Posts Tagged ‘Change’
A Leader’s Balancing Act
Masterful chefs fuse diverse ingredients into a coherent, tasty whole. When cooking, they perform a kind of culinary balancing act, deftly bringing spices and seasonings into perfect harmony. Each element of the dish touches the tongue with its flavor, and yet none overwhelms the rest. Great leaders combine an assortment of skills into a single…
Read MoreOn Turning a Loss into a Gain | Adapted from Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Learn (October 2013)
Last time I wrote about the pain of losing, and how it can affect us long-term if we allow it to. Today, let’s talk about the premise of my new book, coming out on October 8, 2013. I believe the concepts within it can help you see losing in a different way and respond so…
Read MoreThe Most Important Leadership Week of My Life
Last Sunday, I returned home from the most important leadership week of my life. It was spent in Guatemala, June 9-16, where I was privileged to witness and participate in life transformation on an international scale. We were in Guatemala as part of my nonprofit organization EQUIP’s Global Transformation initiative. This effort was begun last…
Read MoreFrom Street Performer to Space Tourist: The Creativity of Cirque du Soleil’s Founder
Guy Laliberte’s parents (a PR executive and a nurse) hadn’t envisioned their son making a living by playing his accordion for tips from passersby. Hence, they weren’t exactly delighted when Guy informed them of his decision to bypass college in favor of becoming an artist. As much as they may have regretted his choice at…
Read MoreWhen the Crowd Boos
President Harry S. Truman readily took responsibility for his decisions, and he was famous for saying, “The buck stops here.” Though his approval ratings were only 20-30% for much of his presidency, Truman didn’t waver. “I know the public is against me,” he’d say, “but they’ll come around.” Truman entered the election year of 1948…
Read MoreChanges Worth Making
Comfort lulls us into complacency. We get accustomed to routine or familiar with a role, so we settle in. As leaders, we must relentlessly challenge ourselves not to let ease and security dissuade us from making the changes necessary to fulfill our vision. Perhaps the most difficult transition I chose to make as a leader…
Read MoreLeading in 3D
Samsung and Panasonic have elevated home entertainment another notch with recently released 3D televisions. Now you can wear the funky 3D glasses in the comfort of your living room to watch feature films like Avatar in an extra dimension. With four of the top ten films in 2009 produced in 3D, electronics manufacturers anticipate a…
Read MoreReading the Trends of Change
On February 16th, news outlets reported that Borders bookstores had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The bookseller chain planned to shutter 30% of its stores, or 200 locations, nationwide. Analysts are skeptical whether the slimmed-down Borders will even be able to survive. There’s a real possibility for the bookstore to go the way of…
Read MoreBe the One: Change
Change. Politicians promise it when they run for office, but seldom are the pledges made from campaign podiums matched by real, measurable results after an election. In fairness to our politicians, initiating change and carrying it through to completion is a monumental challenge. Attempts to bring about change encounter fierce opposition and entrenched resistance.Although most…
Read MoreThe Law of Empowerment
Biographers universally agree that personal insecurity factored heavily in the downfall of former American President Richard Nixon. Rather than empowering others, President Nixon clutched at power so tightly that he lost all sense of morality and ethics. Obsessively fearing his critics, Nixon authorized a domestic espionage group to spy on his political opponents. When members…
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