Think back to a time when you reacted to a situation in a way that you thought afterwards “I wish I wouldn’t have behaved like that”. It could have been when you were at a job interview and you panicked and got confused so the potential...
av·a·tar ˈavəˌtär/noun- Computing - an icon or figure representing a particular person in computer games, Internet forums, etc. Had you told me five years ago that I would be facilitating leadership development programs as a virtual ‘avatar’ in a 3-D gaming environment, I would have been amused...
Tough leaders get more from their employees. Is this true? Sure, successful leaders need to hold people accountable, set high standards, push for stringent monitoring of failures as well as successes and often, make wrenchingly painful decisions. But is tough, enough? Recent research by Jack Zenger...
When I go into an organization to work with leaders and teams, I often hear how the organization’s silos are getting in the way of business success. I hear people blaming other departments for everything from taking credit where credit is definitely not due, to stalling projects...
My friend and colleague, Tana Heminsley, asked me to write the Foreword for her book a few months ago. So I said yes and then began to read it. I knew it would be good, I just didn’t know that I would have quite such...
This is the continuation of my unconventional approach to reviewing Flat Army by Dan Pontefract. As in my Flat Army – Book Review first post (Chapters 1-4 1/2), here are my favourite excerpts and quotes from Chapter 4 1/2-12. So you may be asking yourself, "why did Mike stop in the middle of Chapter 4 last time?" The simple answer is that I was typing each quote in by hand and I felt the post was getting a bit too long. The author, Dan Pontefract, was nice enough to send me a copy that allows me to cut and paste.
My good friend and "co-conspirator," Dan Pontefract (follow him on Twitter), has written the book Flat Army: Creating a Connected and Engaged Organization. Over the past three years, the team at ViRTUS and I have had the distinct pleasure of working with Dan and his team to put the Flat Army philosophy into action at TELUS.
When it comes to creativity, fear of criticism, judgment, of taking risks and putting your reputation on the line is a huge obstacle.
We’re born creative and continually experience the excitement of that creativity as we grow. Over time, our environment and experiences can cause us to fall into thinking patterns that get in the way of our creativity.
My mom is a great cook, but whenever I ask her for a recipe, she tells me that mere words are not enough to do justice to a dish. She suggests that the best way to learn to cook is to watch her prepare meals...
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvVOMrKeZ3c] ...