In junior high, I gave a speech called “Optimism, A Way of Life.” Now in the business world, I continue to agree with that speech written so long ago. When one has an optimistic demeanor, he is capable of focusing his mind to notice the bright side of ambiguous events. After all, it is…

The top global companies target emerging markets for growth due to their potential rapid growth rate; however, they must consider their undeveloped industrial base and infrastructure, as well as their political and institutional instability.  Yet, they are creating their own multinational companies that compete against longstanding powerhouses, like IBM, GE, Exxon, Wal-Mart.  (Source: Emerging Markets…

  Developing a personal mission statement is important; yet, it is only the first step. While this first step provides clarity and focus, you must act on this mission in order to change your behavior and people’s perceptions. Only then, do you have the opportunity to achieve your mission. Do your employees know what your…

Most change management models discuss what to do to prepare for change; however, they neglect what happens after things “Go Live.” Sustaining your change successfully is a challenge, as you do not want to slide back to the baseline. For example, large scale technology implementations require employees to learn different skills, use different information, make…

There are many laws that seem unnecessary to me.  However, do I have the right to break these? The answer is no, so, we need better written laws with which to comply, right? Would you agree with me that it if you were in a car with no breaks, it would be better to turn the…

Marcus Buckingham’s new strengths assessment helps leaders find their edge to win at work.  Some key takeaways: Extraordinary results can be achieved in radically different ways….there is no “perfect profile” Your natural edge is where you have an advantage over everyone else…so natural, yet not apparent Combination of strengths is who you are….you need to understand…

  Newcomers are competing with industry leaders, a trend that will likely increase.  For example, South Korea’s Samsung is doing quite well competing against Apple. Apple is at the top of BCG’s most innovative companies for 9 years straight, and Samsung is #2 (which is up from 26th in 2008.) How do they do it?…

  It had been a while since I had traveled to the Netherlands, and on a recent work trip to Amsterdam I saw a new “piece of art” at the famous Rijksmuseum. There are large, 5 foot letters that spell out “I Amsterdam” with all the letters in white except for the first 3, which…

  Virgin Galactic sold 26 tickets at $200K a piece for spaceflights, in the hopes of launching by the end of 2012.  They didn’t.  However, this does not replace our fascination with space and the future possibilities. What might your company create in the future? For many people, the realities of today limit their ability…

  If you assessed the amount of money spent on government lobbying in 2011, it appears the most regulated industries spent the most to protect their interests (Source: Center for Responsive Politics). Pharmaceutical $182M Insurance $116M Oil & Gas $110M Electric Utilities $105M TV/Movies/Music $92M Computers/Internet $92M Manufacturing & Distributing $88M Securities and Investment $75M…