Goals & Practices

…  You May Want To Give IT a Try Kristin Wong, a Los Angeles journalist and writer, who contributes to the New York Times and other publications, found herself approached by a stranger at a grocery store asking if she needed help.  He had heard her talking to herself out loud, in public.  She had […]

At least with my family, preparation for Thanksgiving dinner began several weeks ago as decisions were made about where we would gather and who would prepare and bring what food to share.  It’s always a wonderful time to get as many family members as can come together to express our thanks for another year and […]

Your Most Precious Resource Each of us has 24 hours each day and 168 hours each week for work and everything else – commuting, eating lunch, taking breaks during our work, organized activities including time with family and friends, exercise, religious activities, team sports, play, rest, and sleep, etc.  And, no matter how hard we […]

Who me?  Never! Most of us would disavow being a micromanager.  Yet, I’m sure that most of us (dare I say, all of us?) have micromanaged to some extent at some points in our lives.  I know that I have.  And, most of us at some point have had a micromanager as our manager.  David Allen, […]

Several weeks ago, Amazon’s Leadership Principles surfaced in my reading.  I was so impressed by their breadth and scope that I wanted to share them with you, along with a brief summary, focusing on how they might apply in higher education, of each of the 14 points. In Amazon’s notes on these Principles, the company emphasizes that […]

Are you listening? Hearing and listening.  We hear when sound waves reach our ears and are converted into neural signals by the inner ear.  We choose to listen when we intentionally let those neural signals impact us.  This is why we can sit in a busy place totally immersed in our reading or in a […]

… Not you?  Research says that 95% of us do procrastinate. We all procrastinate!  Research by Piers Steel found that about 95% of us do and several other researchers suspect that the remaining 5% of us are, shall we say, stretching the truth. So, two questions:  Why do we procrastinate?  And, what can we do […]

I’ve written before on grit (see here), about having stamina, about sticking with what you’ve chosen or been led to do, your future, day in, day out, not just for a week, nor for a month, but for years, working really hard to make that future a reality.  Grit is a marathon, not a sprint.  […]

Last week, during the closing session’s CIO Panel at one of the MOR Leaders Programs, every CIO on the panel commented on the importance of trust.  Earlier in the session in a similar vein, I had noted that followers want leaders who are credible, trustworthy, leaders who do what they say they will do.  Max […]

From time to time in the Tuesday Readings, we have talked about practices, small habits, that we can use regularly in our day-to-day activities to improve our outcomes.  For example, past Tuesday Readings have focused on practices (“The Meeting Is Over …” – January 31, 2017, “Resilience” – February 10, 2017, “Questions” – February 27, 2017, […]

Requires that you continue learning Last spring I spoke at my undergraduate college, Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, at their 2017 Undergraduate Research EXPO.  As I reflected on the Tuesday Reading to begin the 2017-2018 Academic Year, it occurred to me that a version of my remarks there, which ultimately focused on continuing to learn, […]

How to Get Up to Speed in Your New Leadership Role  Today’s Tuesday Reading is the Harvard Business Review Whiteboard Session (video) “How to Get Up to Speed in Your New Leadership Role” featuring Michael Watkins.  Watkins is President of Genesis Advisors, a leadership consultancy that supports companies and leaders coping with transition.  He is […]

Then, Ask for It! Over the past years I’ve written a number of Tuesday Readings about feedback.  (See here and here for example.)  In this set of readings, I explored both why and how we should give and receive feedback as well other aspects of the subject.  And, I have particularly encouraged leaders to give feedback to their staff […]

A different kind of morning ritual Google “morning ritual” and you’ll find hundreds of suggested rituals.  Some are focused on the time before you begin your workday, others have elements for how you structure your day, still others for dealing with particular types of events in your day, etc.  One I found that particularly caught […]

The need for peace and quiet Last week’s Tuesday Reading, Our Busy, Busy, Busy Brains!, focused on how our brains are daily assaulted by sounds from our smart devices, from the arrival of email, tweets, and Facebook posts, from music we might be playing, from sounds within our workspace, from traffic outside our buildings, etc.  Even at night, when […]

My two grandfathers lived in a very small East Texas town, perhaps several hundred houses in town and the neighboring countryside.  One grandfather was a railroad section foreman, the other a subsistence farmer.  Both worked hard with their hands.  While they certainly used their brains in their work, the demand they placed on their brains […]

Six months ago, at the beginning of the New Year, the first Tuesday Reading, I Resolve To …, focused on New Year’s Resolutions.  This has been my custom.  In that essay, I referenced research reporting that though 57% of the individuals surveyed were confident that they would be successful in achieving their goals, only 12% actually […]

We are born problem solvers!  From the moment you wake in the morning until you are fast asleep at night, you are at the ready, just waiting for the next problem to arise. Now, some of the problems are simple and repetitive, like, for example, what do I do when the alarm goes off signaling […]

A few years ago, Charles Duhigg, who you likely know through his earlier book The Power of Habit, was interviewing people at exceptionally productive companies for his 2016 book Smarter Faster Better:  The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business.”  As he did this, he often asked for help in solving a family problem:  […]

Today’s Tuesday Reading, Slow Down, is an essay by Jason Murray, Network Architect at the Washington University in St. Louis.  [He may be reached at [email protected].]His essay first appeared as a program reflection earlier this year.“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”         — […]