I want to share with you a game-changing exercise we conduct at Defy’s training center. It’s called “Giving vs. Taking.” I ask our entrepreneurs to shout out the emotions they feel when someone gives to them: “Happiness! Gratitude! Love!” On the flip side, we all know it when someone is “taking”—when they’re manipulating, not following
It’s the new year. Budgeting and planning is behind us. Focus now on execution. Your priorities are set. Get your team and your organization off to a strong start. The words you use, the agendas you set, the customers you see, how you spend your day – that will set the tone that it’s time
This past year I have had some family and friends with serious health issues. Thankfully, all fought hard and were able to overcome their illness. It reinforced for me the importance of selfishly and selflessly focusing on ourselves. Why selfishly and selflessly? When we take care of ourselves, all of ourselves, we improve our physical
In Europe, people look at the vacation time that Americans get (and accept!) and they scratch their heads! Its not unusual for an entry-level employee in the United States to have only ten days of vacation a year. I’d go as far as to say, as people move up in their business careers, it is
I was traveling over the last days for a series of meetings. Since most of us came in the day before, my friends Elias and Eugene organized a poker game that night. It was a great evening; relaxing, very enjoyable (great food, wine, cigars and conversation). And it was a nice time out of a
My friend Essa sent a tweet the other day. It was a blurry picture of a reflection in a mirror and he wrote ” the year end is all about reflections.” I love that. Reflections of the past do so much to shape our thinking and ambitions today, be it in our private lives or
A few months ago, I had a great lunch with my friend Tom Snowberger, a true leader and HR professional. We were discussing the importance of self-awareness in leadership and how leaders have to know that their obligations as leaders have many dimensions – financial, social, people development. We talked about what it means to
I am reading the Bhagavad Gita. It is an amazing read. Stephen Mitchell writes: “The subject is (sic) after all , a matter of the gravest urgency: the battle for authenticity, the life and death of the soul. And in all spiritual practice, the struggle against greed, hatred, and ignorance, against the ingrained selfishness that
I read an article in Inc. Magazine by Jeff Haden on 11 ways to de-clutter your day. In that article he talked about “eliminating permissions.” “The premise of eliminating permissions is that the actions we take every day are communicated to others as ‘permissions that we give’. Think about it: Arrive at meetings late and
I was having a cigar with my friend David Sasnett and we were talking about the importance of Leaders understanding the balance between planning and execution, between creating a strategy and driving action plans to get things done. “How many times have you seen a manager work on and on to refine the strategy, to