We all have principles that we live our lives by, and it can be really frustrating when others don’t follow them, too. Here’s one of my guiding principles that it seems like few people practice: getting back to people with a clear answer after they’ve asked or offered you something. To me, it’s about showing
Years ago, a colleague of mine, Harold Knutson, was faced with a difficult decision: support the company plan to outsource, or take a stand for his belief that it was a bad idea at that point in time. As one of a handful of vice presidents, he could have put his head down and gone
In last week’s blog, Matt described what he’s learning from “Yoda,” the marriage counselor we recently started seeing. Matt received many comments, both online and in person, thanking him for his willingness to create a space where there is permission for the hard and the messy things in life. He and I had a follow-up
You don’t want to fall short of expectations. And you probably have to rely on other people to help you deliver on your expectations. If those people are different from you, they likely interpret standards and expectations differently. The bottom line: excellence requires consistent accountability for results, and fostering consistent accountability is challenging. A friend
A senior executive recently admitted to my brother-in-law that his organization was more focused on doing tasks than being customer-focused. My brother-in-law is a partner at a global management consulting firm, so he naturally set out to answer this question: How do organizations remain customer-focused amidst the continuous pressures on employees to get their work
A few weeks after giving this interview, Caroline Kennedy ended her 2008 campaign for U.S. Senate. Her performance was disparaged as not befitting the level of professionalism and poise required in leadership. The culprit? Filler words. In fact, many professional speech patterns (sometimes my own included) are littered with filler words. My dad was a
“It is not the events that happen to us that cause our feelings and behaviors—it is our thoughts or, as we’ll call them, Beliefs (“Bs”) about the events that drive how we feel and what we do.” – Dr. Karen Reivich and Dr. Andrew Shatte In the book The Resilience Factor: 7 Essential Skills for
Last week my two 8-year old boys hit the streets to sell pizzas. They agreed that the money should be raised to pay for their involvement in hockey, and they seemed to understand that it was good to learn to sell. Most of all, they were excited about the $1 commission they’d get on each
There we were, four adult friends gathered together in a bar, looking perfectly put together on the outside, talking about the anxiety and depression that run deep through our families into each of our hearts. While we are all very functional in our demanding professional roles, we carry a dysfunction in our minds. We have
It’s a knowledge economy, and ideas are the birthplace of innovation. Finding opportunities to expand your knowledge will increase your self-awareness, creativity and perspective. As I’ve written before, podcasts are a great place to tap into knowledge. In this post, I’ve curated some of my top sources for respectful, relevant and really good podcasts. Push your
Matt Norman is president of Norman & Associates, which offers Dale Carnegie Training in the North Central US. Dale Carnegie Training is a global organization ...READ MORE