During a recent trip to the west coast, I had occasion to spend some time with a client in the historical Silicon Valley. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California, this high-tech economic center is home to a large number of innovative business leaders, such as: Yahoo, Google, eBay, Oracle, Microsoft, Intel, Hewlett-Packard, and…
I recently enjoyed a very productive kick-off session to another leadership seminar series. Part of our focus dealt with the development of front-line employees. The subject of reading arose, and we discussed various authors and books which should appear on any must-read list. A few days later I received an e-mail from one of the…
With the new year just around the corner, it’s pretty safe to guess that a good many people will be dragging out their New Year’s resolutions from last year, dusting them off, and making preparations to break them all again within the week. Well, this year we’ve decided to help you better prepare for this…
Chaotic times breed new trends. They always have. They always will. New strategies must be attempted in hopes of reversing negative situations resulting from political, financial, and business influences. Many of these new trends are very basic in nature while others appear somewhat radical compared to what we have known in the past. One such…
Oh, to return to those wonderful days of yesteryear when things seemed so much simpler and a real friend was a real friend. It was Christmas school break back in the 50s, and Bobby and Tommy were riding the bus home, talking and thinking about Santa Claus. Tommy said that he had been a good…
Negativity abounds across this country today. It has for months now. In this complex world, we yearn for simplicity to reduce the ever-growing level of stress. The holiday season is upon us now, and we’ve been given an early gift. It is simplicity personified. It brings a smile to a frowning face, triggers memories we…
This very simplistic phrase, “Find a need and fill it,” has been around for a very long time. I first read about it in Entrepreneur Magazine many decades ago. They explained this strategy was the #1 rule for business start-ups. I later heard Zig Ziglar, one of the nation’s most highly regarded motivational speakers, share the…
It’s startling how quickly a long-standing tradition can suddenly disappear into the abyss of historic memories. When I was young, it was not unusual to drive down the street and see laundry hanging outside in most every yard—soaking up the warm rays of sunshine as they dried in the fresh summer breeze. Some folks used…
Recently, I facilitated the first session of a year-long leadership series for one of the largest financial institutions in the state of Michigan. The program was designed for participation by both senior executive members and the entire supervisory staff … in their quest to establish a cohesive leadership team. We’ve enjoyed a very productive 16-year…