You’re right. This is not an excerpt. I have finished running the excerpts. I’m now hard at work finishing the book. For those of you who have never written a book, it is horrible. I have to make sure it’s organized, it flows, it’s comprehensive, it has exactly the right amount of words, its quotes Read more...
Fun comes from the leader exemplifying a culture where all are given the opportunity to enjoy in ways that feel right to them. There is no coercion. It’s natural, it develops spontaneously because people are encouraged to be themselves. There is an understanding that everyone is different, and a respect for and excitement about this Read more...
Having fun is all about energy. When you walk in the door you can feel the tenor of an organization and immediately know its culture. Is it a culture where people are appreciated, are encouraged, are involved, or a culture where engagement is outlawed? Is it one where people need to be told it’s time Read more...
On a recent trip to Boston, I had a meeting with the founder of a growing global public relations and marketing firm. When I entered the office, I was struck by how quickly several people with smiling faces came over to ask me if I needed help. Who are you here to see? Can I Read more...
Sometimes, even with your core story and values firmly established and leading the way, you just don’t know what to do when presented with a new business opportunity or direction. You think something makes sense and will enhance your value…but you just aren’t sure. You don’t want to hurt what you’ve built but you don’t Read more...
An early stage company I work with developed a wonderful and unique product after several years of research and development. This product successfully addressed a specific medical need and its efficacy went well beyond anything available. It rapidly gained patent protection and sales began growing… Initial users literally went into spasms of ecstasy when trying Read more...
The shiny stuff is everywhere. It’s multi-colored, sparkling, dazzling, entrancing glow catches your eye and captures your attention. But shiny stuff is ephemeral. It comes and goes, leaving you and your company behind, gazing longingly after it. It diverts you from those things that build your value and draw people to you, your core expertise. Read more...
So you have your core story, your employees are totally aligned and passionate about it, it’s grabbing the attention of prospects, your customers are engaged and share your story wherever they go, your business is thriving, all is good. Not so fast. What if everyone is focused inwardly on how great your product is, including Read more...
All too often business messages are random, disconnected, confusing, and lead to misunderstanding rather than a unified story. There is no underlying theme tying together the pieces. Your story needs to capture people’s attention in a focused way so that all peripheral themes that you incorporate and adapt for different groups don’t detract from your Read more...
Harnessing the power of Story enables you to create a shared reality. It defines your organization and guides all your activities. It leads to clarity. A clear and well defined story sets the boundaries of your organization. It gives you guidance on how to lead the organization and information on where it’s going. Company actions Read more...
We have this amazing capacity to connect with an individual or a group when we share our story or when a story is shared with us. Consider this: the plight of education in many cities is a litany of drop outs, low achievement, horrible physical conditions, and lack of books and other resources. We all Read more...
As the crowd watched in anticipation, the rumpled, self conscious businessman stood, gathered himself, took a deep breath, looked around, flung out his arms and roared, “I put people to sleep!” The crowd erupted in smiles, laughter, and loud applause. A huge smile filled the man’s face as he basked in the enthusiastic response. I Read more...
A successful business is guided by its Story. But Story needs substance to become real. Substance based on knowing and understanding the needs of people, substance that creates solutions and solves problems for people, substance that develops engagement and connection with people. And so I developed the triumvirate of paying attention…to gather information, adding value…by Read more...