Ever get a good idea? It starts out as a feeling that you might have a solution to a problem. A few days later you’re thinking Hey, I’ve got something here. This could really help. And the cost is well within reason. I owe it to myself and the organization to get this on the…
In 333 B.C., Alexander the Great’s army was marching through Asia. In one city a chariot was lashed down with an extremely intricate tether now known as a Gordian knot. It was said that only one person would ever untie the knot and that person would be the future conqueror of the continent. Alexander studied…
I have to share with you something that happened to me the other night. I’m at a restaurant having dinner with a colleague. We finally get seated, and the host hands us each a menu. Well, not exactly a menu, it’s closer to an encyclopedia. The options seem endless. We both struggle for a while,…
Have you ever been at a meeting and noticed that more people were on their cell phones, laptops, or tablets than were paying attention? Sometimes it’s hard to tell. People are getting good at holding their devices just below table top, so all you see is the top of their heads. But this isn’t a…
Have you ever had to choose between performing a task alone or with others? If you have, you’ve probably been torn thinking: –If I do it alone, I can make decisions quicker. I don’t have to sort through alternative ideas. I don’t have to persuade people to change their opinions. I don’t have to wait…
Have you ever played Whack-A-Mole, the classic arcade game? You’ve got a padded hammer, and when a mole pops up, you whack it back down. The object of the game is to nail as many moles as you can before they duck back into the hole. The moles don’t stay up for very long. As…
Dr. Reality has received an intriguing letter for this blog. It basically confronts a red-hot workplace issue, “Is it possible to perform at a level of maximum output without burning oneself into smoldering human wreckage?” Well, let’s read it first, shall we? Dear Dr. Reality: You have always been so candid and practical with…
Lately I’ve been trying to make a few choices. For example, I’ve been wrestling with either working on my income tax or getting out those pesky holiday cards—which one should I start on first? This morning I had to decide whether I should get up early and run a couple of miles, or stay in…
Ask people how they feel about meetings. Most people hate them and feel they are a waste of time. Monster.com and Time magazine agree—both list meetings as the #3 biggest time waster at work. We all know leaders aren’t perfect. But why do they continue to hold those interminable, aggravating, and results-free “walks in the…
What’s the bigger challenge—coming up with good plans or executing those plans? That’s the question I was looking to answer when I asked 700 webinar participants what they experienced most often in their organizations. I showed them a 2×2 grid with Plan along one axis and Execution along the other. I asked the participants to…