Posted: December 11, 2025 | Categories: Management, Presentation skills, Self-Improvement, Team Building

Looking ahead to the New Year, are you interested in strengthening your leadership skills?  If so, there is one area of growth that must come first before anything else improves.  Do you know what this area is?  I’ll bet you do:  It is improving our listening skills.  Our skills in listening are vital in building trust and maintaining focus and clarity.  Here is some good news:  The next few weeks should give us ample opportunity to put a better edge to our listening skills.  Here’s how:

Think of a gathering you will be attending this holiday season. As you anticipate each event, work on developing a mindset of simply showing genuine interest in others.  Here is an example:

Last night I attended a church function, and as soon as I entered the door, I encountered a smiling older lady who had given me cookies during our last visit.  I began the conversation by saying how much I enjoyed the cookies and why I liked them so much. I then asked if she would share the recipe.  She was thrilled to do so.  Next she began talking about how she made the cookies. and the special people she gave them to.  It was her passion, and she was sharing it.  Our conversation probably lasted about 10 minutes, and all we talked about was the cookies and how she loved to give them away.  I walked away from the conversation knowing I had sincerely given her my full attention, and also picked up a good recipe.

Before you go to your next social event, I recommend you go with these two objectives:

1. Have a goal of learning something about someone.
2. With genuine sincerity, let another person talk about something important to them.

Do this, and you will be exercising your listening skills and building good relationships.

Posted: December 11, 2025 | Categories: Leadership, Management, Self-Improvement, Team Building, Uncategorized

Jim Rohn was an entrepreneur, author, and motivational speaker who became a world-wide expert on personal development.  He started as a high-school dropout.  In his early 20’s he hired a mentor, Earl Shoaff.  One of the first questions Mr.Shoaff asked him was how many books he read a year. The truth was, he read very little.  “That’s not a good answer!”, Shoaff said.  From that point on, Jim Rohn decided that he would be an avid reader.  His mentor knew the truth:  High achiever’s read a lot!

Over and over again I find this to be true.  Think of the most successful people you know in this business world:  Most likely they read whenever they get the chance.  When they are driving, they are listening to books or some other form of audio education.

I was reminded of this truth just this week.  A client of mine reads constantly.  While reading in a spare half hour while waiting for his car to be serviced, he re-acquainted himself with an important management practice that he was falling short on.  After further thought, he realized that his management practice of holding a 15-minute team meeting each morning needed to be revived. He remembered that his team was most productive during the COVID outbreak. This daily habit was a critical factor. He began this week with absolute confidence that bringing these meetings back will help lead them back to peak performance.

Bob is an avid reader and he knows the payoff of keeping up with his reading.  Are you keeping up with your reading?  Are you reading enough?  With the New Year about to be started, what is your reading commitment?

Posted: November 19, 2025 | Categories: Leadership, Self-Improvement, Uncategorized

It may not surprise you to hear that an estimated 60% of workers do not enjoy their job. When I think of that, it makes me sad. It also reminds me that we are all unique individuals right down to every cell in our bodies. It is quite likely that every day there is an opportunity to use one of our gifts. The problem is sometimes we can get lazy and we say, “I don’t see my name on it.”

Many decades ago, Brian Tracy, professional trainer and author, identified these criteria to help us uncover and cultivate our special talents. Here are his key points:

8 Ways for you to identify and determine your special talent and what you are uniquely suited to do:

1. You will always be the best at something that you love to do. If you could afford it, you would do it without pay. It brings out the very best in you, and you get a tremendous amount of satisfaction and enjoyment when you are engaged in that particular work.
2. You do it well. You seem to have a natural ability to perform in that area.
3. This talent has been responsible for most of your success and happiness in life up to now. From an early age, it is something you enjoyed to do and you got the greatest rewards and compliments from other people.
4. It is something that was easy for you to learn, and easy to do. In fact, it was so easy to do, you forgot when and how you learned it. You just found yourself doing it easy and well one day.
5. It holds your attention. It absorbs you and fascinates you. You like to read about it, talk about it, and learn about it. It seems to attract you like a moth to a flame.
6. You love to learn about it, and become better at it all your life. You have a deep inner desire to really excel in this particular area.
7. When you do what you are ideally suited to do, time stands still. You can often work in your area of special talent for long periods without eating or sleeping hour after hour because you get so involved in it.
8. You really admire and respect other people who are good at what you are most suited to do. You want to be like them and be around them, and emulate them in every way.

If you can take time to answer these questions, this should lead you to the things you do naturally well, and enjoy doing. Find a way to weave your strengths into your work. Then go through the same exercise with those who report to you.

Posted: October 17, 2025 | Categories: Leadership, Management, Presentation skills, Self-Improvement

 “Hope for the best…prepare for the worst” – Chris Bradford

A prominent leader was once asked what the most important advice he could give someone to have a successful career. He replied, “Prepare relentlessly”

Have you ever found yourself getting jittery about an upcoming presentation or event?  If you are, my question to you is: “How prepared are you?”

Several years ago, I experienced a cheap lesson in the value of being over-prepared.  I was scheduled to facilitate some training at the headquarters of a major corporation.  I had put together a PowerPoint presentation and I was assured by the event coordinator that all I needed to do was bring the presentation downloaded on a thumb drive.  As a backup, I decided to bring my laptop.  It is a good thing that I did!  When we began setting up for the session, the tech set-up person ran into some difficulties.  The system would not work.  He began to panic.  I didn’t.  Instead I pulled out my laptop and it saved the day.  The session went smoothly, and I felt good about it afterwards.

When you are anticipating a future event, here are two questions I have:

1. What are you concerned or stressed about?
2. What can you do about it?

Answering that second question can lead to some additional research or rehearsal.  I will leave you one of my favorite quotes from Dale Carnegie:

“When you go through life unprepared,, you won’t go alone…FEAR will be your constant companion”

Posted: September 23, 2025 | Categories: Leadership, Self-Improvement, Team Building

Think of a time when you were working or interacting with someone and they “snapped” at you.  It was unexpected, and it took you off guard.  You may have reacted by saying or doing something that you would later regret.  Instead of reacting, I think there is a better way to respond in such a situation.

When I was in my 30’s, I was reading an article on Roy Rogers, the most popular TV cowboy of the early 50’s.  Roy had a full career and a wonderful life.  People loved working for him.  He and his wife Dale treated everyone like family.  His kindness was legendary.  To illustrate, one day he was talking to a team member, and they were getting tense and frustrated.  Instead of reacting, Roy paused with a loving sparkle in his eye and said, “Let’s take a walk”.  They did, and Roy just listened.  It should come as no surprise that his team member was struggling with something personal, and it was showing up in their demeanor.  Roy Rogers knew the value of taking a pause and listening to understand.  No wonder his team was so loyal!

Whether at home or at work, we will all have days when something is “eating” us.  It may relate to a challenge with a relationship, finances, or even health.  Whatever the issue, we need to not let it affect our work.  When another is showing irritation or frustration, we may want to take a Roy Rogers time out and get in sync with the other person.  If we do, we will be taking a step towards a more positive and productive team.