WARNING: This episode features physical and sexual child abuse, as well as suicide.She is a cherished wife and mother of four successful children. She owns her own cleaning business. She is usually the most positive person in the room. And yet she started life in an orphanage in Moldova, surviving years of some of the worst trauma. What was life …
Hope in suffering, 1: Surviving abuse in a Soviet orphanage
WARNING: This episode features physical and sexual child abuse, as well as suicide.She is a cherished wife and mother of four successful children. She owns her own cleaning business. She is usually the most positive person in the room. And yet she started life in an orphanage in Moldova, surviving years of some of the worst trauma. What was life …
Are your concerns shrinking your influence?
Stephen R. Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” is something you’ve probably used, even if you can’t name the seven habits. A core principle is this: At all times, you can focus on only one of two things. And that focus will determine your trajectory. Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? …
People are smart! (No, really!) They just need a reminder.
The man whose face launched a thousand memes (warning: language) figured out long ago the importance of reminders over instruction. Reminders help us maintain habits and practices. And stories are reminders on steroids. Stay tuned for wisdom from the Dr. Johnson. Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We’d love to hear from you! …
Aristotle and Teddy want you to stay in the fight!
“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there …
Transitioning from Go-To Person to Empowering Leader!
Your boss was incredibly successful because he or she had you! What happens after you get promoted and the team you are now leading no longer has a “you?” Recreating yourself as a leader means shifting focus from personal achievement to team empowerment. Your new role is about creating opportunities for others to shine, building trust and independence. Interested in …
Three kinds of stories your culture must discover and share
Want a corporate culture as strong as Western Civilization itself? Find your stories. Mark and Mike discuss the importance of stories in shaping culture and their potential impact on an organization. They discuss three kinds: “origin stories,” “stories of bad times and lessons learned” and “stories of heroes and triumph.” They can help you and your people not just understand …
Are you guilty of LCD Management?
Do the rules not apply to you? No, really: Have you ever been with a company that announced new rules that seemed completely unneeded? You might have been a part of LCD Management. It happens to the best of us in leadership–and there are simple methods to avoid all the problems it causes. Interested in coaching or training on these …
LEADERS! PARENTS! Get the monkeys off your back with 1-3-1
Discover how to stop getting bogged down by your team’s challenges and start empowering them to solve problems on their own. In this episode, Mark and Mike introduce the powerful 1-3-1 delegation method, a game-changing approach for managers who want to stay focused on leadership without being drawn into every issue. They also dive into why it’s crucial for employees …
Dignity and Excellence: The West’s culture code
Do you strive for Excellence? Do you honor Dignity? If you don’t have both, you’re missing out on what made the West so successful. Enjoy some ideas from Mark’s upcoming book, “The Lost Tools of Business.” (Mark’s podcast interview on Refining Rhetoric is found here.) Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We’d love …