Wise words from my father – and how true they are. Until a computer, a car, a book, a movie ticket – the list goes on – is sold nothing new can be innovated, manufactured, or serviced. The selling machine drives everything – period. It is the fuel for the economy.  Here are five easy…

I read this little story about Tony Bennett, one of my favorite performers, over the weekend and it touched me. I thought it might be a great way to start our week: Tony says: ” I was going through a divorce and my personal life was a mess … My friend, Duke Ellington, who happened to…

A few years ago a client shared with me their paradox of “when is enough enough?”  She was on a quest to have it all, be it all, and be the best at it all. In fact, she likened this desire to a ‘Stepford wife’ scenario, mimicking the perfect drones from the original movie. Logically,…

When we are lost or hitting the wall in our lives and businesses, we often busy ourselves in a lame attempt to feel like we are accomplishing something. Have you ever noticed that? When things get slow – we busy ourselves. We push paper, we organize our files, we clean out drawers and closets, we…

Recently I have been asked to lead several board and executive retreats through their annual strategic planning process. The similarities of their challenges are startling similar – regardless of industry, non-profit or for-profit organizations. The days of plentiful donations for non-profits are gone. Double digit growth, for most companies, is a friend of distant past.…

As we go through life, I have come to believe we need to do exactly what our ‘yeah, but’ voice says we should not! We need to embrace our opportunities and go for them! Take the plunge. Write the book. Call the new friend we just met. Bid the job which will be a stretch.…

As we come back from this July 4th holiday weekend, I ran across stories of five Congressional Medal of Honor recipients which touched me to the core. These men are basically ordinary individuals who performed extraordinary acts. They went back again and again into enemy territories to protect their regiments, taking fire and shrapnel for hours…

What’s up with fear? We are scared, which creates a domino effect in the market. What other options could we take? http://money.cnn.com/2010/05/20/markets/markets_newyork/?npt=NP1  

“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” – John Maxwell

The concept of building a support system through collecting hundreds of cards at a networking event or even adding hundreds of names to your Facebook page is questionable. Let’s face it, when someone takes your card at an event, what is the percentage of time that you follow-up with them, or vice versa? That’s right…only…