Mining the Genius of Inclusion
It might seem obvious that diverse groups are more intelligent than homogeneous groups and numerous studies support this notion. So why do we so regularly turn to our same "go-to" people over and over again? Simple answer, it's more comfortable and because we believe doing so provides more consistent results. The challenge? Consistency isn't always what's needed. A variety of studies indicate that diverse groups actually solve problems better and have better predicative abili
How Our Brains Create False Facts
Henry Ford famously said, “Whether you think it’s true or not, you’re right.” Our personal mindset determines which filters we use to parse the billions of information bits that assail us every second, choosing the four million or so we can actually process. But what determines our mindset? According to a Psychology Today blog, “With this onslaught of input, how do we manage to not go completely insane? The key is that we pay attention to only a small portion of that informat
Which is Better -- Motivation or Inspiration?
“What’s the secret to success? That’s what a student is said to have asked his teacher, Socrates, centuries ago. Socrates guided his charge down to a nearby river and they waded in together. When the water reached their necks, Socrates pushed his student’s head down and held him underwater. The student struggled frantically. He finally broke free and emerged, gasping for air. “When you want success as much as you wanted air,” Socrates said, “you will achieve it.” That’s one f
What Myth Are You Living?
Carl Jung, the father of analytical psychology, wrote that the most important question anyone can ask is “What myth am I living?” Notice that he doesn’t suggest we may be living a myth; his comment infers that we already are. We wrote about that in our book Thriving in Business and Life, in fact our first chapter is entitled The Power of Story. And we’ve refined this further in the on-line course we are developing into 12 thriving practices. We call the first practice Owning
9 Principles of Empowerment We're Seldom Taught
We wrote about empowerment last post and hopefully cleared up some of the confusion about what empowerment is and isn’t. This week, we’d like to continue exploring empowerment by presenting 9 principles well worth remembering. 1. While empowerment is a personal decision and cannot be bestowed on others, we can encourage, stimulate, provide adequate support, and model empowerment within a culture of accountability. 2. As we presented in our post last week, the three key elemen
How Hard Work Can Thwart Your Vision
Thriving is a state of mind and a way of living. Ironically, what most often interferes with thriving is our obsessive efforts to survive. Many people—both in their personal lives and at work—often feel like success means being able to keep their heads above water. That’s staying alive, but it’s not much fun and it doesn’t really seem like success, it’s more like not drowning. So, how do we do both? How do we take care of our day-to-day responsibilities plus develop a thrivin
How to Make an Even Mundane Project Irresistible
Einstein believed that imagination is more important than knowledge. We agree, because not only can imagination be used to apply knowledge it can, also be used to inspire others into joining with you in pursuit of your vision or idea. Some say the best leaders are those who inspire followership. There’s certainly some truth to that, but we see it a little differently. We believe the most effective leaders are those who can create stakeholders—people who feel they are co-owner
Do You Have a Life Line?
Because we’ve both had near-death experiences, people often ask us the ponderous question, is there life after death? Well, let’s forget about esoteric musings on reincarnation or resurrection for the moment. We have an even more immediate question. What about life after birth? What do we mean? Too many times we find that our clients (and, at times ourselves) are merely surviving each day that passes. Surviving isn’t really living, it’s just existing. That’s why we spend our
Are Other People Trying to Force Their Values on You?
We’ve all met authentic people who were living their values. Most of them weren’t celebrities. They were ordinary people, like the car valet who loves cars and treats yours as if it were his own; the waitress who is genuinely friendly, loves serving good food, and does everything she can to help you enjoy a peak dining experience; and the teacher who extends her working day without pay and covers the cost of field trips for kids whose families can’t afford them. What do they
What If I Don't Like Where I Am in Life?
What do you feel called to do? And who do you feel called to be?
Socrates advised that the unexamined life isn’t worth living. Similarly, t
