Respect vs. Affection
When your priority is to be "liked" you will find yourself constantly compromising to achieve your desired levels of affection, Moreover, your communications will be dishonest at times, with a reluctance to give others harsh but accurate feedback and their
What If You Build It and No One Knows? Did You Build Anything?
The movie "Field of Dreams" created a really bad metaphor: "Build it, and they will come." They left out a phrase. Build it, and tell them you've built it, and they will come. I've worked with too many people who are "best
Powerless
Why don't people allow others to merge into traffic, alternating between two lanes? Why do they force themselves forward and aggressively prevent someone else from merging (or refuse to stop and allow someone to take a left in front of
Culture
I watched parts of a tape on the Coronation of King Charles. The ancient customs, the protocol, the history, St. Augustine's Gospel Books of the Sixth Century—all of this seemed to delight and even mesmerize the crowds and viewers. Yes,
Genius
I've stood next to two people whom I considered geniuses. One was Ben Tregoe, who cofounded Kepler-Tregoe in Princeton, and with whom I worked from 1972 to 1983, and had a continuing relationship with until his death in 2005. He is
You Think You’re Good? Compared to Whom?
I was watching a dance company that I thought was very good. I was sitting alongside a choreographer whom I knew. I asked her opinion. She didn't hesitate: "I'd say a six out of ten," she said. The perspective of an
Innovation In Drinks
My wife doesn't drink, and the famous Scorpion Bowl was a two-person drink. But now they have made it into a one-person drink, a true technological innovation!
Am I Abiding By Rule 47?
People talk and write about 14 laws of leadership, or 12 rules for motivation, or the 20 traits of excellent coaching. Why make it so complicated? Then there are charts with arrows and boxes and concentric circles. These are all
March Madness
There are two reasons I love the NCAA tournament far more than professional basketball (the NBA): For the vast majority of these kids—maybe 99.5%—this is their biggest moment. They aren't going to the pros and this is a dramatic national
Looking Good
Showing up for my semi-annual physical, my doctor said, "You're obviously healthy." I find that many doctors immediately estimate whether someone looks sick or healthy before a single examination or test. When I've look at auto dealerships, I don't care about