Another Executive Casualty

On November 9^th, Christopher Kubasik was asked to resign by the CEO and board of directors. Before that, he was the president and COO of Lockheed Martin and soon to be CEO. However, he was investigated for an alleged affair with a subordinate. When the accusation was proven to be true, his hopes of becoming CEO in January 2013 disappeared.

Kubasik joins a list of top executives from Fortune 500 corporations who have lost their jobs because of inappropriate relationships with subordinates or vendors. On one hand, this debacle seems to be a growing trend. At the same time, if you dig deeper, you may find that this behavior

Can You Command the Attention of the World?

“When you do the common things in life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world.” – George Washington Carver 

While many of us desire to create the next Google or Apple, there are many possibilities for extraordinary right in front of us. Those possibilities exist in the common everyday way of doing things. Through imagination, we can create a more effective way to do the ordinary.

On a daily basis, each of us does one common thing in a way that would solve problems for masses of people. Our uncommon way of doing everyday tasks can make a world of difference to others.

However, we take

Are You Hiring War Heroes?

The CEO of the NYSE invited me to attend an event on hiring veterans of the military. The event exceeded my expectations. I left with a new perspective on why people who serve in the military make great employees.

Duncan Niedererauer, CEO of the NYSE, empowered his organization to create an initiative that assertively seeks veterans to join the NYSE as interns and employees. Thus far, their efforts have been successful.

Duncan’s commitment now reaches beyond the NYSE. On November 5th, they

If You Had the Power of a Cyclone, What Would Be Possible?

"The cyclone derives its powers from a calm center. So does a person." Norman Vincent Peale

A cyclone creates chaos and so does life. When most people are in chaos, they try to fix what is out of control. It is that learned behavior that drives us to attempt to control our environment. However, control is a myth.

Like the cyclone, the power we possess cannot be found by fixing what is out of order. The power can be found by centering ourselves. We do that by getting

A Citigroup Coup?

From reports in the media, Citigroup’s CEO was ousted by the Chairman. From statements like “unnamed sources” at Citigroup to inferences about the Chairman’s relations with the incoming CEO, the situation has been made to sound like conspiracy.

Until October 15^th, Vikram Pandit was the CEO of Citigroup. It is said that Michael O’Neill, Chairman at Citigroup, called Mr. Pandit into his office. O’Neill is said to have given Pandit three options:

Jonathan Winters Says Don't Wait For the Right Moment to Be Successful

“If your ship doesn’t come in, swim out to it!” – Jonathan Winters 

There is always opportunity. It may, however, require more effort than you anticipated. Think of the times you had an incredible drive to accomplish something. During those times, when your desire was strong, it never mattered what others thought of your process to obtain it. You did what it took and fulfilled your goals.

When you have clear, organized thoughts about what you want to achieve combined with a powerful intention, it is very difficult for you to

When Once Is Not Enough

One mantra of many highly committed people is: once is not enough. In fact, when they have produced an extraordinary result, they are already planning the next accomplishment before the first is completed. They are driven by successful outcomes.

They are people who are often looking for a better way to do things. They sometimes solve a problem that no one ever thought was a problem. However, this is not to be confused with more, better or different. Nor should you mistake them for perfectionists.

The perfectionist is

Andrew Carnegie's eye opening quotes on becoming successful

“The men who have succeeded are men who have chosen one line and stuck to it.” – Andrew Carnegie

How often have you been told: don’t put all your eggs in one basket? Most of us have been taught this philosophy since childhood. As a result, we pursue investments, career and romantic relationships with the belief that we should always have a backup plan. Unknowingly, this results in valuable time focused on

The Power of Partnership

We’ve all heard the saying: no man is an island. Yet, a select few, including myself, persist with the contrasting philosophy of being an island. Napoleon Hill, on the other hand, speaks explicitly about the power of 2 or more minds committed to a definite purpose. Hill called this coming together of people a mastermind.

Hill says that to accomplish anything great, 2 or more people must put their minds together. He compares it to the natural elements. When you mix hydrogen and oxygen in the correct proportion, you get water. While both elements are important, neither can create water on it’s own. He said the ideal number in a mastermind is 6-7 people. Depending on the size of the goal, 12-13 can be perfect.

He further explains that when a man and woman come together for a definite purpose,

Wallace Stevens quotes on what the world depends on

“After the final no there comes a yes.  It is on that yes that the future of the world depends.” Wallace Stevens 

Getting beyond the final no is what drives successful endeavors. Whether it is a negotiation, invention, sale or marriage proposal.

The word or indications of no can only mean your approach was not a match for the outcome. You either asked the wrong way, which means there is another way to ask, or your approach was missing something. You will have to intelligently pursue until your request matches what the other parties need to hear. If it is a process, you may have to

The Only Way Out Is In

One of the elements in our human paradigm is the desire to be right about our point of view. Although being right feels good, it is not innate. We inherited the desire from our parents. They rewarded us for giving right answers. When we reached school, our teachers reinforced that same philosophy; we were rewarded with A’s for giving right answers and coloring between the lines.

While the feeling of being right is euphoric for some, there are others who gain attention and recognition by being a rebel. That can take the form of being the class clown to being the delinquent. In either case, each person takes the position that their way is right – funny, smart, delinquent, etc.

However, at some point, being right

Woody Allen Quotes On Why You Should Not Be Afraid To Fail

“If you are not failing now and again, it’s a sign you’re playing it safe.”

Woody Allen 

For most of us, failure is something to avoid. Why? It makes us look bad. In some cases, we believe it makes us look incompetent.

Yet, when we go to the gym and lift weights, it is common to

Managing Up: When You Need Buy-In From the Boss

I was invited to speak about innovation by an organization called Execunet. The webinar took place last Tuesday and it was called Transforming Chaos Into Innovation. Many of the callers asked questions about creating alignment as a way to eliminate or reduce chaos.

What I found interesting was there were an equal amount of questions about gaining alignment from

What's the Problem With Problems?

The problem is not there are problems.  The problem is expecting otherwise and thinking that having problems is a problem.  Theodore Rubin

A problem is not a problem until you call it a problem. Before that, it is an occurrence or simply something that happened. Expecting all occurrences to be void of breakdowns/problems is a formula for disappointment.

From another perspective, think of the times you felt you were

Never Waste a Good Crisis

When we think of crisis, it conjures up thoughts of instability, danger and abruptness. We are trained to avoid those kinds of situations. Furthermore, when they occur, we seek the scapegoat in order to blame them for our discomfort.

Yet, in retrospect, a crisis can bring out the best in us when there is a clear goal to be achieved. And it often serves to develop us for the better both personally and professionally. In some cases, it brings us closer to the people around us.

If a crisis can serve our best interest, why does the word have such a negative connotation? I am going to ask you to consider crisis from an empowering perspective. 

When we become complacent, a crisis can be

In Search of Predictability

If you listen to the emerging trends in Corporate America, you will hear conversations about the importance of reading enormous amounts of data. The current belief is that there is so much data that more people in the organization will need to develop skills to analyze it. Currently, those skills have belonged to people in the IT department. However, there are individuals in other business units that may be able to combine their knowledge of customers with the ability to assess data.

On the surface, this seems like a logical step. In the age of knowledge workers, businesses should better utilize the intellectual capital of human capital. This would seem to help leadership better understand and predict customer behavior. As a result, strategy becomes much more clear and predictable.

From another perspective, if companies stop at developing skills to analyze data, it will be the catalyst for

Voltaire Quotes On Why You Can't Get Lucky

"Chance is a word that does not make sense. Nothing happens without a cause." Voltaire

Whether you call it chance, luck or being in the right place at the right time, you are simply talking about myths. Not one of those words is ever a factor in high performance. Too often, people attribute luck to extraordinary success.  

In fact, the Monday morning quarterback can give you rational explanations for how things happen in sports, business or life in general. However, they never give you

What’s More Important Than Shareholder Value?

For decades, CEOs and boards have had an incessant focus on maximizing shareholder value. However, in a number of recent articles, many pundits have articulated the undermining effect of increasing shareholder value. They now say that it sacrifices long-term value creation for customers. While there are an exhausting number of eloquent discussions about the disasters of focusing on shareholders, no one has clearly stated what CEOs’ primary focus should be. 

As the Chairman of an organization that brings together former CEOs of Fortunes 1000s with current CEOs of midsize companies, I am in a position to engage both sides of the table – the younger and more mature. One of the consistent comments I hear from former CEOs is that the number one job of a CEO is to

What Do You Learn From Your Mistakes?

“A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them.” – John C. Maxwell

The mistakes we make can be a great way to learn. However, if we blame others for our mistakes, we are more likely to repeat them over and over.

Admitting our mistakes is a powerful way of taking responsibility for our lives. Reflecting on what we learned is a great way to develop ourselves and to become better contributors to society.  When we can correct and clean up those mistakes, we not only

Jack Nichols quote on listening long enough

“Every person I work with knows something better than me.  My job is to listen long enough to find it and use it.” – Jack Nichols

Listening is the gift to speaking. One of the greatest sensations is being heard and understood by another human being. It provides us with a sense of value and freedom to express ourselves. On the other hand, when someone pigeon holes us, we feel impeded and minimized.

You may know more than the person speaking to you. Regardless, you don’t

When Does Happiness Happen?

Happiness is that unrelenting joy, the undeniable Duchenne smile or an incredible peace of mind. Except, what is it that really makes us happy? Chocolate can raise endocrine levels and the idea of vacation time offers relaxation. However, they cannot define the intangible idea that we call happiness. In fact, if you’re asked to show someone happiness, you cannot. Why? It doesn’t exist. At least, it does not exist because of what we find inside or outside of ourselves.

From day one, we’ve carried around

Michael Pritchard's quote on fear

"Fear is that little darkroom where negatives are developed." Michael Pritchard

In the dark corners of our minds, we create lasting pieces of fear, impeding success. Oftentimes, we fear what we know about ourselves. We make presuppositions about what could happen and when we want to accomplish something new, we predetermine our limits.

Our past assesses what we do well and what we can’t do. We make assumptions without

Has Facebook Lost Face?

What happened? Since the advent of Facebook’s $38-per-share price, the stock has done nothing but drop. Was it the investment bankers overwhelming the company, NASDAQ computers malfunctioning and not postponing, overvaluation of Facebook’s claim to an IPO, or simply arrogance and inexperience?

While all of the factors listed contributed to Facebook’s underperforming stock price, Mark Zuckerberg held the final decision. In the world of IPOs, his tech savvy was

Mandela's quote on hidden greatness

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, Who

Is It Possible To Shed Your Deepest Fears?

Look carefully into the future, and you will clearly see what’s there: Nothing! Even if you look at tomorrow, the future is empty waiting to be filled. Oftentimes though, you and I immerse the future with our past. Tomorrow therefore, appears no different than yesterday. Hence, the sayings like: same thing different day. 

If you cleaned up your past to give you the freedom to enter tomorrow with nothing, what would you be able to