As a young boy I lived with my family in Cuba, where my father was stationed. We lived in a village near the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, and I played with the neighborhood kids or fished off the back deck of the house (when I wasn’t in school). I have a vivid memory of aRead… Read more »
I’m not sure who got more out of our time together, Miguelito, my employees, or me. He was nine when I met him. Both of his parents were serious alcoholics. I was stationed overseas and living by myself in a modest two bedroom concrete house in the mountains. Miguelito (Spanish for “Little Michael”), like theRead… Read more »
Below is an article I wrote for ASTD on the above topic: Virtually everyone seems to agree that great organizations generally have high morale. After all, when morale is high, the employees tend to have more energy and greater focus on achieving the organization’s goals. Conversely, when morale is low, employees seem to have lessRead… Read more »
You wouldn’t hire Jonathan Ive and put him in a cubicle with an underpowered Lenovo laptop, would you? You wouldn’t sign Peyton Manning to run the triple-option offense, would you? You wouldn’t hire Tony Stark but tell him he’s not allowed using your tools, would you? Then why do organizations continue to hire social mediaRead… Read more »
We are all leaders. At some point in our careers and even personal lives, we have the opportunity to lead. But what makes us successful leaders? There are countless articles, whitepapers, books, and journals of what a good leader looks like. In your experience, what do you think are the top 3 traits of aRead… Read more »
Friends: I thought you might be interested in my latest article on visual management: Visual Management is a system of management that uses all of your available space to send a consistent, whole-brained message which focuses on accomplishing your mission and achieving your goals. At the same time, it will help you engage and motivateRead… Read more »
“If you look up the word Army in the dictionary is a group of people. You don’t have to carry weapons to be an army. So a group of 13,000 people in the US Foreign Service in 275 embassies and consulates around the world is an army,” said Nicholas Kralev. Kralev is the author ofRead… Read more »
Genuine conversations occur when people are truly interested in what you have to say. Some cities are genuinely interested in the ideas their employees and citizens have and they put forth an effort to communicate that interest. A recent Next American Cityarticle highlighted how some city’s have tapped into ideas from employees and citizens. PhiladelphiaRead… Read more »
Fiscal cliff, political objections, merging agencies, and pay decrease discussions around the water cooler have many government employees concerned. Many of us are wondering what exactly 2013 is going to look like for ourselves and for our country. Now is the time for agency leaders to take action and encourage their teams. Culture can beRead… Read more »
Foster company culture to drive performance and success I went to a networking event held by a partner of ours last night. In addition to meeting some interesting people and getting to know some of the people we work with on a regular basis on a more personal note, I came away really impressed. NotRead… Read more »