Over lunch, my agent posed a provocative challenge: “Write an article on chutzpah.” He believes the timing is right. In this difficult economy and uncertain times it’s certainly tempting to withdraw into a shell. But a better strategy might be a contrary one, throwing off the shell and putting yourself out there. One “chutzpah” sourceRead… Read more »
Recently, an Internet colleague asked me to share how my mind works when it’s in creative gear. The question has motivated this essay: an examination of how a second colleague’s brainstorming request initially stirred those creative juices and, then, how a sci-fi cinema classic and a current mega-movie really got the electricity flowing…or jolted meRead… Read more »
Yesterday I had a blast. It only lasted ten-minutes but the ebb and flow of the audience’s riveted attention and hearty laughter produced a slow to fade afterglow. I did some serious shtick on “Practicing Safe Stress for the Holidays” at a holiday gathering for members of Federally Employed Women (FEW)/Metro Washington Region. Consider thisRead… Read more »
“You’re being negative!” Recently I led a team building workshop, and that was a federal government Division Director’s reply to my questioning, “Why the ‘Front Office’ meeting had not been working?” Preceding my operational assessment a number of people noted: a) that for several months people were not bringing relevant agenda issues to the meetingRead… Read more »
These days everyone wants to be creative, to “think out of the box.” But how do you walk the talk? As a workshop leader who often tries to give organizations a “Jolt of CPR: Being Creative, Passionate and Risk-Taking,” let me share one concept that just might be an integral component of creative thinking andRead… Read more »
One of the challenges for an Organizational Development Consultant is getting management and employees on the same page, if not singing from the same sheet of music. Sometimes you don’t need management to generate static. Status distinctions within the employee ranks may exacerbate in-house tensions. For example, in one government directorate, scientists and IT folksRead… Read more »
Hi, A colleague/friend and I are thinking about ways of expanding a “psychohumor” message through various media, including training videos, new/social media outlets, TV and who knows whatever other media mutations will be spawned by the time you read this email. [Hey, I just was informed that my words have made it to Iraq. (TheRead… Read more »
A friend and career consulting colleague, Martha Collar, [email protected], requested a review of my book, Practice Safe Stress, for Best Practice Magazine (she’s editing) – Hong Kong based — with a circulation of 30,000 (including inflight on Cathay and numerous business lounges in hotels and airlines) and the theme is Corporate Wellness. I’ve pasted aRead… Read more »
Being a conference or retreat speaker and “Motivational Humorist” sounds like a lot of fun; and it usually is. However, sometimes you are asked to intervene with a group that’s under siege. At these times, the tension and acting out of frustration between management and employees or mistrust within the diverse employee ranks is palpableRead… Read more »
[Cautionary Note: This article may be hazardous to the ironically-impaired.] In this era of organizational restructuring or downsizing, or better still, right-sizing, or most on target, what I call “fright-sizing,” the challenge for top management is having the savvy and guts to gut much of your workforce while still maintaining survivor productivity and team moraleRead… Read more »