Strategy

– Upping your game In last week’s Tuesday Reading, Questions: How many have you asked today, we argued that the practice of asking questions is more important than any one of the answers we may be given, as asking builds our knowledge, teaches us about people, engages others, communicates value, sets an example, and develops […]

… Sometimes it is actually better to stop, and not finish. Really? Ever get to a point in a project where the need for the result goes away AND you continue to work anyway. Or, you’ve failed to reach a public goal you’ve set and concluded that you will not be able to reach the […]

…Helpful thoughts for the next steps in your life’s journey   Every year, beginning near the end of May and continuing into early June, there is a flurry of ritual activity at this country’s educational institutions. In the U.S., there are over 4,200 degree granting colleges and universities and over 20,500 high schools who each […]

…and Don’t Do   Over the past several weeks, I have received, and found, a growing number of lists of things mentally and emotionally strong people do and don’t do. At this point, I have six lists containing more than 60 different recommended behaviors or habits that the reader is encouraged to engage. Some of […]

Several times over the past few years, the Tuesday Reading has focused on biases: Biased? We all are. Bias — If you have a brain, you’re biased. Mitigating Bias — When hiring staff. Train Your Brain — To help you avoid your biases. Today, we continue with this general theme focusing on the unconscious nature of many […]

… Let it go. “Holding a grudge is like swallowing poison and expecting the other person to be hurt by it.”                                                              —— Mark Goulston, M.D. author […]

Most, dare I say all, of us, don’t do and haven’t done, much thinking about thinking. In fact, we may have never stopped to think about our thinking.   So, what is thinking anyway?   The Oxford English Dictionary defines thinking as the “process of considering or reasoning about something.” Merriam-Webster, defines it as the “action of one’s mind […]

Ever have the fear that someone is always watching you, just waiting for you to foul-up?   Michael Gervais, psychologist and co-founder of Compete to Create, a high performance mindset training course, wrote in a recent Harvard Business Review essay “How to Stop Worrying About What Other People Think of You,”1 that our “fear of other people’s […]

… “A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”       –  Lao Tzu, Chinese philosopher from the 6th century B.C.E. All journeys, whether they are physical journeys by foot, by car, train, or plane, or journeys of the mind where you work small step by small step to solve a problem, resolve an issue, or […]

Today’s Tuesday Reading is an essay by Amanda Winegarden, a Security Risk Analyst in the University Information Security Group at the University of Minnesota. She is a new alumna from the recently graduated MOR Lead From Where You Are Program at the University of Minnesota. Her essay first appeared as a program reflection earlier this year. [Amanda […]

For the past two weeks, I’ve been writing about pro–crastination,1,2 “willingly deferring something though you expect the delay to make you worse off.”3 Pre–crastination is intentionally completing tasks quickly just to get them done sooner, or to get them done so that you no longer have to remember to get them done. Edward Wasserman calls this the “fierce […]

As I wrote in last week’s Tuesday Reading, “Procrastinators Anonymous: Yes, both I and you are most likely members of this club,”1 procrastination is “willingly deferring something though you expect the delay to make you worse off.”2 I like this definition as it explicitly calls to our minds the fact that procrastination requires a decision […]

… Yes, both I and you are most likely members of this club   Procrastination, according to Merriam-Webster, is to put off intentionally the doing of something that should be done. Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences recipient George Akerlof once found himself faced with a simple task: sending a friend and colleague a box of clothes the colleague […]

Today’s Tuesday Reading is an essay by Mark Katsouros, Director of Voice & Video at the Pennsylvania State University. Mark is an early alumnus of the MOR Leaders Program. His essay first appeared in his blog Mark My Words on September 13, 2018. [Mark may be reached at <[email protected]>.]  Ever have one of those mornings where you realize you’re […]

… to Your Smartphone ad·dic·tion ––  the compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance, thing, or activity.   As individuals in today’s society we have become addicted to our smartphones. We are at a loss when it isn’t in our hand, on our person, out of sight, etc. And, the research is clear, for all […]

Leaders must be men and women who influence others to enable them to become more effective. In her essay Five Principles to Follow If You Want to Influence Others,1 Amy Glass, writes “No matter your role, influence is key to solving problems and making things happen. … [T]his means persuading people to help you affect change, […]

Kids ask questions in order to learn about the world in which they live. And, sometimes they will answer their own question to show-off what they know – for example, my great-granddaughter holding out a stuffed rabbit and saying “rabbit” – and sometimes they want you to tell them. As they grow older, their questions […]

Today’s Tuesday Reading is an essay by Frances Haies, Assistant Director, Office of Information Technology, Project Management Office, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Her essay first appeared as a leaders program reflection last fall. [Frances may be reached at <[email protected]>.]     Since I haven’t had much opportunity to step out of my comfort […]

At one time or another, we have each tried and failed at something, sometimes miserably. And, as a result we all have some fear that if we try to do the same thing, or something similar, again, we will again fail.   Not always. But, sometimes. It might be that when you have a new […]

… That could be a good thing.   “I’m bored.” Now, that’s a sentence everyone has heard, or spoken, or thought many times in his or her life. And, in spite of what you may have been taught, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. What might be bad is how you respond.   Wikipedia1 reports that […]