The Most Miserable Trip of My Life Many years ago, I jumped at an opportunity to take a trip with my brother on his sailboat.  I thought it would be fun-ride the waves, drink some margaritas, etc.  Good times right? It turned out to be a horrible decision.   My brother had just learned to navigate by the stars and was all excited to try it out.  Unfortunately, he hadn’t exactly mastered the skill.  Because of his miscalculations we way overshot the intended harbor.  To reach our destination we had... Read More

Meeting Monday In my world, Mondays are meeting days.  One of the more important ones I participate in is our “Red, Yellow, Green” discussions.  This is where we look at the key projects and assign a color.  The color determines what we do with each project:   Green: The project is going better than expected; invest more people, time and money Yellow: The project is going as expected; no change in spending, people or time Red: Project is not (and has not) performed well; discontinue project as soon as possible... Read More

“Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody’s going to know whether you did it or not.” ― Oprah Winfrey Everybody’s Buzz Term It would be hard to find a major company in the United States that doesn’t have integrity as one of its core values.  Likewise, most senior executives, civic leaders and (believe it or not) politicians regularly talk about the value and importance of integrity. It seems everyone loves this value.  As a result, you would think almost every company and person, acts with great integrity-right? ... Read More

The effort to build your client list is what will keep your business going through good times and bad. It isn't the type of thing that ever allows you to rest on your laurels as any person or entity focused on business growth can tell you. That doesn't mean it has to be an arduous undertaking, however. In fact, building client list signees can be one of the most enjoyable parts of your job because it means other people can see the value in what you're doing, and what better... Read More

The question 'Why?' has been a bane to the existence of many a parent since people first started having children. If you've ever been around a four-year-old for a full day, you know the routine. Yet, maybe that four-year-old might be on to something with asking such a simple, yet, incredibly powerful word of being able to harness the power of 'Why?'. Why can't I have this toy? Because we're out of money until payday. Why? Because Daddy only gets paid once every two weeks? Why? Because that's how his... Read More