I updated my post on where to find more materials along the lines of this blog, specifically the personal development section. Check it out for further reading.

“What’s so important about leadership? Why learn to be a leader? What if I don’t want to be one?” I get these questions a lot in my seminars and in conversation, often preceded by “What is it with you Americans?” I often let others in the audience answer the question. Developing leadership skills reveals their value, whether you use them to lead people or not, so a few people answering[…] Keep reading →

How do you handle feedback? Do you take it well? Do you know how to use it? If not, you may be throwing away great opportunities to improve yourself and your life. Many people don’t know how to take a compliment or having their weaknesses pointed out so they avoid feedback. As a coach in Columbia Business School‘s Program on Social Intelligence, I coach a lot of upcoming leaders who[…] Keep reading →

Another example of a significant life-level change that happened almost instantly came from my performing in Follies in business school. You are capable of the same level of change. The scene was my second semester of business school. I had not performed on stage since third grade, thinking I didn’t want to, thoughtlessly continuing my third grade rebellious streak. When a friend told me he was thinking about joining the[…] Keep reading →

Some people look for problems; others look for solutions. The problem, to me, with people who look for problems is that they can get good at it. When you’re with them, you may find yourself surrounded by problems you never would have found otherwise. What I like about people who look for solutions is that they find them. When you are with them, you tend to enjoy yourself, unaware that[…] Keep reading →

People who like living life to its fullest should read this post. My mom shouldn’t, at least not the first link. Holy cow. Good thing I didn’t read this article before I swam across the Hudson River! But then according to this article, no problem. And here’s a whole organization, Hudson River Swim, dedicated to it, and raising money to find cancer cures. I think Dave and I started a[…] Keep reading →

Here’s another lesson from my stylist friend besides how fast even significant personal change can be, possibly obvious to people more stylish than me. He told me a major goal of how you dress is to polarize. At first polarizing sounded counterproductive. Polarizing in a discussion breaks down communication. Why would I want to polarize? Why would I want to repel people? He explained further. Many people dress to fit[…] Keep reading →

Myth: great personal change or development takes time. You have to understand where you are, your goals, and how to get from one place to the other. Myth: great personal change is hard. You have to overcome hurdles that take time, energy, and other resources. I believed those myths for a long time. I hear people counseling others with them all the time. Now it pains me to hear those[…] Keep reading →

Have you ever had someone suggest you calm down or take it easy? Nearly everyone has at some point. When it happens, I’d bet the person saying it was annoying. First let’s look at it from an awareness perspective, then what to do about it. Consider the situation. If they were suggesting you should calm down, you probably weren’t calm. Moreover you probably recently got un-calm. If they were talking[…] Keep reading →