Perhaps this is real obvious, but what we think and what we believe frequently govern how we perform. I have a young friend who is looking for a job. She has been dreading the experience. The dread was based upon the last time she was looking. The economy was bad. The avenues for jobs were few. Many times she knocked on doors seeking opportunities. Most times she was rejected. It was a discouraging process. This […]

Sometimes we get stuck and don’t know what to do. There could be a lot of choices and we are paralyzed because there are pros and cons each way. There could be no apparent choices and we are paralyzed because we think any action will be fruitless. When we get stuck, the best way out is to do something. Make a deliberate choice. Implement it. See what happens. You learn by taking action. You become […]

It’s hard to believe that March is here already. I’ve visited a number of plants so far this year and I notice one consistent trend: our people are fighting incredibly hard to help us to succeed. Every place I go, folks are trying out a variety of strategies to correct hassles that have plagued us for awhile as well as new problems that crop up daily. They are putting aside old methods to try new […]

I was impressed with the manner and the substance through which Eli Manning led his team to a Super Bowl victory on Sunday. Eli just plays. His interviews are bland. He credits his teammates, his owners, everyone else. In a game where quarterbacks are valued for swagger, he is low on the swagger index. His teammates say you can’t faze him. Whether winning or losing, he just plays the next play. He withstands hard hits. […]

How engaged are you at work? A recent Gallup Poll said that 27% of the employees in this country are actively disengaged. Ken Blanchard, a leading management consultant, describes being actively disengaged as “quitting and staying.” In other words, the actively disengaged do only the minimum necessary to keep their job. Blanchard says that everyone in the organization can contribute to fight active disengagement. The higher up you are on the organizational chart, the greater […]

The new season of the TV show Undercover Boss has started on CBS. It’s on following 60 Minutes on Sunday nights. You probably know the drill. A boss puts on a disguise and goes to work doing jobs in the company he or she doesn’t usually do. It makes for a good show because the CEO proves to be inept and most of the show demonstrates that ineptness. What surprises me is that they are […]

Nathan Whitaker is an author. Most recently he helped Tim Tebow write his bestselling autobiography. Recently Whitaker wrote a guest column in The Orlando Sentinel about the Tebow phenomena. This note isn’t about Tebow but it’s about an assertion Whitaker made in the column. He said this: “The question isn’t whether we will have a legacy – we all will. Rather, the open question is whether that legacy will be positive or negative. Are we […]

Did you see where Chelsea Clinton, the daughter of former President Clinton and Secretary of State Clinton, has taken on the assignment of being a newscaster on NBC? I was reading an article and was struck by her story of what motivated her to move into such a career. She said her grandmother, Dorothy Rodham, had challenged her shortly before her death. She told Chelsea, who until that point had dodged any public profile, that […]

I was listening to a sermon this morning. Pastor Matt Hudson of Journey Church in Mocksville had a guest speaker, Mary Hendrix, with him. Mary had learned twelve weeks earlier that she had a brain tumor. She was describing how her faith was sustaining her. The whole message was chock-full of wisdom. If you would like to listen, go to http://www.thejourney.info/. Remember it’s a sermon, so don’t be surprised about the biblical and God references. […]

I am a Tim Tebow fan. As a Florida Gator fan, I watched him win national championships (I like winning) while expressing himself humbly (I admire humility), providing unparalleled leadership (leadership is necessary for teams to succeed) and demonstrating extraordinary perseverance (overcoming adversity is part of life). I got to admit I was a “doubter” when it came to him being a success as an NFL quarterback. I believed in all the intangibles. I just […]