A Little Nonsense Might Be Just What You Need

A little nonsense, now and then, is cherished by the wisest men.” — Roald Dahl, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” Stress-relief benefits from a belly laugh* Laughter’s health benefits are no joke. A good sense of humor can’t cure all ailments, but data are mounting about the positive things laughter can do. Moreover, if you […]

5 Leadership Lessons from Ross Perot’s EDS

I worked for Ross Perot and his company Electronic Data Systems (EDS) from 1984 to 1992. Ross Perot’s recent passing at age 89 caused me to reflect on this critical part of my professional life. Ross Perot created a very strong culture at EDS and an important part of any culture are the language and phrases that are used to help guide actions and decisions. Following are the top five leadership phrases I still use from my time with EDS:

Four Strategies for Navigating the J Curve of Change

When implementing a change, we usually spend some period of time at the beginning of the change effort on what we call the vision or the desired end state. Inevitability, however, there is also a time at the beginning of the change when productivity or other results we are focused on go down instead of improving. Here are four strategies to help you minimize this dip and get your productivity headed back upward.

Trust Me, I’m Resilient

Without trust there can be no real change: in his original article written exclusively for CEOWORLD Magazine for their C-Suite audience, Michael offers tools for shifting from doubt to trust to improve resiliency in business relationships.

Bad News Does Not Improve with Age: How to know when to speak up

One of the key challenges of teamwork and leadership is when to bring up items of concern and when not to.  Should you give the feedback or just let it go?  Point out the problem you see (that no one else seems to) or “be supportive” (and see what happens)?  One obviously can’t bring up every […]

Dealing with Abrasive Leadership: Change is Possible!

We have all worked with an abrasive or “toxic” manager, and as an executive coach, I am often helping my clients “deal with” a difficult manager they work for, or working directly with the manager others find abrasive and difficult. I have a love-hate relationship with these situations because I am attracted to the opportunity to show real value and change that will improve people’s lives at work, yet challenged by the difficulty of making a positive impact on a situation others have failed to change.

No, He’s Not Crazy, Mean, or Stupid: Understanding Others’ Difficult Behavior

As part of a large organizational change effort, a IT manager (“John”) was having a lot of trouble working with an external consultant (“Robert”) who was hired to assist with some technical aspects of the change initiative*. The internal manager, who is a senior leader in the organization and had worked there for many years, […]

How to Forge Resilient Relationships in the Heat of Change

Author Michael Papanek takes three decades of experience with clients ranging from Apple to Google and shares it in his new book, From Breakdown to Breakthrough: Forging Resilient Relationships in the Heat of Change. His framework helps leaders develop the confidence to take these relationships to the next level. I recently asked him about his work.

Hearing the Hardest Feedback

Sometimes the most important feedback is the hardest for us to hear. I have learned a simple way to give difficult feedback to someone who is defensive or resisting. How can you say such a thing! My wife and I have been very happily married for over 25 years but have also had our challenging […]

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