Leadership & Management

Someone's Got To Go First

October 12, 2009

I was speaking at a conference the other day and something funny happened during the lunch break. As we all made our way to the lobby, everyone gathered around the buffet table in a circle, waiting. I was the last to arrive and wasn’t sure what the waiting was about. Was lunch still being set [...]

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Parenting a Negative Child

September 24, 2009

I was recently asked to comment for an article on the subject of parenting a negative child. I’ve got two kids and when they get in bad moods, it ain’t pretty. I really feel for parents with kids who are negative all the time. Every child is different, so I’m not sure there really is [...]

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Spreading Yourself Too Thin

September 19, 2009

Just interviewed for a podcast for the California Association of Directors of Activities on the subject of over-involvement of teenagers. I expressed my feeling that well-roundedness is over-rated. Our society rewards specialists and people who are excellent. When I go to a mechanic, I don’t care if he can also play the violin, write poetry [...]

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Coping With Change During Difficult Times

September 16, 2009

Earlier this year the Young Presidents Organization brought me in to speak during their trip to the Galapagos Islands where I was witness to an erupting volcano. It was one of the most violent, destructive events I’ve ever seen. But the next morning when we visited the other side of the island, we saw gorgeous [...]

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Embracing Failure

August 27, 2009

Imagine if failure was an acceptable option. What would be possible for you? How many more risks could you take? What else could you try? Most people never fail because they don’t even try. The fear of failure, sometimes referred to as “atychiphobia,” paralyzes people. They resist failure as if the experience will bring agony [...]

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Nine Reasons to Embrace Failure

October 23, 2008

I’ve always heard that “public speaking” is the number one most common fear. I once conducted a formal survey, however, and received different results. Overwhelmingly, my respondents chose “failure.” Like public speaking, failure is not inherently bad. We’re conditioned to avoid it, but there are plenty of reasons to change our perspective. Here are nine [...]

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