I just wrapped up a long weekend spent with friends who truly understand the importance of human character. It seems that so many people have replaced honesty, integrity, and trustworthiness with a focus on the personality ethic. To me, the personality ethic is a focus on the accumulation of iStuff (i.e. iPhones, McMansions, brand name [...]

In 2007 Jennifer J. Deal, research scientist for the Center for Creative Leadership, wrote a book about the various generations in the workplace and how they were similar. She called the book Retiring the Generation Gap: How Employees Young and Old Can Find Common Ground. She found that all generations are similar in the following [...]

Greg Smith, former Goldman Sachs employee, wrote a scathing letter about the cultural change that had occurred at his former employer. In it he stated that the culture of the firm switched from being customer-centric to money-centric. He described meetings where no time was spent brainstorming about how to help clients, rather the entire meeting [...]

How many times have you been in, what seems like, a never-ending discussion with a colleague or spouse? I’m sure you can think of a few examples, even from the last few days. How many times do you let the words that are being said become a distraction from the real purpose or goal of [...]

There are many places that a strong 30-second commercial, or elevator pitch, will help you land a job. A version of it could be included in a cover letter, certainly at networking events, when cold calling organizations, and when attending career fairs. A great 30-second commercial is typically delivered right after an introduction and is [...]

I can’t tell you how often I talk to acquaintances that have leaders who are inconsistent in the delivery of their message and their actions. I’m sure you are thinking of a few right now. How did they make you feel? Confused. Underappreciated. Upset. Frustrated. All of the above, plus many more? Probably. You can [...]

I just received a text message from a good friend that recently completed a lengthy job interview process. Very simply, it said, “Got the job. I’m on cloud 9.” I was, of course, incredibly excited for her. I immediately started to think back to the conversations that she and I had about her process for [...]

After spending four years in the hospitality industry, and recently reading The New Gold Standard by Joseph A. Michelli, I was reminded just how important service recovery can be. I was very fortunate to work for two years in the Four Seasons chain of resorts. I was amazed at what the employees were willing to [...]

“You never get a second chance to make a first impression” – Author Unknown As the old saying goes, first impressions are incredibly important. Princeton psychologists Janine Willis and Alexander Todorov conducted experiments that show that it only takes 1/10 of a second to form a judgment about someone else. That is an incredibly short [...]

Every relationship, personal or professional, requires significant investment. The investment includes our time, money, and talent. Those of you who are already great at building relationships know that the process doesn’t stop after you’ve collected the business card. In fact, the process never ends. It requires constant attention. For those of you who are still [...]

Excellent customer service seems to have become a thing of the past. As an example, Amazon doesn’t post their customer service phone number on their webpage. You have to search for 10 minutes on other websites to find it. The big banks, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Chase, etc. spend more time developing technology that [...]

“Even if you be otherwise perfect, you fail without humility.” –The Talmud In Jim Collins’ best selling book, Good to Great, he wrote about how organizations move from being good to great. Besides focusing on hiring the right people, confronting brutal facts, and developing a culture of discipline, Collins describes how the organizations were led [...]

“In looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy. And if they don’t have the first, the other two will kill you.” – Warren Buffet So why did Buffet say that? I’m guessing you can think of numerous reasons why. MCI Worldcom. Tyco. Enron. Arthur Andersen. Firms on Wall [...]

“He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.” –Benjamin Franklin Grad school was such a great place to learn about accountability. As a student, how many times did you work on a project and 20% of the team’s members did 80% of the work? Thank you Pareto Principle. It seemed [...]