“Knowing is not enough; we must apply.

Willing is not enough; we must do.” Goethe

Many meetings quickly fade into the background of all the “meaning-less-repeat-what-we-have-already-done-before” dithering if we don’t start new conversations. Use these thirteen steps to make all your messages meaning-full. Don’t try and make people act differently, help them think differently. Encourage new behaviors by starting new conversations.

1. Creating a Buzz

The most successful messages are not thos...

I would have thought that employees’ communications would show more deference to their superiors but the stats tell a different story.  In a yearlong review of email exchanges among employees, peers and supervisors, researchers found that “linguistic markers that convey a willingness to yield to another’s preferences or opinions as a sign of respect or reverence”[i] are more common in peer to peer communications...

I am not a fan of all the trendy new coaches.  I was a personal coach long before coaching was a profession.  In the seven years I managed athletic clubs our teams were responsible for growing the largest chain of fitness facilities in the Pacific Northwest serving more than 50,000 members.  Now it seems you can’t go anywhere without being accosted by a “personal coach” of some kind.

In 2009 I was certified as a coach by the same man who founded Sylvan Learning Centers; but Berry Fowler...

I was recently asked to perform an “attitude intervention” for a group of VERY unhappy Federal employees.  The process began like a James Patterson novel with all the evidence pointing to a single culprit.  Team members consistently used words like hurtful, demeaning, belittling, blame, fear, reprisal, micromanaging, dishonest, inconsistent, unapproachable, controlling, forgetful, favoritism and defensive to describe their work experience...

According to dictionary.com the definition of succession is “the coming of one person or thing after another in order.”   What if the order that made absolute sense in the past is no longer effective or even relevant?  How do you select the best successor when you are charting new territory?  Maybe un-succession is a better alternative.

To find some new thinking on the subject I reviewed the writings of someone who has been recognized as one of the world’s foremost authorities in thinkin...