Considering the kind of training that I do, one of the hardest questions for me to answer is, “How long will this take?” I assume when I am asked this question (which comes in a number of different forms, and is a legitimate one) that the person is trying to determine the level of investment necessary for the training and not that they assume they will be bored and hope it will be over quickly.
It is a difficult question for me to answer. When it comes to creating a …
Getting off to a good start in just about any endeavour is often a key to success. There are no guarantees of course; there are many examples of organizations or teams that did not begin as well as they would have liked, but found a way to recover and succeed. This is reassuring and is a testimony to our ability to change, grow, and adapt. But most would probably agree, that given the choice, it is better, and more cost-effective in the long run, if a new venture begins well.…
I am something of a Patrick Lencioni fan. I find his books on leadership and team-building to be very insightful. Some time ago I read his book, “The Three Signs Of A Miserable Job”. In that book Lencioni suggests that while many people find great enjoyment in their work, most do not. In fact, he says that in his experience ‘more people out there are miserable in their jobs than fulfilled by them’ (pg. 219).
Lencioni’s three signs are anonymity, irrelevance, and ‘immeasurement’. In his opinion if an employee is …
“A ‘motivation day’ organized by an Italian real estate agency ended in agony when nine staff were hospitalized after walking barefoot on a bed of hot coals. Motivational trainer Alessandro Di Priamo said the hotel the exercise was held in gave him the wrong kind of wood.” (As found in Canadian Business Magazine, September 13, 2010).
As one who does professional development for a living, this story caught my eye. I am always looking for new and creative ways to help organizations do training and build capacity, but I can …
At the end of every school year, my kid’s elementary school hosts a ‘Sports Day’. It’s basically a day of games, races, and hopefully good weather. The teachers participate, parents volunteer, the grade sixes run the various stations; everyone has a role to play. This year was great, the highlight being an inflatable obstacle course that was busy throughout the day.
Another highlight was the much anticipated unofficial water fight which is generally started by a parent with a squirt gun. This year however it was initiated by the janitor …
Creating a strong organizational culture takes purposeful effort. Every organization already has some kind of existing culture and, as a general rule, there are strengths and areas of growth in each one. The task for any organization is the on going shaping of their culture into the one they truly desire, one that is beneficial to carrying out their mission and vision, and one that creates a great place to work. A key step in this process is having clearly established, articulated, and promoted core values, along with a mission …
This week Barack Obama addressed the citizens of the U.S., commenting on what his administration will be doing in response to the events that have unfolded in the Gulf of Mexico over the past two months. It’s hard to grasp the scope of such a tragedy, especially for the families of the 11 workers killed in the initial explosion. No matter what one thinks of Obama’s remarks, it’s quite obvious that dealing with the aftermath – environmentally, politically, economically, socially, ethically – will take a tremendous amount of effort and …
In some ways we humans are a lot like other animals, but in at least one significant way we are not; apparently zebras don’t get ulcers while we do.
In 1994 Robert Sapolsky wrote a book called, “Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers”. The book was updated in 2004 and is now in it’s 3rd edition. In that book Sapolsky deals with the issues of stress, stress-related diseases, and coping. The basic premise is this. Zebras face two kinds of very stressful situations; acute physical crisis and chronic physical challenges. An …
“The main ingredient of stardom is the rest of the team.” John Wooden
A while ago I came across this quote from John Wooden and wrote it down. It struck me as such a simple statement that recognized a simple but important truth: so much of our success or greatness is built with other people. Wooden may have been referring to a sporting context (he is a hall of fame basketball coach, and player, who helped lead UCLA to a record 10 NCAA championships in 12 years), but I think …
Chemistry, Kyle, & California
Thursday, February 24th, 2011