In any leadership role, whether you’re running a family, a team, or an organization — or even in running your own life — there are three inevitables you’ll encounter: Difficult people Stressful events Hard choices As you face each of these, you have a choice: You can either respond or you can react. Responding is
Do you remember the scene in “Back to the Future” where George McFly musters the courage to punch Biff the bully? He’d just pulled Biff out of the car to stop him from assaulting Lorraine Baines. George and Lorraine’s future son, Marty, had inspired him to take that stand against Biff. Marty knew what was
Several years ago, I facilitated an overnight high stakes meeting for a group of executives. A week prior to the meeting, one of the executives texted me with demanding questions about his personal sleeping arrangement. Another emailed me with suggestions about our agenda. A third called me to discuss his concern that some of the
In August 1921, an athletic, healthy 39-year-old man awoke at his family cabin in Maine with a strange ache in his back. Despite trying to shake it off with a swim and a jog, the pain and fatigue increased. Within 48 hours, paralysis set in across his arms and legs. He lost all control of
Sometimes we experience alarm signals that aren’t cause for alarm. Every month our city tests its emergency response sirens. It’s just a test. The dryer in our house buzzes several minutes before the clothes are actually dry. Stores fail to remove security tags, triggering alarms when shoppers leave with paid items. The human brain also
One thing I’ve gained from nearly two years of seeing myself on Zoom and Teams video meetings is that I’m starting to truly understand how others see me. My eye contact, facial expressions, and other non-verbals have all been on display to me daily! Have you noticed anything as you’ve watched yourself during video meetings?
Jordan Spieth performed very well as a professional golfer until 2018. Expectations placed on him were very high—so high that his performance waned…until last spring. After winning his first tournament in three years, he made a profound passing comment in a press interview: If I’m feeling free, I’ll love what I do. And if I
Jennifer began her day with a well-crafted to-do list and good intentions. She ended her day exhausted and deflated. If she worked in a vacuum, maybe she’d have gotten through the list and felt accomplished. That’s not real life for her though. Too many things come at her during the day — email questions, childcare
Recently, I wrote about the value of mantras and shared a few of the mantras that help me stay focused on what matters most. After that post went live, a number of you shared your mantras with me — and they were too good not to share with the world. Consider taking a breath right now,
Last week I was utterly spent. If you and I interacted and I seemed distant, discouraged, or just a bit off, I’m sorry. At times I felt myself slipping into darker mental places. Places I’ve been in my life where I don’t want to return. When I’ve confided in a few others, some have admitted
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