Category Archive: Leadership Development

20 Useful Ways to Create Focus Today

Distraction dilutes the impact of your life. Consider the splendid absurdity of an unfocused life. You can spend a day chasing distractions and feel important doing it. Distractions are tender morsels of delight… Continue reading

How to Transform Distraction into Achievement

Distraction is natural. Achievement is intentional. My first-grade teacher, Mrs. Goodwin, wrote on my report card. “Danny has to know everything that’s going on around him.” Distraction has been my saboteur for a… Continue reading

How to Maximize the Value of Anger

“84% of people surveyed said Americans are angrier today compared with a generation ago*.” Negative emotions can be useful, but they’re dangerous. It’s better to maximize the value of anger than to simply… Continue reading

How Managers Confront Us/them-thinking and Win

Us/them-thinking comes naturally to everyone, even children.  Imagine giving blue shirts to one group of children and yellow to another. Us/them-thinking will animate perception quickly. Children think my group is better than your… Continue reading

How to Not Do Anything Stupid with Your New Team

A young manager with a new team is like an ant pushing an elephant. It’s smart to be concerned. My friend Stan Endicott tells managers who ask for advice, “Don’t do anything stupid.”… Continue reading

Taking Time Off isn’t the Answer

Taking time off isn’t the answer when you don’t know how to live. A four-day workweek is pointless for miserable people. Do you live to work or work to live? The answer is… Continue reading