1: On July 2nd, 1776, the Second Continental Congress voted to declare independence from Britain.
The following day, final revisions to Thomas Jefferson‘s draft of The Declaration of Independence were agreed to.
Which brings us to the 4th of July, 1776.
“In later years the excessive summer heat of Philadelphia would frequently figure in accounts of Thursday, July 4th, 1776,” David McCullough writes in his Pulitzer Prize-winning … continue reading
1: The answer, according to one of the world’s leading experts on human performance?
Learning to be at our best when we are at our worst.
“And you have to train this kind of grit on its own, as a separate skill, But if we can do this, what we discover is real power. There’s real power there—and it’s power we probably didn’t know we had.” Steven Kotler writes in … continue reading
Good question!
This week I’m exploring some lessons I learned from my friend, mentor, and coach, Dr. Danny Friedland, who passed away 18 months ago after a year-long battle with brain cancer. Danny wrote the brilliant book Leading Well from Within.
One of Danny’s big ideas was around the process of self-coaching. He believed leadership is mainly about the capacity to coach others to coach themselves so they … continue reading
1: Thomas Jefferson’s heart was set on politics.
The problem? He was “born quiet, contemplative, and reserved—purportedly with a speech impediment,” writes Ryan Holiday in The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph. “Compared to the great orators of his time—Patrick Henry, John Wesley, Edmund Burke—he was a terrible public speaker.”
Thomas had two options: he could fight this reality. Or, he could accept … continue reading
1: How does meaningful change actually happen in our lives?
Dr. Daniel Friedland, author of Leading Well from Within, believes we can learn to coach ourselves so we can rise through powerful cycles of continual learning and growth.
Think back on a time when we experienced a meaningful change.
Often, change begins with an experience. Something happens. Perhaps it’s an event. A significant event. Maybe it’s a comment someone … continue reading
Results.
I have a new role at PCI. In addition to being CEO, I am also currently serving as the leader of our outside sales team. Two weeks ago, our longtime leader of that team came to me and expressed a desire to step back from the leadership role. Prior to starting a search to find our new outside sales leader, I chose to take this role on for a period of … continue reading
1: Gathering, acting on, and following up on feedback is central to our strategy of becoming a better leader, Marshall Goldsmith tells us in What Got You Here Won’t Get You There.
In an ideal world, we would hire an executive coach like Marshall to conduct a 360 review to collect feedback from our peers, our boss, our direct reports, and even our family.
There is, however, an easier, … continue reading
1: Imagine a room full of out-of-shape people, Marshall Goldsmith writes in What Got You Here Won’t Get You There.
They “listen to a speech on the importance of exercising, then watch some videos on how to exercise, and perhaps then spend a few minutes simulating the act of exercising.”
Would we be surprised a year later if most of the people in the room were still unfit?
Marshall’s … continue reading
1: “Becoming a better leader (or a better person) is a process, not an event,” Marshall Goldsmith writes in What Got You Here Won’t Get You There.
Marshall is one of the top executive coaches in the world. Historically, the focus in executive development has been “an event—a training program, a motivational speech, or an intense executive retreat,” he observes.
The only problem with that approach? It doesn’t work. … continue reading
1: “Human communication has its own set of very unusual and counterintuitive rules.” Malcolm Gladwell tells us.
Exhibit one: If we want to inspire people into action, providing detailed scenarios doesn’t work.
Why? “Even if believable when disseminated, such scenarios quickly become discredited as the future unfolds in unexpected ways,” Stephen Denning writes in The Leader’s Guide to Storytelling: Mastering the Art and Discipline of Business Narrative.
