptops, smart phones, email and the Internet. And these days, it’s easier...
Fear Not

Fear Not

PART 2 OF 2 In our last blog post, I talked about the crippling effect that fear can have on people. How it can distort reality, stop us from pursuing our dreams and keep us from successful outcomes. Fear causes all kinds of problems. It can make us fall short of our...