It vexes us all: that never-ending, un-prioritized barrage of messages—from spam to strategy, trivial to tragedy. Since nearly every coaching session I conduct makes its way to the problem of email, I decided to interview Nate Whittier, a good friend and the best industrial psychologist I know, to learn how we might manage email more
“Leadership is an intense journey into yourself.” – Bill Hybels The scene: An auditorium filled with thousands of leaders from around the world, gathered for the 2014 Willow Creek Leadership Summit. We watch as a group of kids with disabilities presents an honest, sometimes heartbreaking video that begins with each answering the question, “What’s hard
Last week, my wife and I became concerned about a rash that had developed on the head and neck of our newborn baby. Worried that it was an allergic reaction, my wife called the after-hours nurses’ hotline to present the problem. The nurse began by determining the urgency by asking life-or-death questions. Next, the nurse
Categorizing people by giving them labels is something we humans are really good at. We’ve always had tribes, territories, kingdoms, neighborhoods, cliques and departments, and sometimes these boundaries are helpful and healthy—they help us determine where we stop and others start in processes, laws and affinities. But other times, putting someone in a category makes
What if you knew as much about immigration reform as you do about your job? What if you were as comfortable discussing the trade-offs of imposing economic sanctions on other countries as you were discussing your favorite sport? What if you had as much of a well-informed point of view about poverty alleviation as you
What’s in a name? Since leading the Supreme Court, Chief Justice John Roberts has bucked a long-standing tradition. Instead of referring to lawyers arguing cases as “Opponents,” he calls them “Friends.” About this shift, Harvard law professor Richard Lazarus said in a recent Wall Street Journal article, “I think it does have an impact on
“The longer I’m a leader, the more I’m convinced that the key to my success is discerning who to disappoint and what I can’t get done.” The executive who said this has a point. I work with someone who has the ability to disappoint people, and it’s made her extremely valuable to the company—because she
Last week I talked about three of the people who have inspired me recently. Every week we can find these moments of inspiration, both large and small, if we’re willing to look for them. Who moved you this week? Who made you sit up taller, think more clearly or engage more deeply? Here are three
Who moved you this week? Who made you sit up taller, think more clearly or engage more deeply? Here are three lessons of inspiration I learned this week. 1. Being flawed is being human. In telling me about his journey of accepting being flawed and broken, Dave talked about his desire to be perfect and
Why do we immediately check email when we get up? Or dig our heels into an opinion before sincerely trying to understand another’s point of view? Or set our alarm with just enough time to do what needs to be done before our day begins? Because we rush our swing. I’ve recently discovered that after
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