Safety razors, old coffee-making methods, vinyl records and the Squirrel Nut Zippers have something to say about what kinds of customers and employees you are seeing. Special thanks to 4th Level Roasters … D&V Barbers … and Mark’s blog where these kinds of thoughts have been percolating for a while. (This wasn’t meant to be an episode. But an off-the-cuff discussion of …
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 …
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 …
Booker T’s ancient secrets to communicating
What if you could always effectively communicate and persuade employees, customers and leadership? Our special double-length episode celebrates one of America’s most successful communicators, Booker T. Washington. His method illustrates one of the world’s oldest communication methods: the “five canons” of classical rhetoric. Click here for our episode on the first canon’s tool, the “common topics.”Questions? Comments? Ideas for future …
The 3 elements of training that sticks
It’s the model of education that built a culture that has lasted millennia. It’s so profound–and so simple–that we can explain it in 15 minutes. Are you using all three elements in your training? Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes … or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
Find your tribe: You grow in community
Benjamin Franklin, in his early 20s, did something that would change his life–and America. And you can do it too. Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes … or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
New resources on our, well, Resources page
How did a French aristocratic lawyer in the 1830s make so many insights about the United States of America? How is so much of it still relevant not just to society–but to how we run businesses? Visit our Resources page. Go straight to the list of items for our Workplace Book Club and scroll to the bottom. There you’ll find …
Refining Rhetoric listener? Classical Conversations supporter? Click here.
If you heard Mark Ramsay’s interview on the Refining Rhetoric podcast, welcome! We have a number of items that may interest you: *More on Mark and his PCC status with the International Coach Federation *An excerpt from his upcoming book, “The Lost Tools of Business” *A free online self-assessment on your professional life *Our Resources page, featuring DISC, the personality …
The 5 questions you need to think things through
Are you interested in thinking things through? Communicating? Since the time of Aristotle, there has been a powerful tool to help you do both. Mark explains. Download the free handout with sample questions and an example here on our extensive Resources page. Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes … or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
