People’s attention spans have been steadily decreasing over time. I’m sure that doesn’t surprise you. Much has been written on this subject.  The response to this issue has been interesting. Instead of showing concern or alarm, we’ve accepted it. In fact, we’ve embraced it. Conventional wisdom suggests that we need to cater to this lack… (read more)

How much of your time is really spent on value-added work?  If you are familiar with the Pareto Principle the best guess is about 20%.  Commonly referred to as the 80/20 rule, the Pareto Principle states that 80% of outputs in a system are generated by 20% of inputs. Look at your own business and… (read more)

Four quick tips for opening your mind…this was part of farewell email that I sent to a group of young professionals that I was mentoring. My final bit of advice to them was to have the discipline to keep an open mind. ————- When someone does or says something that you disagree with (even if… (read more)

It’s been twenty years since I hastily scribbled the Value through information model on a piece of paper. At the time, I created the model simply as a coaching tool for my team.  Their presentations were heavy on information and light on analysis and interpretation. Little did I know that the model would increase so much in its… (read more)

“Engagement has consistently fallen for three years.” This statement was one of three pieces of evidence that I provided to support my recommendation that we needed a new employee engagement strategy.  I thought it was a pretty straightforward. I continued my presentation to talk about our new ideas for engagement. But, the senior executive stopped me…. (read more)

This is a repost from Sept-2016. A recent conversation with a friend made me think it might be time for a reminder. ————————————- Several years ago, when I started my consulting practice, I needed to purchase life insurance. I contacted three insurance agents and told them my need (the type of policy and coverage amount). Two… (read more)

Does your team understand their goals for the year? I bet they do. Most good leaders know how to set and communicate goals. What about expectations? How well does your team understand your expectations? What’s the difference? Goals reflect what you want accomplished. Expectations reflect how you want it accomplished. For example, your goals might… (read more)

Do you prefer busy, overfilled slides? If you’re like most people, I’m guessing you don’t. OK, now a harder question. Do you present busy, overfilled slides? If you’re like most people, I’m guessing you do. Why the disconnect? Why do so many of us do something that we don’t like for ourselves? More importantly, why do we do something… (read more)

Mr. McGuire: I just want to say one word to you. Just one word. Benjamin: Yes, sir. Mr. McGuire: Are you listening? Benjamin: Yes, I am. Mr. McGuire: Plastics[1] That conversation from the 1967 film The Graduate is one of the most famous pieces of career advice in pop-culture. Of course, if the movie were… (read more)

A few weeks ago, the internet went crazy over a letter that US President Trump sent to Turkish President Erdoğan. One of the criticisms of the letter had to do with its readability score. The letter was written at a third-grade reading level. This criticism reflected a common misconception. It confused simplicity and clarity with sophistication…. (read more)