This past week I had the incredible opportunity to see and hear His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama, along with Sister Helen Prejean, of Dead Man Walking fame, and Vincent Harding, a long-time civil rights activist who worked tirelessly with Martin Luther King. The energy in the room was palpable. Whether you agree with their passionate positions on non-violence or not, their solidarity around tolerance, compassion and love is undeniable; and many of their messages are universal truths.

As most of you know, I am an avid reader of Adam Bryant’s The Corner Office in the Sunday New York Times. This Sunday’s article was succinct, powerful, and rich in information. If you are interested in building your skills and attributes as a leader  – this article is worth the time to read through completely. In…

Many of my clients have lamented about a broken system in their company, or the riddle of politics which hinders their upward progression. They admit to frustration and a desire to ‘change’ the way it works. Well, here’s a newsflash; unless you are the CEO, and often even that position doesn’t give you the power…

In working with a number of rapidly growing companies, organizations, and school systems over the years, it has been interesting to see several common risk factors for their ongoing success. Many have survived these challenges, others have not. These challenges are broad and deep and could easily be a focus for longer exploration. They have a since of…

Adam Bryant interviewed F. Mark Gumz, president and C.E.O. of the Olympus Corporation of the Americas, earlier this year. I was intrigued by many of the points made by Mr. Gumz. His comments relative to building a strong company culture, and through doing so, how a company can minimize the struggle faced with the lack…

How can we stand out? How can we entice new companies, organizations, clients, and potential customers to take notice of what we have to offer? This question is top of mind for many who are interviewing for new positions internally within their current company, as well as those looking for opportunity outside their company. There…

How many times have we gone to a meeting or hung up from a conference call and asked, ‘What was that about?’ Over the past few months, a colleague and I have repeatedly made that comment regarding meetings we have been asked to attend. And to be honest, even with best intentions, every single one…

I loved this particular The Corner Office article in the New York Times from earlier this month. It was with Jeremy Allaire, chairman and chief executive of Brightcove, an online video platform for websites, and conducted and condensed by Adam Bryant. It focused on Jeremy’s background, what formed his leadership style, and how he continues to…

We are in a recession. Secure jobs are valued. We don’t want to screw up and potentially lose our jobs. Fear can take over. What happens when fear takes over? We don’t stretch or take risks.  Creativity and ‘out of box’ thinking and execution is virtually squelched. We play it safe. Playing it too safe does…

Happy 2011 everyone! I hope your year is off to a great start. Many of you have asked me to recap the most popular posts from 2010 – so my first posting of 2010 is just that: The Top Ten Between The Lines for 2010! The best advice I ever got Do I have to be liked…