Almost fifty years ago, John Maxwell heard Zig Ziglar say something at an event that changed the way John viewed leadership: “If you help people get what they want, they will help you get what you want.” That day John realized that the heart of leadership is serving others. And boy, am I glad that…

Read More

Leadership is all about people; always has been, always will be. If you’re like me, you love to get things done. Maybe you tend to be task driven and action oriented. As I’ve traveled around the world with John Maxwell I’ve observed many leaders who share these characteristics. Which makes the most difficult thing about…

Read More

Listening is one of the most valuable tools a leader has in his or her tool belt. Unfortunately, the busier we are and the higher we climb in the organization, the more difficult it becomes to listen. I love Ralph Waldo Emerson’s attitude, “Every man I meet is in some way my superior, and I…

Read More

Are you a good listener? If you’re going to lead, you need to be. A 2018 article from Harvard Business Review states “managers who listen well are perceived as people leaders, generate more trust, instill higher job satisfaction, and increase their team’s creativity.” If you want to lead, you’ve got to use your ears. I’ve…

Read More

In The Contrarian’s Guide to Leadership, I read that “the average person suffers from three delusions: 1) that he/she is a good driver, 2) that he/she has a good sense of humor, and 3) that he/she is a good listener.” Although that is mostly true, it is meant to make light of a very real…

Read More

I love collecting good quotes. I’ve been doing so for over 40 years. One subject where I have literally dozens of wonderful quotes is communication. It’s one of my passions, so I pay close attention to what great communicators have to say on the subject. Here are just a few of my favorite quotes on…

Read More

As a communicator, perhaps nothing is worse than scanning the audience halfway through a presentation only to see people fiddling with smartphones, fidgeting in their chairs, or—worst of all—falling asleep in a puddle of drool. If someone had filmed my life, my communication blunders and mistakes could be turned into hours of humorous outtakes. Learning…

Read More

As any farmer knows, the growth of a crop only happens when the right ingredients are present. To harvest plentiful fields, the farmer has to begin by planting the right seed in rich topsoil where sunlight and water can help the seed to sprout, mature, and bear fruit. If any of the ingredients (seeds, topsoil,…

Read More