Soft Skills Are Anything But… Posted on August 29, 2012 I am on a mission. My mission is to stop calling ‘soft skills’ soft. Whenever I work with an organization, a team, or an individual I hear my work commonly referred to as ‘soft skills’ based and am inevitably asked, ‘Isn’t getting the work done
As a proud member of Peace First’s Advisory Board, I’m thrilled to announce that today Peace First has launched its new U.S. national campaign (will go global next year) to celebrate young people leading change to create peaceful communities. Five amazing young people between the ages of 8 and 22 will each receive a $50,000
I have a group of friends and we go on roadtrips together, and vacation together. One of those friends is Lou. Lou is an engineer Often times we’d get into a situation where we needed something fixed or rigged – plumbing, strapping something on the roof of the car, setting up a campsite. Inevitably, when
When I first started working with social entrepreneurs , it took me a while to get out of my corporate skin… Many of them encourage that their business models get replicated, scaled by others. Many want their business models copied because they aren’t looking for financial profit, but are looking for their social impact ideas
I read a book where the author decided to assure that she got at least 8 hours of sleep a night. One of the benefits of that project was that she woke up naturally at 5:30 in the morning – no alarm clock, just ready to go. And that gave her an extra hour, an
Be Available Be Aware Be Present Be Deliberate Be Bold Be Fun Be Balanced Be Tough Be Objective Be Transparent Be Thoughtful Be Empathetic Be Focused Be Caring Be Fair Be Honest Be Visible Be Thorough Be Pragmatic Be Energetic Be Communicative Be Confident Be Patient Be Supportive Be Decisive Be Open Be Responsive Be
One of the greatest gifts you can give someone is to listen. To really listen. Whether its one of your employees, a customer, or a loved one, listening with intent, with purpose delivers the message that you care, that at that moment nothing else matters; that at that moment, you are not distracted by anything
One of your team members just isn’t engaged at the meeting. They have shut down, stopped participating in the conversation. Their body language screams disagreement. Our first reaction is that the individual isn’t on board; that they are not passionate about the topic being discussed. Sometimes that is the case, and in such times how
The perspective that you bring into a situation can make all the difference. A shoe factory sends two marketing scouts to a region of Africa to study the prospects for expanding business. One sends back a telegram saying: “SITUATION HOPELESS STOP NO ONE WEARS SHOES” The other writes back triumphantly: “GLORIOUS BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY STOP THEY
My Golden Rules • Believe in yourself • Actions speak louder than words • Don’t delay • Be present • Be kind • Bring all of you to the table • Everyone has something to contribute • Be part of the change – make the world a better place • Own it • Trust people