Increasingly my answers to questions about certain topics are not to give information but to tell a process by which the person can find out the answers for themselves. I read a lot of leadership, professional development, and personal development books. Almost all tell people principles instead of how to learn things themselves. Principles sound great, but people who know the principles didn’t learn them from being told them, they[…] Keep reading →

[EDIT: I covered this series in more depth in Leadership Step by Step, so I recommend the book, but the core is here. I use The Model as a part of my life, basically daily.] Here is The Model—my model for the human emotional system designed for use in leadership, self-awareness, and general purpose professional and personal development—in series form. Click in the table of contents to the left for each[…] Keep reading →

I almost missed the anniversary of starting my thirty days of cold showers last December, followed by taking cold showers every fourth day since. That comes out to about 75 cold showers, the coldest reaching 39.9F, the first thirty being at least five minutes long. Most people, thinking about the physical discomfort of a cold shower, dismiss the activity as crazy. Some sincerely ask about it. A small number act[…] Keep reading →

I’ve almost finished recording the audio for an online course in many of the exercises I’ve posted here. I expect many people will find doing it a life-changing experience (like they will with my next seminar, this Saturday in Soho). I had been planning to make the course for a long time, thinking of how to write the perfect text and organize it all. I wasn’t creating anything. Then a[…] Keep reading →

Since my posts, “The smallest effective difference” and “Minimum effective behavior,” I’ve meant to write an exercise in using less. The day after Thanksgiving,when people tend to consume more than they want, seems timely. As usual, the point of an exercise is partly for the immediate outcome, but mainly to develop new skills. New skills change your behavior and beliefs in the long term. So while the exercise may seem[…] Keep reading →

Each exercise in my seminars teaches a fundamental, useful leadership skill. Collectively, when you practice them more than a few times, they teach empathy and compassion, two critically important skills if you want people to want you to lead them. With my one-on-one coaching clients I can see their empathy and compassion skills develop over weeks and months. I’ve noticed patterns. At first people feel odd asking about emotions and[…] Keep reading →

Another attendee from a recent seminar wrote about her experience. I hope it helps people get a feeling for what the seminars offer and how quickly you can use the material and get its benefits. I have also been practicing what we learned from Josh’s workshop and I have to say I am already seeing a difference in my relationships at work. I was having a very difficult time expressing[…] Keep reading →