#hey,what's,next? Helping difference-makers do better

The Remarkable Benefits of Seeking and Finding Good Advice

Advice, Decision-Making, Personal Development

There's zero doubt that mentors and advisors have played a significant role in my life. Good advice and good mentorship are really synonymous. At times when I was facing decisions, weighing options, or having some sort of crisis, there'd…

STARTING OVER:

Character, Leadership, Management, Perseverance, Purpose, Relationships

Turning Your Endings into New Beginnings This recent article in the New Yorker caught my eye. Soon I was laughing out loud. Let's just say I relate. After all, who knew I'd be pursuing a new career after my 70th birthday and lovin' it. Changes! I've…

Up-skill Your Role With Unstructured Learning

Executive Development, Leadership, Management, Motivation, Perseverance, Productivity, Resilience

Early in my career, I was a 6th-grade teacher in an inner-city school that was politely ranked as "difficult." One of my early moves was to make homework optional. My learning agreement with students was that they would have to put in…

The Minimalist Habit and Why You Might Want This

Advice, Character, Decision-Making, Executive Development, Finding Focus, Finding Mindfulness, Habits, Management, Purpose, Strategy

Photo by Author Recent times have given us the opportunity to pause, reflect, perhaps change direction, or clarify what matters. Pandemic restrictions have…

7 Ways to Build Your Resilience

Character, Executive Development, Leadership, Management, Perseverance, Relationships, Resilience, Strategy

I love this time of the year. The unmistakable scent of damp earth, cut grass, and fresh pollen evoke the real prospect of new growth and possibility. Knowing that it's getting warmer and lighter every day here in the northern…

5 Amazing Ways We Fool Ourselves

Advice, Character, Decision-Making, Executive Development, Finding Mindfulness, Just Plain Fun, Leadership, Management

Amazing Ways We Fool Ourselves Historically, April 1st should be the most light-hearted day of the year. If ever we needed a splash of levity in our sea of seriousness, it's now. It's a day of hoaxes, pranks, and practical jokes with…

A PERSONAL STIMULUS CHECK

Executive Development, Leadership, Motivation, Perseverance, Productivity, Purpose

A PERSONAL STIMULUS CHECK True confession: It's hard for me to stay motivated these days. And that's unusual for me. Usually, I'm a pretty motivated self-starter type, but I hit some invisible wall and have to dig way…

DEGREES OF TRUTH, GRASPING FOR REALITY And WHY THAT CONCEPT STILL MATTERS

Character, Decision-Making, Executive Development, Finding Focus, Leadership, Management, Organizational Health, Productivity, Strategy

Degrees of Truth, Grasping For Reality, and Why That Concept Still Matters I love this fight scene from Monty Python & the Holy Grail. The fictional Black Knight valiantly denies King Arthur from crossing his bridge and loses…

REGRET HAS A DARK SIDE- THREE WAYS TO OVERCOME IT IN 2021

Advice, Executive Development, Finding Focus, Finding Mindfulness, Leadership, Motivation, Perseverance, Productivity, Strategy

Regret Has A Dark Side Here Are Three Ways To Overcome It In 2021 Well now. Didn’t see that coming! Regrettable. Tragic. Heartbreaking. Painful. Difficult. It’s like the cosmos did a once-in-a-century hit-and-run and there’s…

2020: BLESSED, STRESSED, AND DOWNRIGHT HARD (Revisiting The BIG WHY)

Leadership, Management, Motivation, Perseverance, Productivity, Purpose, Strategy, Success

"What's a behind me .....is not important!"

COMPLICATED VERSUS COMPLEX – You Don’t Need To Be A Brainiac To Spot The Difference

Advice, Decision-Making, Leadership, Organizational Health, Planning, Productivity, Strategy, Success

COMPLICATED VERSUS COMPLEX You Don't Need To Be A Brainiac To Spot the Difference I think we can agree that the world became a more complex place in 2020. The grand irony is that I chose “simplify” as one of my guiding themes…

THE CURSE OF INTERESTING TIMES and A FEW ANTIDOTES

Advice, Decision-Making, Executive Development, Leadership, Management, Productivity, Strategy, Success

THE CURSE of "INTERESTING TIMES" and A FEW ANTIDOTES "May you live in interesting times"- Unknown This Confucius-style saying poses as a blessing while delivering an underhanded curse. If received as a “curse”, it wishes…

Would More Confidence Help You Lead? The first time I got fired…

Finding Focus, Leadership, Management, Perseverance, Strategy, Success

The First Time I Got Fired One of my first summer jobs in high school was working on a concrete forming crew. It was grueling, sometimes dangerous work setting up heavy oil-soaked panels in the hot sun, but I kind of liked it. I took pride…

Today’s Toughest Leadership Challenge – Forty Leader Conversations

Finding Focus, Leadership, Management, Perseverance, Planning, Purpose, Strategy, Success, Time Management, Uncertainty

Hang in there with me for a bit. This is Part 1 of a 2 Part-er I’m trying to capture the prevailing mood of what's happening these days. We’re navigating the vague ambiguities of just about everything, and I’ve got to admit, I’m…

Why Waiting Can Make Us a Wee Bit Bonkers (it’s actually not the wait that drives you crazy)

Advice, Leadership, Management, Perseverance, Planning, Strategy, Time Management

I’m not a patient person, so waiting in line for anything, anytime, is a detestable activity to be strenuously avoided. Some part of me decided a long time ago that there are some things that life is just too short for.…

Climbing Out of the COVID Rabbit Hole and Looking Back, Forward and Up

Leadership, Management, Perseverance, Planning, Purpose, Strategy, Success, Vision

The crisis has been physical, emotional, spiritual, financial, political, and existential. It’s individual and collective. I hope you and yours are doing ok.

Feeling Grim? The Call For Courageous Leadership In Days Like These is More Important Than Ever

Leadership, Management, Perseverance, Purpose, Strategy

The call for courageous leadership in days like these is more important than ever. Why? Because authentic leaders find their mojo in times of great uncertainty. Now’s not the time for a predefined response plan. It requires leaders…

Personal Strategies For This Moment In History (Just Fly The Plane!)

Advice, Leadership, Management, Perseverance, Strategy

JUST FLY THE PLANE! Focus on what matters. It's both profound and eerie to be living out this moment in history in real-time. Everything happened so fast. And it keeps on happening in waves. It overwhelms. History,…

If Humility Is The New “Smart”, Couldn’t We All Be A Bit Smarter?

Character, Leadership, Management, Productivity, Strategy

Does the virtue of humility still have a place in 21st-century leadership? There'a surprising new role emerging.

An Ancient Story That Still Holds True Today

Advice, Character, Decision-Making, Productivity, Purpose

We all have fears big and small that hang us up. Once you know exactly what they are, you can name them, face them and develop some workaround strategies that move you forward.

Where Are You Looking In 2020?

Habits, Planning, Productivity, Strategy, Vision

You always go where you look. Counter intuition can be your friend. Going fast is over-rated.

What Does Success Look Like For You ? How Do You Know When You Get There?

Advice, Character, Feedback, Modern Leadership, Motivation, Perseverance, Purpose, Success

Finding yourself on a hamster wheel chasing success. This definitive guide will help

The Two Most Important Days Of Your Life

Modern Leadership, Purpose

Meet Festus the dog. (seen here with my sis) Upon our first meeting, I got a perfunctory sniff. He mulled it over for a bit, then cautiously decided I was ok. We soon became fast friends. Festus lives on cattle farm with…

What’s Your AQ? And why does it matter?

Advice, Character, Habits, Relationships, Success

What's Your Authenticity Quotient? Ok I made that up, but I’m pretty sure it's a thing. It has to do with your personal leadership credibility. We all know about IQ. It’s your Intelligence quotient score derived…

Your Goals for 2019 – How’s It Going?

Modern Leadership, Planning, Productivity, Strategy, Time Management

September is always a reality check time for me. Time to park my liminal “summer brain” and get back at things. If you're part of my community, I can only assume you love doing meaningful work that benefits others. You’ve been…

Feeling Trapped In Burnout Mode? Help for the Walking Wounded

Modern Leadership, Organizational Health, Relationships

Burnout is what happens when you try to avoid being human for too long. Michael Gungor

Three Kinds of Work

Habits, Modern Leadership, Productivity, Relationships, Time Management

“Good Work should marry your purpose with your job description, and your soul with your goal.”

Stuff I learned from my dad, but didn’t appreciate ‘til later.

Relationships

Father’s day is the opportunity to reflect on the dads in our lives and the lessons we learned explicitly or not.

Leadership Google Style -Who Knew?

Habits, Modern Leadership, Productivity

I saved this Times article, not really knowing why. Maybe it’s because I’m a total leadership geek and try to absorb everything I can on this topic.Ambitiously named “Project Oxygen”, the mission, as reported in the…

The Ruthless Math of Relationships

Habits, Modern Leadership, Perseverance, Relationships, Strategy, Success

(Don't Try This Alone) “As humans, we’re hardwired to connect with others. Direct contact matters: tight bonds of friendship and love heal us, help children learn, extend our lives and make us happy. -Susan Pinker It felt like I had…

Habits, Rules and our Quirky Human Nature

Habits, Modern Leadership

We all have that stuff we want to change. We know we should but then we don't. Here's some fresh insights as to why.

Suck, Squeeze, Bang, Blow

Modern Leadership, Motivation, Productivity

I'm happiest when I’m reaching a bit beyond what I know I can do on my own.

Whats In Your Backpack?

Advice, Character, Feedback, Modern Leadership, Relationships, Success

Carrying the dead weight of the wrong kind of baggage just makes matters worse. Have the right stuff in your backpack for life. Recognize what needs to stay behind.

Little Game-Changers

Advice, Character, Feedback, Modern Leadership, Relationships, Success, Uncategorized

Hi there! I hope you're geared up for a fun, relaxing Labour Day holiday! One of the things I look forward to (even on holidays) is bringing you my best ideas and truth powered concepts that help us become better leaders in our work and…

My Summer Tetris Obsession

Advice, Finding Focus, Finding Mindfulness, Just Plain Fun, Modern Leadership, Time Management

My summer addiction: Tetris Life Lessons (with a little Bruce Lee thrown in for kicks)

Beginnings, Endings, Messes in the Middle

Uncategorized

Hi there!Welcome to my front porch.It’s the place I love to read, think, meditate, and visit.For several glorious weeks a year, the porch becomes central to my existence. It's a place where neighbors of all kind, nature and the divine all…

Why’s Change So Blinkin’ Hard? (Part 2)

Uncategorized

Hey Readers! It's that top off the month time again.Every month you can look forward to a hand-crafted, expertly curated blogpost and update from me on the 1st of every month except when that falls on Sundays or if I'm off the grid and…

Threescore and Ten: What It Feels Like

Uncategorized

Hey there, Recent studies have shown that the more birthdays you have the longer you'll live. Who knew! The Very Best Work I Do Is Here It's an early go today so I'm jumpstarting with a hand crafted double shot Americano from my trusty…

Why Is Change So Blinkin’ Hard? (Part 1)

Character, Decision-Making, Executive Development, Finding Focus, Leadership, Management, Organizational Health, Productivity, Uncertainty

Hi there,Thanks again for being a part of our readership tribe.It's April 2 and we're 91 days into this rocking adventure of 2018. Already I've learned a lot from your responses and feedback on your 3 words for the year and a bunch of…

Dealing With My Monkey Brain

Advice, Decision-Making, Feedback, Finding Focus, Habits, Modern Leadership

Congrats! Opening up this blogpost is one of the better decisions you'll make today. You're one step closer to being a smarter, happier, and just generally more interesting and well-adjusted human being. Way to go!Every month you can look forward…

This Sucks!

Uncategorized

Aloha!Hey, all this blustery rain has me thinking Hawaii. Nope,- haven't been there, but I'm practicing just in case. My goal in connecting with you each month is to give you something actionable that you can use to improve your game as we…

My Three Words 2018

Uncategorized

Pull Up a Cup of SomethingWow! 2018 is really happening. I've just spent some time pondering the agonies, ecstasies, and everything in between of 2017. Also, I'm thinking through the year ahead. Right now, I’m watching a glorious…

Questions for leaders. Even better questions for life.

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Hey what’s next?

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