Category Archives: Learning

Difficult Conversations, Different Races, and Life Fertilizer

If you disagree with someone, how do you know when to rip off the band-aid or when to make a constructive criticism sandwich? People who rip off band-aids are always blunt and to the point with their ideas, whereas our … Continue reading

Posted in Conflict Coaching, Learning, Understanding Conflict | Leave a comment

Running Out of Time

“I don’t have time.” How many times do you say this throughout your week? With an overly saturated media environment, the challenging demands of work, family obligations, and socializing, there is little time left to do anything. The problem I … Continue reading

Posted in Learning, Organizational Development, Time Management | Leave a comment

Collaborative Competition…That’s Not Possible

The world as we know it wouldn’t exist without collaborative actions and healthy competition. Most of us prefer one of these two ways of thinking and acting over the other, but they are both necessary components of an effective organizational … Continue reading

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Leadership Flashlight

What Flashlight Do You Carry? Finding Your Focus™ What is the difference between a manager and a leader? Imagine that two organizational members are dropped into a pitch black room and both are asked to describe the type of room … Continue reading

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Workers Need AMMO

A good friend once told me about a successful Texas banking executive who made billions by starting and selling a series of southern banks. In spite of his financial success, he was feared as a businessman rather than respected. He … Continue reading

Posted in Learning, Motivation, Workplace Disputes | Leave a comment

Optimism, Pessimism, and Realism

If I read another Facebook post where someone describes themselves as a “realist” I might start pulling out my beard hair, which would really hurt. We live in a cosmopolitan society where lots of different people and opinions bump into … Continue reading

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Training Hecklers

A few months back I was conducting a training seminar for about 30 law enforcement officials. The title of the presentation was “Mediation Skills in Law Enforcement.” After some brief introductions and stereotypical presentation humor, I began to summarize the … Continue reading

Posted in Learning, Mediation and Communication, Understanding Conflict | 1 Comment

What do You Know, You’re Too Young? Organizations, Age, and Credibility

During a recent consulting project, an attorney relayed the following quote: When I first began my law career, I lost a lot of cases that I should have won. Now that I’ve been practicing for 20 years, I’ve won a … Continue reading

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Provocative Passion: Lessons from Steve Jobs

Do you ever find a book so intriguing that you cannot stop reading it and talking about the material? Everything about the characters feels like a mystery to be unraveled and you find yourself enamored with their personal characteristics, accomplishments, … Continue reading

Posted in Learning, Thinking and Speaking, Uncategorized, Understanding Conflict | 47 Comments

The Language of Loss

My family recently had to make the heart-breaking decision to have one of our dogs put down. This was not an easy decision because rather than suffering a traumatic life-ending event such as a heart attack, he was slowly deteriorating … Continue reading

Posted in Learning | 121 Comments