What happens to the taste of a stew when you add something fiery hot, meaty, and so overpowering that it can stand on its own?

Last Spring the Golden State Warriors, winners of 3 of the last 4 NBA Championships, announced they had acquired free agent DeMarcus Cousins.

A big part of engaging your team is showing them you appreciate their work.  You can do this in a number of ways.

In 1995 Gary Chapman published a breakthrough book titled, The 5 Love Languages.

Everybody has them, although a few of you may think you don't.

I'm talking about employees who do less than their best.

There are a variety of reasons for their behavior. It may be a lack of skill, poor communication, limited accountability or training, lack of engagement.

Do you have employees who want special recognition, increased compensation, or increased freedom without responsibility or results?

One way to describe this perspective is they have an "entitlement mentality."

Let's pickup where we left off last week...

From 1978 into the early 1980’s Lee Iacocca led an effort that saved Chrysler Corporation from bankruptcy. One of the leadership disciplines he credited for helping achieve that success was every Sunday evening he would separate himself from the family to spend two hours in his study.

A woman once told me this story...

My father managed prizefighters. If you ever saw the original Rocky movie, those were the venues. Smoky halls, inconsistent lighting, where the air is heavy.

It was 2008 at a Big Ten indoor track event. Heather Dorniden, now Heather Kampf, was the favorite in her 600-meter race.

The race was three laps around an indoor track. As she moved into first place towards the end of the second lap, her heel got clipped by the runner she was overtaking and she fell.

Cory Kaufman is a member of our current Certified LEADER class that concludes in two weeks. He has been with his company, Assured Technology Solutions in Lake Oswego, Oregon for 16 years. About two years ago he was promoted to Office Manager.

Late last year a column in The Harvard Business Review asked: Start-ups - What skills should a founder prioritize?

What do you think?

Every leader has a slightly different path to move their career and team from one point to another, which qualifies as their definition of success.

How well have you defined your destination, path to get there, and are progressing towards it?

Ask any 6 year old about their dreams or what they want to be when they grow up.

None will say, “I want to be homeless, begging for money, and addicted to drugs.”

Yet... that’s reality for some people.

It wasn't the plan.

Last week I received an email from a friend, Brad Wilson of IRIS Solutions, telling me they had just finalized the sale of their business and told their employees.

Decades ago the poet Robert Frost wrote a wonderful poem, The Road Not Taken. It begins by describing a choice a traveler must make when faced with a fork in the road.

Do you want a real assessment of your performance?

Here is a simple exercise to get a glimpse of your current leadership strengths, weaknesses, and impact of your company culture. It takes less than 5 minutes.

The fact is you are your biggest obstacle. Gary Keller believes there are 6 lies and 4 thieves holding you back from pursuing 3 commitments that lead to a meaningful life without regrets.

What decisions have you made recently based on your shame?

Probably more than you realize.

How well are you focused today? Are you looking forward to your day with joy?

This morning our webinar covered LIES #3-6 from the book, The ONE Thing.

If you truly want a better 2018, listen to this webinar and scan the PPT deck to learn what others are saying is life-changing wisdom.

Where's the $50,000?

The Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) has said to replace one bad hire can cost up to 5X the annual salary of executives and top contributors.

Part 1 in our webinar series on The ONE Thing by Gary Keller.