The Monthly Memo.

If I could summarize this topic in a single sentence it would be this: “Too often we assume if we know something, then others must know it as well.” It’s as if we automatically devalue what we know, and that can hurt us or make it hard on others. Perhaps you’ve even...

Working with great people naturally leads to great lessons. One I just learned came as a result of the desire to create a good story teller from an already effective leader. So how does that happen? Well, the effective leader just learns how to ask the right...

The main points you make in any critical conversation or speech are, of course, huge. But let me suggest the connecting words are just as important. Think of your main points as the vital organs in the body and the connecting words are the veins and arteries which...

My wish for you in the upcoming month is for you to become a better listener. That simple act opens doors, deepens friendships and just makes life easier. Too good to be true? Read on. When the word communication comes to mind for most of us, we immediately think of...

Albany, New York is a great place, I’m sure, but I don’t believe I’ve ever been there. Here’s the weird thing. A bunch of people in Albany will be reading my book thanks to the very small world in which we live. Out of the blue, I recently learned my book is being...

If it is the upcoming grand finale of the NFL season or the latest business idea to take flight, we often focus on the winners. They hold the trophy, they get the attention and the headlines. But consider for our purposes right now, the other side of the coin. I would...

With the Holidays upon us AND my 150th Monthly Memo here, my thoughts turn to all I am thankful for and all I have learned over the last 15 years. If I can confer the key lessons for this 150th Memo I can end the year on the right note, so here goes. 20+ years as a...

With the attention on Harvey Weinstein specifically, but also questions swirling around generally pushy, boorish behavior, there comes the question, just how do you handle a bully? How can you best react when someone seems determined to inflict his will upon you?...

One act of kindness I learned about recently has stood out to me in such a big way I can’t get it out of my head. Maybe it is because it stands in such stark contrast to the recent emphasis on what divides us. (Let me say it is important to understand that things...

It’s when you finally become CEO, right? I mean, isn’t that what the world seems to teach us? In our CEO-centric existence, it is the CEO who makes the most important decisions and is the center of the circle of influence for any organization. Well, I can tell you the...

The mission is not easy. We want to find the perfect word or words to describe our skill set. Then we are told certain words attract the attention of recruiters or customers. That combination of factors turns us into a bunch of same-sounding robots spewing similar...

Crew members on Steve Harvey’s TV shows were supposedly told they were not to talk to or bother Mr. Harvey. Similar stories I’ve heard go back to Dick Clark’s production company, where crew members were apparently told not to make eye contact with Dick unless he was...

      There is a delicate balancing act in networking. You don’t want to appear too eager – as if you had nothing better to do – while also following up in a way that shows you are thoughtful and attentive. So, what does that look like? Perhaps you have a pile of...

Perhaps this is a question which rarely crosses your mind. Or, as a leader, employer or HR professional, maybe this thought hasn’t come to you quite this way. Here’s the question: What do we portray when we head out the door? Are we putting on clothes that are a good...

Recently I witnessed the introduction of a local politician from a large city. This was clearly not the first time the person had been called upon to provide remarks, yet within just a few words they showed themselves to be an immature and inexperienced speaker. Can...

New ways of thinking and changing the way someone does their job or approaches their work can be a mountain to climb. You can expect comments like “What, we’re changing things? What’s wrong with the way we’ve been doing it? I was just getting used to the way we do it...

        If you lead a team or are a member of a team, take this quick test. Who has the most enthusiasm in the group? Then ask yourself this question: how do the team members view that person? Sure, there are those occasional overeager folks we deal with, but more...

The events of the last 30 days have sparked a lot of discussion about handling delicate issues at work. What happens when the topic of the Presidential election comes up and what if the discussion gets heated? What should leaders say, if anything, on this topic and is...

The huge advantage of being around smart people is that they will say something brilliant, which I can then share with others. During a recent talk I was giving, my friend and colleague, aviation expert Pete Agur, mentioned a breakthrough happened when he asked his...

Maybe it has to do with the beginning of the school year? Maybe it is the change in seasons? Perhaps it is the end of ‘vacation time’ and the need to ‘get back to work.’ For many of us, the fall is a time to refocus and reset. I was reminded of that rhythm a few...

Think about that for a second. A text is usually just a few words on a screen. How can it carry a hidden message? Especially when it is something basic. Have you read “fine”, “okay” or “got it” and instantly knew something was wrong? The topic came up when a friend...

Whether you are talking with the boss, a new client or an audience of 300 people, what happens when they stop listening? How do you get them back? It can happen in any set of circumstances for any number of reasons. Sometimes it’s our own fault. Sometimes the...

How about a tip which not only makes you a better communicator, but also eases your nerves and helps you get to the point? Heck, at this rate I should also say it will help pay your bills, too, but I won’t go quite that far. Whenever I am talking to clients about an...

When you hear a church service will last two hours, “maybe longer because it’s Mother’s Day,” you might start to plan your escape route. Not in this case. I was sitting at Ebenezer Baptist Church in downtown Atlanta, the historic church home of Dr. Martin Luther King,...

You can enjoy networking, hate it or be somewhere in between but, even if you don’t call it networking, we all have to do it. Put simply, we need to be out-and-about, learn from others, expand the pool of people we know and get some practice telling our story. Having...