I am about to embark on a sabbatical for the next month to get away, enjoy time with family, and do some long-range thinking. Americans typically don’t take all of their vacation days, much less go off on sabbaticals. The idea of an extended period away from work may sound like an exotic concept or, […]

It’s easy to look at successful people and envy their situation. What you often don’t see is the pain they went through to get there. I’ve made lots of mistakes. In fact, I’ve actually been fired from three jobs. Here’s what I learned.

The days are getting shorter again, but it’s not too late to take a few days off before the end of summer. August is often the perfect month to take some time away from work. You should consider getting away for a bit because you probably need it. Vacations are vital for rejuvenation, especially for […]

There’s no greater predictor of long-term organizational success than healthy team culture. Yes, customers matter. So do products and services. But an unhealthy team won’t create the best products or serve their customers very well. But how can leaders build healthy team culture? The most common way is to start with a list of core […]

As a leader, you are going to draw fire. People will criticize you. But the greatest leaders are not easily offended. Instead, they remember these three simple truths.

Here’s an idea for women who bump up against the glass ceiling at work: Create your own business where you own the ceiling. And the good news about that DIY approach to business is that it’s easier than ever before. Christy Wright is an entrepreneur and business coach whose mission is to help create a […]

Customer service is a double-edged sword. Get it right and you can make loyal, lifelong customers who sell your products for you. Get it wrong and you can find your business in real trouble. The Wrong Way to Do It My friend Frank gave me an example of the exact wrong way to do customer […]

When I first joined Thomas Nelson, communications with most of our staff were not where they needed to be. There was a joke at the time that was all too accurate. If you worked at our publishing house and wanted to know what was coming next, you’d just have to find out about it in […]

D-Day is known as a great victory for the allied forces, the beginning of the end for the Nazis as over 150,000 troops pushed into Europe in the first wave of an invasion by sea. But it easily could have gone the other way. We can learn a great deal from the difference. A draft […]

It’s one of the toughest questions in business: Who should you be working with? Several years ago, when I was CEO of Thomas Nelson, I had one of those moments of clarity that has broad application for organizations. The “aha!” moment came when I was thinking about our professional relationships with authors and agents. Some […]

When I wrote recently about firing monster clients who eat up disproportionate time and resources, one reader replied, “Great idea. Do you have a guide for how exactly we should do that?” It was a good question. A guide like that would have been useful to me earlier in my career. I have had to […]

Most Americans think of George Washington as a great leader and the father of our country, but I bet few of us think of overdue library books. When Washington was president, he borrowed two books from a New York library and forgot to return them. According to a humorous but true story the fines for […]

People have way more potential than we often think they do. They can change, but unless we find the courage to speak up, they may not have the opportunity. Here are three truths to remember when you are faced with having a difficult conversation.

There comes a point in every story when you are ready to quit. It could be a relationship, a project, or your job. Regardless, you’ve had enough, and you are ready to “throw in the towel.”

Most people recognize the value of an online platform. When you have one, you can reach more people with your message, products, or hard-won expertise. You multiply both your influence and your income. Everybody wins. The problem is that building an online following can feel daunting. I talk to people all the time who want […]

When it comes to winning at work, you have to focus on the big things. Don’t sweat the small stuff, right? Not so fast. The small stuff does matter. In fact, according to Andy Andrews, bestselling author of The Little Things, it might matter more than you could possibly imagine.

Periodically, you need to reboot your spirit. But how? In a recent vacation I experienced five keys to renewal that I want to replicate in my future outings.

If you’ve ever had the benefit of a great coach, you know just how powerful coaching can be. But leaders know it can sometimes be difficult to coach the people on your own team. It’s one of the main reasons people are reluctant to delegate work in their Drudgery and Disinterest Zones. It takes so […]

I don’t mean to sound unkind, but there are just some people you are not called to serve. You can spend all your time caught up in the drama of their demands and accusations, or you can move on. The sooner you cut the cord, the more productive—and happy—you’ll be.

As a leader, you have an effect on people. When you leave the room, people ether feel taller or smaller. This is an almost superhero power, but, unfortunately, leaders are often unconscious of it.

How many of your work hours are wasted on distractions? Probably more than you think. Financial management service Think Money researched the question, and their findings are eye-opening. According to their 2015 report, distractions annually eat up 759 hours per worker. That’s just one hour shy of twenty complete 40-hour workweeks every year! Now flip […]

If we are going to create wow experiences, we must become courageous. This is a personal, psychological bridge we need to cross. What we want—that wow experience—is on the other side of the ravine. There’s no other way to get there from here.

The economist Tyler Cowen says the last few decades have seen the rise of what he calls the complacent class. It may not seem like it, but the numbers show people are sticking with jobs longer, relocating rarely, and innovating less. In the midst of this complacency, there’s tremendous opportunity available for the non-complacent. I […]

A few years ago, I read David Sax’s book, The Revenge of Analog. The premise? After years of being pushed aside by digital solutions, analog applications have been making a surprising comeback. That resonated with my own experience. Most of my audience knows me as a techie. But I was in the book business for […]