Often in life we get something from someone that makes our life better. It could be words of encouragement, a gift of money, or a good push that gets us going again. At the time we think to ourselves that we need to pay them back someday. Often we do nothing since we don’t realize…
Lying is an inextricable part of the human experience. When Grandma gives you a horrendously ugly sweater for Christmas, you can’t possibly say you don’t like it or you risk hurting a nice lady’s feelings. Why do you not just say the truth? Research suggests that many of us lie frequently without even thinking about…
I got a call this week that my old friend Don was dying of congestive heart failure and was in a hospice. Time was short. He asked for me. Early in my career I struggled with my desire to be successful and to be true to myself. Like many young executives I wanted more money,…
The Lakota Sioux have a saying that reads “Mitakuye Oyasin”. It means we are all related or come from the same place. This infers that everyone deserves respect and we that we need to be truthful with each other. Tell people the truth and you will get what you want. Exaggerate, lie, fib, or try…
“Better to trust and be disappointed once in a while, than it is to distrust & be miserable all the time” – Coach John Wooden A common definition of trust is when you rely on the integrity, strength, or ability of another person—it is an expression of our confidence in others. Occasionally, we just feel…
A British teenager who was found dehydrated and freezing after 12 wintry days lost in Australia’s wilderness said he wrote farewell notes to his family and expected to die of starvation. Jamie Neale, 19, told Australia’s “60 Minutes” television program Sunday that he was “a total idiot” to venture unprepared into the Blue Mountains, 60…
As many of you know, I am writing a book on negotiation which leverages my work as a trainer and lecturer in negotiation, along with my personal experiences in negotiation. It is a fascinating subject which seems easy on the surface, but is very difficult to practice. The other day in my consulting practice I…
“If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn’t thinking.” – George Patton, US General during WW II Please extend my apologies in advance to James Surowiecki, the author of “The Wisdom of Crowds”. His best selling book suggests that groups make better decisions than any made by a single member of the group. To this…
(This is an reprint by special request of my blog from July 6th, 2007) For most of us, knowing the difference between right and wrong is pretty clear, but sometimes doing the right thing is hard to do. Or, let’s say we are challenged to make the right choices. Our government helps us out with…
Corporate America is accountable for what it does and does not do —businesses must be socially responsible (or, at least they should be). Social responsibility is a company’s duty to make the right choices that will contribute to the welfare and interests of society, as well as those of the organization itself. Recent headlines suggest…