If you want to “be better at being better,” you need a vision. Mike and Mark share tools they use to help individuals and organizations develop a culture of continuous improvement. All you need is a penny, a blank sheet of paper and some crayons. … Herb Mast’s “Intentionality for Leaders.” Interested in coaching or training on these topics for …

My Favorite Martin: Mike interviews Mark’s dad
A high-school drop out who became a chemistry major … who had a career in IT … which led to a long, successful career in training and development? Meet Mark’s dad, Martin Ramsay of CEATH Company. Mike and Martin have a wide-ranging discussion about how Martin combined so many streams, found clients, used experiential learning, and traveled the globe using …
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? …
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 …
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 …
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 …
DiSC: How to work with anybody
Mike and Mark kept meaning to record an episode on DiSC, and Mark had a request for the very same thing after a recent speaking engagement. Two questions! That’s all it takes to tap into a system used to describe and make use of our differences for, literally, millennia. (If you’d like to take Wylie’s excellent DiSC assessments, drop us …
LISTENER UPDATE: Never assume people want to win as much as you do, part 2
Are you too arrogant to delegate? “One of our two listeners” had a great follow-up to Mike’s story about the managers who weren’t interested in winning. And Mike has a follow-up to what happened with that client. (FYI, Dow leads an amazing dojo called The Way Karate … so clearly he gets our “Dow-ist”/Taoist joke.) Interested in coaching or training …

Author Chris Hunsicker: How to gain a non-duplicatable competitive advantage
Do you suffer from Mood-Dependent Excellence? Do you know why your back-to-basics meeting won’t solve your problems? Do you understand the difference between training and coaching? Chris Hunsicker joins Mike again to unpack a chapter of his book, “Unstoppable Culture: A Step-by-Step Guide to Create a Relentless, Results-Driven, High-Performing Team.” Grab a pen–lots of practical tips in this episode! Interested …