Last Saturday’s (11/30/13) episode of A Prairie Home Companion featured a skit where Guy Noir was hired by Bob Raymond, vice president of compliance and alignment at Ka-Ching Ching Superstores, to discover why his employees are so disgruntled. Here’s what he said when he met Guy: “Let me give you the lay of the land …
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Six Alternatives to the Dreaded Elevator Pitch
I’ve always hated the idea of an elevator pitch. There is something so off-putting about the image of accosting someone who is just trying to get from one place to another and in 30 seconds telling him or her why you or your idea is so wonderful. Yet, as Dan Pink argues in his book …
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To Change, Test Your Assumptions
You may be asking yourself at this point in our discussion of Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey’s concept of immunity to change why people don’t just eat less or listen more or give someone else responsibility or do whatever they have to do to make the change they want to make. After all, people do …
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Listening as a Spiritual Practice
I read two quotations in the March Richmond Friends Meetingnewsletter and stopped breathing for a second. You know that feeling—something out of the blue—a quotation, a poem or a comment–strikes you forcefully and you must pay attention. Who knows why a comment means so much to one person but not to another. I take a …
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To Learn, Find Your Edge
I’m flying down the Powderline from the top of Bald Mountain at the White Grass Ski Touring Center and I’m going faster than I’ve ever skied before. Conditions are perfect and I’ve thrown my usual caution to the wind. About two thirds of the way down my exhilaration (mixed with a little fear) turns to …
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To Change, Do the Unexpected
I heard recently that there were really only two ways you can differentiate yourself from the competition—you can be better than they are or you can be cheaper. If that’s the choice, I choose better. For me, that means continually honing my skills as a coach and deepening my understanding of the human animal and …
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Leading in a Virtual World
I’ve long believed that traditional, hierarchical leadership no longer worked in today’s fast paced and global environment but I have to admit that I may have taken it more on faith than actually stopping to think why. I didn’t comprehend how day-to-day behavior in the workplace contributed to the irrelevance of authoritarian leadership. Of course, …
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