Hope and Influence
I have often said “sports sell hope.” I am a Kansas City Royal’s fan, and tonight is the sixth game of the World Series. The Royals are down 2 games to 3 to the San Francisco Giants. Tonight’s game is…
Category Leadership Development
Applaud Your Spiderman
I few weeks ago I was doing a training session for managers on Motivation with MRI Global in Kansas City. As part of the training and to warm up the group, I teach people how to applaud. It sounds elementary,…
Disney Leadership Lessons from a Father’s Perspective
We did it! We loaded up the mini-van with our five kids, made the two-day journey to Disney World, spent five straight days in four different parks, and returned home intact. This was our “once in the family history” Disney…
Start, Stop, Continue Feedback Model
Last week I had the chance to listen to a wonderful presentation by Denisa. She was a participant in a leadership program I delivered, and she was giving a “things I learned presentation.” This presentation once again reminded me that…
Are You Wearing Your Leadership CAP?
The message, voice, and confidence of a leader are critical in influencing people. Your team, family, organization, company, church, non-profit, and community need you to put on your Leadership CAP and speak up. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream”…
Zinger Free Zone
The culture of a team is defined by the behaviors of that team. Identify the behaviors and you will know the culture. It is that simple. I have had the opportunity to work with thousands of teams over the…
Why Great Leaders Take Scheduled Vacation Time
In January, I took time for a full-day retreat. It was a time for me to get focused for the year. One of the first action items was to put vacation dates on my calendar. In 2013, I didn’t do…
The Walking Culture – Part 4: Creativity
In a February 2014, Harvard Business Review Blog, Dan Pallotta, wrote: “A 2013 study by cognitive psychologist Lorenza Colzato from Leiden University found that people who go for a walk or ride a bike four times a week are…
The Walking Culture – Part 3: Coach
My Grandpa McCracken passed away last week. He was 94 years old, living in a memory care unit about a half-mile from our house. I often told people, “He lives in the moment.” We always walked together when I would…
The Walking Culture – Part 2: Learn
A couple of years ago I had the opportunity to travel to Bangalore, India for the first time to do some leadership development work with a group of people from around the world. On one of our days off, we…