The Common Sense Guy

Effective leaders do a good job of engaging the people they lead. In my book, 4 Secrets of High Performing Organizations, I argue that committed, engaged employees are a critical success component. Leaders are in the best position to build a committed and engaged workforce. Rich Illingworth is a... Sign in to see full entry.

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know that I am a supporter of Alex’s Lemonade Stand. Yesterday, I received this e mail message from Liz and Jay Scott, Alex’s parents. Dear Friends: We can hardly believe that its that time of year again: time to appreciate what matters in our lives, time... Sign in to see full entry.

Leadership common sense is the theme today. I’m going to tell the stories of two companies. The leaders in one company used their common sense. The leaders of the other company didn’t. The common sense leaders – Toyota. The non common sense leaders – Radio Shack. Common Sense Leadership The August... Sign in to see full entry.

Debra Benton is a colleague and friend. She has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, TIME, The New York Times, Harvard Business Review and Playboy. She has appeared on CNN, Good Morning America, the Today Show, and CBS News. Debra is a sought- after speaker and consultant and author of the... Sign in to see full entry.

The October 30, 2006 edition of Fortune is called The Excellence Issue. It’s great reading for anyone interesting in excelling. Beginning on page 104, there are interviews with 12 Peak Performers, people who are at the top of their game in their chosen fields. I liked this section so much, that I... Sign in to see full entry.

Lindsay is my niece, Ava is her two year old. Ava is currently being potty trained. She is at the stage where she often will say something like “uh oh, poopy diaper”. This story reminded me about how we all learn and master new skills. So, in the hopes of not offending anyone by using potty training... Sign in to see full entry.

Leadership success is an up front and personal, face to face process. I came across an article in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal that seems to take an opposing view on leadership success. The opposite success view was in an article by Michael Totty in the Business Solutions Column, and entitled The... Sign in to see full entry.

Success is a journey, not a destination. Nola Ochs is living proof of this success adage. Ms. Ochs was 95 years old last Wednesday. Living to 95 is quite an accomplishment in itself, but there is more to Ms. Ochs success story than plain longevity. Ms. Ochs is a student at Fort Hays University in... Sign in to see full entry.

Google News is my homepage. When I open it, I get a lot of information – news headlines, weather, etc. At the bottom left of the page, there is a “How to of the day” feature. I clicked on it today, as one of the “how tos” was “How to Give Thanks”. Since tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day in the US, I... Sign in to see full entry.

The November 2006 issue of Executive Leadership has an interesting article entitled Five Ways for Good Leaders to Become Great. I think they are worth sharing here. Don’t always rely on your intuition and personal experience. Leadership can be counterintuitive. Keep studying other leaders for fresh... Sign in to see full entry.