As many of you know, I work very closely with educational organizations in our effort to reform, build, and lead excellence in the United States educational system. It is an uphill battle for many reasons – some obvious, others not so much. Nevertheless, the commitment, passion, and work ethic of those devoting their lives to children…

Loved this week’s New York Times Corner Office interview with Shivan Subramaniam, the CEO of FM Global, a commercial and industrial property insurer. Again, the simplicity of the wisdom is brilliant. Over the years, he and his company have crafted very simple goals for their company. They call them “key result areas” or K.R.A.’s. As he…

It is hard to believe the holidays are upon us! They are! As I ran errands this weekend, I couldn’t help but notice folks with less than chipper smiles on their faces. Frankly, I was probably one of them! Who knows why; there are a myriad of reasons which may be causing folks to feel…

“I attribute my success to this: I never gave or took an excuse.” Florence Nightingale What can we accomplish if we stop the blame game, quit making excuses, and take back the reins?

Recently, a client told me about a conversation where she felt she was being pacified by a preoccupied, passive listening. The listener, her colleague, was peppering the conversation with an occasional ‘uh huh’ and ‘well, do that’ or ‘sounds good’ to what she considered very important and sacred information. She could tell the listener was multi-tasking and not…

Have you ever been at a social outing, a professional dinner, or even a networking event when someone just keeps asking you a question which borders on inappropriate and outright rudeness? You have no intention of answering to the level of detail the person wants; and yet the inquisitor simply will not give up? I have. More…

I don’ t know about you; yet my basic email traffic has soared in the last few years. Disregarding the obvious traps for eating time such as FaceBook (just ask Betty White!), Twitter and all the other social media temptations; basic email from just your internal network (not including customers, potential clients, and other external…

Recently I was in conversation with a group of young people (To me, that means anyone under 30) about ‘old movies’. I mentioned a favorite of mine: Giant, starring Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, and James Dean.  Giant was the last of  James Dean’s three films as a leading actor, and earned him his second and…

“It is an ironic habit of human beings to run faster when we have lost our way.” — Rollo May Have we lost our way? Maybe we need to sit and be still, instead of running, competing, jumping, and humping.  

Many of you know of my loyalty to Adam Bryant’s series, The Corner Office in the Sunday New York Times. I found this article particularly compelling due to Jenny Ming’s, president and CEO of clothing chain Charlotte Russe, authentic and humble answers to Adam Bryant’s questions. Two key takeaways for me: No matter how large or small a…