As we wander through life, there are various stages where it’s a natural point to stop, reflect, and assess where we are and where we might be headed next. For instance, when we’re starting our first job, when the kids are leaving for college, or when we’re about to retire, these are stages of life when we can look at where we’ve been, think about where we’re going, and reflect on what really matters in life.Of course we do...

One of the most dysfunctional beliefs of successful people is our contempt for simplicity and structure. We believe that we are above needing structure to help us on seemingly simple tasks.For example, as Dr. Atul Gawande reported in his book, The Checklist Manifesto, central line infections in intensive care units virtually disappear when doctors follow a simple five-point checklist involving rote procedures such as washin...

And, it’s not what you ask but how you ask it!In my work as an executive coach, I teach people about the importance of self-reflection as a daily practice to changing behavior and becoming more successful. This daily practice that I teach, as you may know, comes in the form of the Daily Questions. I do this process myself every day and it has made a world of difference in my behavior!When it comes to self-reflection, I’ve d...

Wouldn’t it be great if we could command someone to make us better at those things about ourselves that we really want to change? It would be easier if someone else did the work and the result was our being happier and more engaged. Unfortunately, this isn’t possible, as you probably already know. We have to change ourselves, ourselves.So for those of us who really want to change, the question becomes, “How do I achieve a h...

For several years, I’ve performed what some might consider an unusual daily ritual.At a pre-arranged time, I get a phone call from a person who I have hired solely for the purpose of listening to me report my scores on a brief self-test. The questions, which I wrote myself, function as a simple checklist of my main priorities. For instance, have I done my best to exercise, set goals, have positive interactions with others,...

Every company and leader wants the answer to this “Now what?” question. Engaged employees translate into a productive and successful organization, which is the goal of most every leader and organization I know. And, engagement also translates into a great place to work, which is what employees want.As a Fellow in the National Academy of Human Resources, the highest award that can be given to an HR professional in the US, I’...

We rarely get credit for not messing up a good thing. A number of years ago, a politician put it this way, “The most thankless decision I make is the one that prevents something bad from happening, because I can never prove that I prevented something even worse!”Because there’s no big show of change, there’s no shiny, new object when you make the decision to preserve something, most people rarely ask themselves “What in my...

Imagine living a life in which nothing changed.I’m not talking about working at the same company your entire adult life, or staying married to the same person for fifty years, or never leaving the community you were born in. Those are choices to be honored, not regretted or derided. These actually reflect a sturdy permanence and consistency worth celebrating.Think about it though – even among the steadiest of people – it’s...

A very wise leader, Alan Mulally, the former CEO of Ford and Fortune’s #3 greatest leader in the world 2013, once told me, “The key to your success is having great customers. If you have a great customer, your process will always work. If you have the wrong customer, your process will never work.”You probably won’t be surprised to learn that not all executive coaching engagements are successful. Unsuccessful coaching engage...

The higher up you go in your organization, the more you need to make other people winners and not make your job about winning yourself. This is a hard concept for people who like to win to grasp. The more successful you become, the more helping others win is how you win! This is the secret to winning big.For those in leadership positions, this means closely monitoring how you hand out encouragement and how you “help” others...