What do brain surgeons value the most?An open mind. “What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives everything its value.” -Thomas Paine Values: What Will You Die For?   You’re probably wondering what he is talking about, what would I die for?  And normally when we’re talking about values that we would die for we’re talking about freedom, justice, love, religious or spiritual beliefs, country, ideology or humanitarianism. But what about your company’s values? What about your personal values beyond those?    Part of creating a strategic plan is making sure you have

I had a goal to lose 20 Pounds by the end of the year.30 pounds to go! (Just kidding) “People with goals succeed because they know where they’re going.” -Earl Nightingale Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG)   In order to successfully pursue our purpose we need to create what we call a big hairy audacious goal (BHAG). This goal needs to be so big that it makes us do things we wouldn’t do normally or on a daily basis in our current state. This goal will culminate in reaching our vision and our purpose. In his book, “Good To Great”

If you ever think that you have no purpose in life.Just remember, there is a guy at the bmw factory installing turn signals. “Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction” -John F. Kennedy Whether you’re talking about self leadership or the leadership of a team stating the purpose of your organization is the first step towards creating a clear Vision. You want to think about who the stakeholders are that you want to affect in the future. What impact do you want to leave on this planet, your organization, the community or your family? Think about how

Why don’t ants listen to podcasts? They prefer the ant-icipation of live radio! Last week I brought up the subject of active-listening. By definition it is the way of listening and responding to another person that improves mutual understanding.If you practice active listening you will begin to see improved results in your relationships, productivity, team work, collaboration and community. But here is the thing, it is a learned habit. The good news is you can learn and practice it. The bad news is that few people use active listening, so it is hard to go against the flow and create a

“My wife just accused me of having zero empathy. I can’t understand why she feels that way.” “Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other’s eyes for an instant?” -Henry David Thoreau Why is it important to understand others? Well, humans have a basic need to be “heard”. We all need someone  or many people to listen to what we have to say, understand how we are feeling and what our goals are. We want to feel that we belong to something larger than ourselves. We want others who care for us. We could sum