Note: this article first appeared in the Arizona Society of Certified Public Accountants July/August 2016 magazine. In 1995, Steve Jobs said “Life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact: everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you … shake off this erroneous notion ... Read More
Michael Dell gave a speech at the University of Texas in 2003 and said “Try to never be the smartest person in the room. And, if you are, I suggest you invite smarter people… or find a different room.” You’ve likely heard different iterations of this phrase. It may have motivated you to work hard ... Read More
In recent months, I have been interviewing senior finance executives and subject matter experts, exploring university case studies and reading other existing literature about the millennial generation. I partnered with Financial Executives Research Foundation and Robert Half to publish a white paper about millennials, those born between 1980 and 2000, and what can be done to prepare ... Read More
If you haven’t listened to Casey Gerald’s TED Talk, The Gospel of Doubt, I strongly encourage you to. Gerald is a Harvard MBA, entrepreneur and brilliant orator. He tells multiple stories about his life’s journey and the lessons he’s learned along the way. From his recollection of being robbed at gun point to joining Lehman ... Read More
Too many organizations fall victim to groupthink. Groupthink occurs when a group makes faulty decisions, ignores viable alternatives and takes irrational action due to various internal and external pressures. Often, group members try to minimize conflict and isolate themselves from outside influence to remain harmonious and loyal to the group’s cause. As a person who ... Read More
Have you noticed the mainstream media gravitates towards stories that divide people? My guess is you’ve read numerous articles discussing how generations differ and the dysfunction the supposed differences cause. Instead of thinking the differences are negative, let’s leverage the unique traits to uplift people, construct stronger teams, and create more productive organizations. There are ... Read More
In December 2009, Daniel Pink wrote Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, a book uncovering the human need to direct our own lives, to learn and create new things, and to do better by ourselves and the world. Pink labeled those three motivations autonomy, mastery, and purpose. In writing the book, Pink wanted to ... Read More
A few months back, I gave a talk about developing your personal branding to group of executives. A gentleman approached me after the talk and shared a few of his experiences conducting business internationally. After some great back and forth, he finally said, “You know what Michael, most of the executives I do business with… ... Read More
A group of friends and I recently hiked three mountains in one morning. While climbing the second mountain, a very kind gentleman stopped me and asked, “Has anyone ever told you that you look like David Beckham?” I wish I could’ve seen the look on my face. I responded with a smile, a “No.”, and ... Read More
An integral part of living your personal brand is sharing your growth and success with your stakeholders. Not in the same way Donald Trump does, but in a way that truly shows the value you are generating for society. If you’re an introvert, you likely find the idea of self-promotion even more difficult. First, what ... Read More
I spent Labor Day weekend in West Michigan with my family reminiscing about previous vacations, the difficulties (and joys) of raising children, the future of the United States, and a host of other awesome topics. The conversations were phenomenal. I hope your holiday weekend was just as wonderful. As I flew back to Phoenix, I ... Read More
The more people I serve, the more I see just how limiting self doubt can be. It amazes me how much the need for acceptance and belonging drives us to place extraordinary value on external relationships, material things, and arbitrary notions of success … at the expense of self acceptance and personal achievement. In a ... Read More
During Cisco Live, Cisco’s annual customer conference, CEO John Chambers said, “Forty percent of businesses in this room, unfortunately, will not exist in a meaningful way in 10 years.” He then said, “If I’m not making you sweat, I should be.” Whether you work full time for someone else or you’re an entrepreneur, does that ... Read More
I attended the Southwest Pathways Conference this past week in Scottsdale, AZ. Influencers flew in from across the U.S. to share learning best practices, brainstorm ideas, and plot paths for driving change in education models. For me, it was an insightful exercise in how government and educational institutions are repackaging their products to best meet ... Read More
A TED Talk by Paul Tudor Jones II about capitalism and income inequality recently caught my attention. I’ve listened to it multiple times as Jones II message resonates with me deeply because so many highly acclaimed economists are calling for another economic correction in late 2015, early 2016. Our focus on short-term quarterly earnings and ... Read More
Are you a “strike while the iron is hot” or a “good things come to those who wait” type of person? Washington University in St. Louis conducted a study, the first of its kind, that focused on brain responses after a person made a decision and was waiting for his/her reward. While waiting for the ... Read More
Eleanor Roosevelt once said “The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” So I ask, what is your purpose? What truly motivates you? How do you define wealth? If you believe that financial wealth (as opposed to ... Read More
Michael Simmons, contributor to Business Insider, interviewed many of the world’s top network scientists to better understand how networks create competitive advantage in business and careers. According to his research of multiple peer-reviewed studies (read the article here), simply being in an open network instead of a closed one is the best predictor of career ... Read More
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.” According to the website Statistic Brain, only 8% of people who make a New Year’s resolution are successful in achieving it. Doesn’t that number strike you as odd? Why do we make resolutions year after ... Read More
“To find yourself, think for yourself.” – Socrates I recently wrapped up coaching a client on the development of her personal intention, ambition, and value proposition statements and a plan to make structural changes to her business. She has traveled the world, won multiple statewide awards, speaks a second language fluently, has a beautiful family, ... Read More
A few weeks back, I had the pleasure of eating dinner with a group of executives who had flown in to Scottsdale to discuss a strategic plan for their professional association. As we went around the room and made introductions, I sincerely appreciated the diversity of thought, background, experience, and reasons for wanting to volunteer ... Read More
I recently flew to New Orleans, LA to give a talk about the value of collaboration to a group of financial executives. As the taxi drove me from the airport, past the Mercedes Benz Superdome, and onto my hotel in the French Quarter, I couldn’t help but to think of the images I saw and ... Read More
In a recent speech delivered to top U.S. education policymakers at the 2014 National Forum on Education Policy (sponsored by the Education Commission of the States) Gallup’s Executive Director of Education, Brandon Busteed, discussed the need to create an “Educonomy”. Busteed emphasized that education leaders need to measure and focus on the outcome that matters ... Read More
I’ve been very fortunate to deliver a presentation entitled “Organizations Don’t Change, People Do” at multiple conferences nationwide in the last six months. Its content is focused on different structural changes occurring in society, interactive discussions about who is responsible for change, identifying where someone stands emotionally in the three phases of change, correlating the ... Read More
In September 2013, Emmanuel Saez from the University of California, Berkeley published research entitled Striking it Richer: The Evolution of Top Incomes in the United States. The most important finding from his work was that, “… the top 1% (of income earners) captured 95% of the income gains in the first three years of the ... Read More
