Mar 4, 2009

Creativity

“When two needs meet, an opportunity is born. When they converge to serve a third cause, creativity is the result.” © Aviv Shahar

Mar 2, 2009

Fifty

Strange. 50 in a few days. Graduating from high school was only yesterday. Suddenly 50. Back then, 50 looked like the other side of the mountain. Unthinkable. Whoops – it’s here. Feels strange to think I’ve now lived half of my life. It’s been a great ride. Learning. Wisdom. Understanding. Great teachers. Amazing people I’ve learned from and worked with. Deep gratitude. Living is so...

Mar 1, 2009

Coaching Champions

Michael Jordan, Lance Armstrong and Michael Phelps all had great coaches, what about yours? Running your business and multi tasked life can often be as testing as NBA matches, Tour De France stages or Olympic meets. To succeed you need to be focused, disciplined and strategic. You need a great team and you need to continue moving forward. None of these stars would dream of...

Feb 25, 2009

A Glorious Passing

Moshe Domb was a special man. At 92 he was an emblem of the greatest generation—hard working, curious and honest—a man of integrity and honor. Whenever we visited Sara’s family I enjoyed the banter with Moshe. He was stubborn. A man of principles. He fought and got wounded twice when serving in the Jewish Brigade of the Russian Army during the Second World War. He...

What Wakes You Up?

What wakes you up? Is it the alarm clock? Or are you awaken by the task you have taken, by the mission you serve, by a dream you are here to realize? Do you wake up by an opportunity or by fear? Remember days when you woke up with the excitement of what you will learn today? What adventure excites you when you wake up...

Feb 23, 2009

Are You Wasting A Good Crisis?

Leaders not using this crisis to repurpose and reposition their organizations are wasting a good crisis. If you are preoccupied only on surviving these critical times, you are missing out on the opportunity to do something bigger, to play a bigger game. Strategic leadership is not about “how will we come out of this in six or nine months?” It is about, “how are we...

Feb 15, 2009

Your “Born to Do” Gifts – The 13th Emerald Key

Excerpt from the CD – Your “Born to Do” Gifts The oracle of Delphi had written at the entrance “know thyself.” The message meant that by knowing and understanding your nature and the way you are made and work; by having insight to your patterns and inclinations you gain access to the greatest secrets of all. Understanding the workings of human nature and of self...

Feb 12, 2009

“Are You Afraid Of The Work You Were Put Here To Do?”

Author Elizabeth Gilbert delivered a great TED talk, to challenge conventional paradigms about the nature of creativity. Here are a few questions to reflect on as you watch this: 1. Are you afraid of the work you were put here to do? 2. Do you have to suffer to find creativity? 3. What are the conditions you need and practices you use to enter the...

Feb 10, 2009

Stretch Goals For 21st Century Management

Gary Hamel framed on HBR a list of 25 challenges for 21st century management strategies. Here is the comment I posted with suggested additional challenges: Thank you, Gary. This is a great list! The fulcrum of the 25 points is number 11. “Dramatically reduce the pull of the past.” May I suggest reframing the challenge to say – “Be ready to engage in a newly...

Feb 8, 2009

In Hard Times, The Soft Stuff Is Crucial

You feel maxed out, stretched thin and overwhelmed. You are a leader and you feel you have no time and no energy for the soft stuff, especially now that the times are hard and uncertain. What’s the blind spot? The “soft” stuff becomes even more important in hard times. That’s the blind spot. More than ever, the right kind of soft stuff gets the most...