Helping Others Succeed

Most of us squander the most precious resource we have – our time. A lot of this is due to poor planning. Sometimes it is due to a lack of clarity around our sense of purpose. And both of those remain our own responsibility. Let’s focus on the second one: having a lack of clarity […]

I was delivering a seminar this morning. In my opening exercise, I had everyone share a management challenge they struggled with. One man stated that he struggles with managing his time effectively. I couldn’t address that in the seminar, but I will address it here. Remember those Russian Nesting Dolls? (You see them in the […]

Two years ago, in Uncommon Sense Issue #298 (published on December 31, 2023) I wrote a piece in this very column titled “Explode to Greatness!” As we are now in a new year, I think some of the points I brought up two years ago bear repeating. Let’s review. First, you must regain control of […]

It may not always seem that you are in control of your life, but the truth of the matter is that you do have a startling amount of control over your life. You cannot always control what happens to you, but you can control how you respond to what happens to you. Today is December […]

People sometimes have their favorite quips to throw out at a moment’s notice. This can happen in many different scenarios: casual conversations, pick up lines when meeting members of the opposite sex (men are usually the guilty ones here), sales pitches, political pitches, you name it. The problem with pre-packaged pitches is that they lack […]

Running circles around the competition is not all that difficult, truth be told. And I can summarize it in one word: Service! If you create a dynamic, a culture, where service to customers is outlandish, you’ll clobber the competition. Nordstrom has done it. The Ritz Carlton has done it. And you can do it, too. […]

There are several key elements for maintaining optimal health. Many of these elements are obvious and involve the human body. Flexibility, which can be maintained through regular stretching, is vital. Muscular strength is also key, and can be enhanced through resistance training, such as calisthenics or weightlifting. Very important is cardio-vascular fitness, which can be […]

We all can learn something from chess masters: Chess masters set themselves apart from other players of this most difficult of games in several ways. To name one example, a true chess master has a vast understanding of what is called “Opening Knowledge.” This has to do with the many variables involved in one’s opening […]

Astute readers will notice the title of this column is in quotation marks. Who am I quoting? I’m quoting Rahm Emanuel, former Chief of Staff for President Obama, and later the mayor of Chicago. Mr. Emanuel once said, “Never let a crisis go to waste.” While I have serious issues with Mr. Emanuel’s likely intent […]

One day I was in a large ballroom at a hotel in San Antonio, Texas. I was preparing for a workshop I would be delivering in about 2 hours from that moment. I had a task to complete: I had prepared 220 copies of a 16-page handout – one per attendee – and I needed […]