Science of Emotions Article in Huffington Post.

Just as I spoke about in the last blog post on hiring, recruiting, and staffing being a function of a larger strategic vision - so is firing. Unfortunately, people aren't always applying for and hired in to the right roles. As well, companies are frequently bringing people on who may have a fantastic CV (written by an expert with all the correct trigger words for search), pedigree, and interviewing skills, but then they are just lost at sea upon entry. All you have to do is o

Just over the last few days I have heard so many storylines about hiring, the primary overture being "hiring is the hardest part of running your own company." I feel compelled to dismiss the myths. Hiring is EASY when you have a bigger picture vision, direction, leadership, culture, and communication strategy in place. Hiring is HARD when you bypass that (effortful) strategy work and hire people willy-nilly e.g. they are your friend, they're nice, your aunt beatrice had a fri

"This day will never come again." Thomas Merton It's a good Monday today so be intentional, pay close attention to random events or meetings, and bask in the feel good of this particular day. Life, business, and leading are what we make of them. Seriously. It's true. It isn't random. It isn't formulaic. It's how we show up to the days, the moments, and the opportunities. Enjoy the day! Make it work for you.

I was so fortunate to be at Creative Mornings today at the Brooklyn Museum listening to a guy named Casey Gerald speak. He started an organization called MBAs Across America, but my guess is his legacy is going to be something far larger and more prounounced. See if you can hear him speak - in-person or online - and just absorb. He's the real deal. (Creative Mornings filmed today's talk and I'll post it here when it's up.) In his talk, he covered his story, his passion, his p

I was reading Sheryl Sandberg's very beautifully written post on grief over the weekend. In it, she references Adam Grant's teaching on Resilience. (Adam is her colleague and an Organizational Psychologist and Professor at Wharton. He writes a great monthly newsletter.) This year, in particular, I've been working a lot with clients on the idea of resilience and change. To talk about change, culture, and leadership, we have to talk about resilience. We can think about resilenc

My client, Katie, forwarded to me this article from the Boston Globe on mindfulness teacher George Mumford's work with the Celtics and his equally important other clients. Click here for the article. With a professional history of my own working with clients who range from recovering addicts to leaders in government, I really loved reading about George's story and his work. I also appreciated his way of talking about how the work works. It's not very linear, but when you're i

Seth Godin's Blog Post June 9, 2015 It's tempting to invest time, money and emotion into gaining control over the future. Security guards, written policies, reinforced concrete—there are countless ways we can enforce our control over nature, random events and fellow humans. The problem is that while the first round of control pays huge dividends (keeping rabbits out the yard is a good way to make your garden grow), over time more control creates brittleness. The Maginot Line

What level of listening are you using most often, with whom, and in what settings? Level 0: Cosmetic Listening (Fake Listening) Your brain is collecting words but zero meaning. If I were to ask you “are you even listening?” You might say “yes” and be able to repeat the last 4-7 words but you aren’t really paying attention. You know when you are talking with someone and rather than making eye contact, they are looking past your shoulder or through the glass window? It’s a grea