Top Posts

PLEASE NOTE that as of April 24, 2010, this list has been moved to my site's Top Posts page, where I'll be making all future updates.

I'll leave this post intact in case anyone's linking to it or it turns up in any search results, but I encourage you to visit my Top Posts page for the current list.

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Here are a few posts from recent years that continue to resonate with me.  Topics include executive coaching, personal and professional development, leadership, management, motivation, organizational culture, and the process of change.  I'll update this list every few months, (Future updates will be made on my Top Posts page) but if you're looking for a post that's no longer shown here, you can always find it using the search box on the left.

Are You in the First Half...Or the Second Half? (April 2010)
Asking ourselves where we are in the time horizons that matter most to us is a useful way to get even more specific about our feelings and how they impact the choices we face within that horizon.

Developing Your Professional Vision (April 2010)
"Truly great [professionals] understand the difference between what should never change and what should be open for change... This rare ability...is closely linked to the ability to develop a vision."

Peter Drucker on Excellence, Careers and Planning (March 2010)
"Successful careers are not planned. They develop when people are prepared for opportunities because they know their strengths, their method of work, and their values..."

David Rock on Neuroscience, Leadership and the SCARF Model (March 2010)
"Rock's SCARF model is a great example of his ability to translate the science into language appropriate for a lay business audience..."

Safety, Trust, Intimacy (March 2010)
"[T]he group's levels of safety, trust and intimacy are the key factors in determining its effectiveness in this regard..."

David Rock on Neuroscience, Coaching and Leadership (November 2009)
"Rock's central thesis is that neuroscience research has revealed four big (and surprising) truths with implications for coaching and personal development..."

SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness (November 2009)
"1) Cognitive Training Can Lead to Behavioral Change... 2) Experiential Learning Has a Neurological Basis... 3) Structured Learning Supports Peak Performance..."

Teaching Leadership with Stanford's Leadership Fellows (August 2009)
"Leadership is learned, not taught... Peers are guides and facilitators, not teachers... Leadership is everywhere, not just at the top..."

David Foster Wallace on the Meaning of Life (July 2009)
"[T]hese words strike me as so true, so fundamentally right that I can't believe that they lacked the power to save the life of the man who wrote them."

Time Horizons (July 2009)
"When we assess our lives--our fulfillment, our effectiveness, what's working, what's not working--how far ahead do we look? How far ahead should we look?"

Leading is Lonely and Other Thoughts (June 2009)
"Leading is lonely.  Information-gathering is not decision-making.  Position power is not influence."

Do You Have to Leap...Or Can You Grow? (April 2009)
"[O]ne of the many topics we talked about was how you move from one stage of your life to the next. And the way we framed the issue was: Do you have to take a leap, or can you grow there?"

On Decision-Making (March 2009)
"Initiate the process in divergent thinking mode, generating as many options as possible. Be deliberate about keeping all options on the table in this stage, and stay there as long as necessary and no longer."

Authentic Leadership and Your "Crucible Story" (February 2009)
"A transformative experience may come at any point in your life... But as much as we all want positive experiences...transformations for many leaders result from going through a crucible."

Sonia Lyubomirsky and The How of Happiness (February 2009)
"What makes us happy? How can we become happier? And is happiness sustainable?"

Three Things You (Probably) Won't Learn in Business School (January 2009)
"I don't know that we'll be teaching these lessons to our current students, either--perhaps because they're best learned after graduation."

The Influence Pyramid 2.0 (January 2009)
"We can understand at ever-deeper levels not merely how to be more influential but what implicit and unchallenged assumptions we hold about power and influence."

Gestalt Coaching (January 2009)
"When we speak of using Gestalt therapy with organizations or at the organization level, the fact remains that we ultimately are going to be using this approach with individuals or groups of individuals."

Peter Drucker on Knowledge Workers, Management and Leadership (October 2008)
"Am I being managed, or am I being led?  Am I managing, or am I leading?"

Technology Is Soft (May 2008)
"Thinking about technology as 'soft,' as an aspect of an organization's staff, style and skills, may seem counterintuitive, but increasingly this is where it truly resides (and it's where you'll have the greatest leverage when driving technology-related change.)"

Double-Loop Learning (May 2008)
"A number of people wind up here after searching for 'double-loop learning'...so I thought I'd provide a simple graphic overview."

Organizational Effectiveness (May 2008)
"What makes organizations effective?  For that matter, what do we even mean by effectiveness?"

Energy vs. Intensity (February 2008)
"Understanding the subtle difference between [energy and intensity] can help us be more aware of the choices we're making and allow us to tailor our approach to a given interaction."

Experiential Learning Cycles (October 2007)
"The point is to recognize how much can be learned from our every experience and interaction, and to begin to capture more of that learning on a consistent basis."

Why Bad Presentations Happen to Good People (September 2007)
"Why do so many well-meaning people give such bad presentations?  Last year Andy Goodman and Cause Communications sought to answer that question."

Ground Rules for Meetings (September 2007)
"What makes a meeting successful?...The culture we established at the outset with these ground rules seems to have helped the group stay focused and productive despite the disruptions."

Successful Debriefing: Ask, Don't Tell (September 2007)
"To get people to talk in clear, readily understandable and quotable language, you have to ask really simple questions that can have the effect of making you look uninformed at best and foolish at worst."

Bill George on Teaching Leadership (August 2007)
"The hardest thing we have to do is see ourselves as others see us.  And do you gain that self-awareness?  Some people think they have it, but they've never really tested themselves, and that is crucial."

The Dip: Seth Godin on Strategic Quitting (July 2007)
"Only excellence matters.  Improving from incompetence to mediocrity is worse than useless... Where can I deliver excellence?  Where should I expect excellence in return?   And how can I focus my time and energy to make this as likely as possible?"

T-Groups, Feedback and Double-Loop Learning (March 2007)
"How effective are your interactions with others?  What behaviors enhance your effectiveness, and what behaviors undermine your effectiveness?"

T-Groups, Trust, Leadership and Management (February 2007)
"Why are personal issues relevant in a professional setting?   How do our internal dynamics shape our external effectiveness as leaders and managers?"

The Problem with Positive Feedback (February 2007)
"[T]oo much praise will eventually have the same effect as no praise at all.  But by uncoupling the feedback from any goals other than rewarding the recipient, you'll increase its value as a motivator."

The Value of Soft Startups (January 2007)
"[S]pouses are much more likely to resolve difficult conversations successfully when they use a soft startup, and I'm inclined to believe that the same is true in most of our professional relationships as well."

Double-Loop Learning and Executive Coaching (December 2006)
"When we begin a double-loop learning process, everything comes to a full stop while we ask such challenging questions as 'Why do we do this task this way?' and 'Why do we do this task at all?'"

Agreement vs. Alignment (October 2006)
"Agreement = Everyone gets their first choice (difficult and time-consuming to obtain.) Alignment = Everyone can fully support the choice that is made (much easier to obtain.)"

The Inner Game of Work: Who Are You Working For? (September 2006)
"We need to listen to our inner voice and work freely for ourselves without simply giving in to indulgent whims.  And we need to be of service and to create value for others without simply responding to external demands."

Johnny Cash on Doing it Your Way (June 2006)
"It doesn't matter to me that I only know three or four chords... I just believe that when it all comes together it's the right way for me to do it."

Organizational Development: Is Humanism Overrated? (June 2006)
"A better understanding of how our brains function will allow organizations to embrace change and tackle new initiatives much more effectively.  But I wouldn't throw the humanistic baby out with the bathwater just yet."

Pfeffer and Sutton on Leadership (May 2006)
"We tend to assign more credit and blame to leaders than...they actually deserve... But...leadership can make a difference, and Pfeffer and Sutton have a short checklist to help leaders be as effective as possible."

Matt Doherty: Live and Learn? (February 2006)
"There's more to leadership than command authority, and Matt Doherty's experience during and since his time at UNC suggests three big take-aways for the rest of us..."