Category: Personal Development

Motivational speaker Jim Rohn famously remarked that  “you’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” ( Or, alternatively, as James Michener wrote, “Bad companions bring bad luck”)  The question is: who should these five people be?  One answer, and maybe the best one,  is “mentors.” Clearly, having

Spouses often complain that their partner brings the office home with them.   Good managers know that the reverse is also true.  This short but insightful article from HBR may help you understand the source of unexpected behavior when your co-workers behave unpredictably…… and why that behavior often has nothing to do with the

Many CEOs have taken a great salesperson and turned them into a mediocre (or worse) sales manager. The folly of this is almost a proverb, yet many leaders keep hoping their superstar in the field will be able to share his or her “secret sauce” with their entire sales force.   Taking

The most successful among us, in our midst, seems to be universally good at managing themselves.  Perhaps the thing they do the best is managing their relationship with their actions; especially starting and staying the course.  This short HBR posting suggests that our greatest struggle “isn’t actually doing the thing, it’s

Gold Rushes occur throughout history.  In 1849, thousands made a mad dash to California when gold was found at Sutter’s Mill.  Most returned home even poorer than they arrived.   In the mid-1800s, the railroad boom made a few rich but destroyed many more.   Remember the late 1990’s and the Internet bubble?  

Fairly or not, life is a first impression business, and as the saying goes we rarely get a second chance to make a first impression. Part of this is how we speak, especially in front of groups and how we rely on  “fillers” or “crutch words” such as “Um, “Ah”, “You know” and many others

Benjamin Franklin once challenged a friend,  “Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of.” You’ll love your time more once you realize how much of it you are wasting. Start buying back some of the only resource you can’t buy more of

Good habits are hard to acquire and bad habits are hard to break…and our dependence on smart phones doesn’t seem to helping in getting rid of the bad ones…until now. This short HBR article provides some great insights into habits good and bad, and offers some interesting technology options for dealing

One trait we don’t normally associate with great leaders is introversion.  Instead, leaders are often chosen for a winning, outgoing personality, which, sadly, sometimes is all that disguises an “empty suit.” Recent research from the Harvard Business Review may give cheer to introverts and a new perspective to those hiring

For decades, the Intelligence Quotient (IQ) was the metric most focused upon in assessing one’s chances for success. In the 1990’s,  the Emotional Intelligence quotient (EQ) took on increasing importance as a predictor of career success. Now comes “AQ”.  A short Wired Magazine article provides a good overview of how AQ along