I also hear my clients make “New Year’s Resolutions”, only to fail after a few short weeks.  They stop trying to lose weight, drop their big dream or head back down an old worn out path.

While New Year’s Resolutions are great, my big question is always this “Why wait until the first day of the year?  Why not start now”?  and “What is the big dream you keep putting off?  What is stopping you from making that dream become a reality?”

To help get at the core of why this happens, I polled 50 business leaders, and I asked them the following 3 questions:

1. What is the big dream you have put on the shelf to achieve “later”?
   
2. What is stopping you from going for that big dream?
   
3. What steps are you committed to taking for the next year (that other people can learn from) in order to move in the direction of your big dream?
   

While not … Read the rest of the post

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Now that Steve Jobs is no longer with us, something tells me that he will be in history books as the man who truly changed our world during the 20th and early 21st century.  While he may not have been the best people person, there are many different types of leaders, and hands down, Steve Jobs (in my opinion) is the greatest visionary leader of the past 50 years.  He did not just change the way we live and work in the United States but changed the lives of billions of people worldwide.  In my opinion, someone who changes the entire world during their lifetime is certainly someone who defines true leadership.

When it comes to leadership, being a true … Read the rest of the post

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Did you get very, very sleepy?  I know I did.  Thank God the video was only 18 seconds.  The pencil tapping and fiddling with the keyboard were my first clues, but when he started nodding, leaning on his hand and YES! Finally fell out of the chair…I knew!  THIS POOR GUY IS BORED OUT OF HIS MIND! And the odd thing is, the employees in the background just kept on about their business as if this is a normal scene in their workplace…probably so!

How many of us, and how many of our employees feel just like this guy?  Just looking for an excuse to head to the coffee pot, to run an errand or get a terrible stomach bug in the middle of the day.

So, the question is “How in the world do you keep your top talent excited about not only staying with your company but literally dancing out the door to get to work every day?

The answer: RADICAL INNOVATION!

Radical innovation is going to be a critical component in a leader’s toolkit in the future, and this does not mean that you “try innovation” … Read the rest of the post

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Leaders Are Made When New Paths Are Made

By: Yvonne Thompson

“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” This quote by Harold R. McAlindon, author, speaker, and CEO more clearly defines what a leader does than any I have seen.   Here’s why. . .

When thinking about leading and leaders, I can’t help but think of those who blaze new trails and set new trends.  Not all leaders fit this mold; many remind us of a flag on a pole.  They stand above us waving, making sure we stay on course and remember who we are and where we are going.  We need those, too.  Without those, I think the work of the trailblazers would all be lost as we might once again lose our way when the going gets rough.

Leadership Arises

Then there are those leaders that don’t think of themselves as leaders, they just do what they do.  They are either appointed leaders … Read the rest of the post

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Do you think Steve Jobs is boring?  Mediocre?  Doesn’t shake things up?  Look at how he has changed our world.  Many of you will feel that he has made things worth with our addiction to the iPhone, iPod, iPad and all of the apps that keep flying out of Apple, but at the end of the day, Steve Jobs has revolutionized the digital industry.

And, I just can’t end this post without talking about Lady Gaga’s meat dress.  I know PETA is all in a tizzy, but I am not quite sure that this stunt was to show us she is a meat eater or animal killer.  Mabye just the opposite…how … Read the rest of the post

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