success

What We Really Need Santa to Bring for Christmas

The other day (not Black Friday!) I ventured out into the local malls to start my holiday shopping. While there, I saw a line of young children waiting to see Santa Claus. After pausing a moment to enjoy how cute they looked, I thought about what I would ask Santa Claus for if he catered…

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What I Learned Down Under

I recently had the opportunity to speak to more than a thousand CEOs and business owners in Australia and New Zealand. I had never worked in that part of the world before, so I didn’t quite know what to expect in terms of their most pressing issues and concerns. It turns out they face the…

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Appreciating the Best of the Best

The past few months have been a bit stressful for the Green household. My husband and I decided to move to Denver based on a number of factors we have been considering for some time. Mark got a job teaching in one of the toughest and lowest performing middle schools there (by choice) and started…

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Are You Afraid to Innovate?

Recently I worked with a very successful company that brought me in to shake things up and show them how to stoke the new product pipeline. In other words, help them innovate. I led strategy sessions with the senior management team. I gave company-wide presentations on the importance of innovation. I coached middle managers on…

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10 Good Reasons Not to Trust Your Brain

The human brain is a marvelous tool. However, it was designed for a very different world than we currently live in. As a result, it retains many design flaws that do not serve us well, especially in today’s business world where new ways of thinking and ongoing innovation are essential for success. Perhaps the most…

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Take the Innovation Self-Test

Ever wonder why some companies seem to effortlessly come out with one great innovation after another while others struggle to get even one new product or service out the door? There’s a reason for it. Innovation is a complex process that involves a lot more than just throwing money at an R&D department and hoping…

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What NFL Refs Can Teach Us About Business Leadership

If you’re a football fan like me, you’re undoubtedly glad to see the return of the NFL referees. The replacements did their best, but there is nothing to compare to the skills and capabilities developed over significant time by the ‘official’ referees. Overall, the situation reinforces the importance – whether in sports or in business…

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The Top 5 Things Employees Want (and Need!) to Hear from Management

Employees want good pay. They want to have some say in how they perform their jobs. They want to be treated fairly. And they want management to be consistent in word and deed. But if you really want a motivated, committed workforce, you’d better answer the five questions that every employee wants to know. 1….

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The Top 5 Leadership Skills for Sustained Innovation

Anyone can innovate once. But which leadership skills enable you to innovate on an ongoing basis?

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Strategy Ain’t What it Used to Be

Still doing strategic planning the same old way? Get with the new approach or get left behind!

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The Top 10 Ways to Dodge a Decision

Today’s hyper-fast business markets require making one decision after the other, often without pausing to fully think through the consequences. And as we all know, it only takes one bad decision to tick off your boss, sink a business, or even ruin your day. If the stress of making decisions has you bouncing off the…

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Stop Slamming the Door on Innovation

People in your organization are killing innovation without even knowing it. Find out how, and what you can do about it.

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