Building a Company is NOT Supposed to be Difficult
Challenges come and go. They impact everyone and no one is exempt. It is the challenge or challenges in life which provide opportunities to learn, grow and become a better business owner, leader and person. There is a HUGE difference between consistently overcoming challenges and continually experiencing difficulty. The former is healthy and the latter…
Break-Through Results Start With Attitude
How does a 12-year old blind girl learn how to ski fearlessly? Simply put, by refusing to let any self-limiting beliefs get in the way of realizing her life’s potential. This year, I have the pleasure of taking this returning young athlete through her second year of ski lessons and helping her improve while at…
All You Have to do is Ask
The odds of completing an Escape Room game are similar to successfully running a business in that the chosen approach taken has a direct correlation to the eventual outcome. Last Saturday, we visited Room 5280 Live Escape Games which is located near the Space Needle in Seattle, where fourteen people broke up into two groups…
Getting 2 Percent Better on a Consistent Basis
Last week, the Chapter Leadership Committee (CLC) of the National Speakers Association (NSA) gathered at NSA Headquarters in Tempe, AZ to launch a 7-month training program designed to prepare thirty eight incoming Chapter Presidents across the country for their year of Presidency. In the spirit of helping business owners profitably grow their companies, thought I’d…
Communicating With Positive Intention, Belief and Behavior
Companies tend to perform better when employees are in a “flow state” of mind and performance, as opposed to a state of agitated distress. If this makes sense to you, then the obvious question becomes, “How do I keep employees happy and productive instead of bickering and complaining?” Below is a model any leader can…
How to Effectively Hire Optimistic People and Why it Matters
If personal attitude influences individual behavior, then collective behavior influences company culture. The precedent activator is attitude and all things being equal, having a company team comprised of employees with an optimistic attitude will have a competitive advantage over a team with employees carrying a pessimistic attitude 100% of the time. This was an #ObviousYetNotAlwaysImplemented…
Did You Know Employees VOTE Everyday
Every YEAR around this time, absentee ballots get mailed and voters have an opportunity to either re-elect an incumbant (who they like) or choose instead to vote for their opponent (who they like better.) While the process gets messy in some cases, the system (one person one vote) works well. Every DAY in companies of…
Being Exceptional is an Effective Business Strategy
“Your smile is your logo, your personality is your business card, how you leave others feeling after having an experience with you becomes your trademark.” Jay Danzie How do employees show up for work each day and how do they make your clients feel? Employees that bring a genuine smile, warm personality along with an…
Effective Teams Take Leaps of Faith
Climbing a 30 foot pole and then standing on top of an 8” diameter footing is intimidating. Jumping outstretched to reach a trapeze bar takes a leap of faith. Doing all of this without a net below requires trusting your teammates who choose to control (or not) the safety lines. All twelve people on our…
Choosing the Easy Way or the Hard Way
Last week, Carrie and I went on a bike ride to celebrate our 27th wedding anniversary. After our son Alex dropped us off at Hyak Trailhead on the Iron Horse State Park trail, we turned on our headlamps and rode through the 2 mile long Snoqualmie Tunnel, then proceeded to ride 35 miles on a…