By really listening to what people say, you can learn an awful lot about what you’re doing right and especially what you’re doing WRONG.

While most grant maker guidelines — foundation, corporate and certainly government — specifically exclude capital campaigns, there are some few that will consider a proposal requesting campaign support. Applicants need to identify those in their funding source research. The proposal will be a restatement of the case statement and should be formatted according to the …

Career success does not happen just because one does good work. That is expected. To get ahead and stay ahead, you must excel. Here are three strategies to manage your competitive edge. 1. Become a Career Entrepreneur The business of career management is that—an independent business that you manage—even if you work for someone else. …

Crisis management continues after the problems are over It seems counter-intuitive to some, but crises can present amazing opportunities to grow and learn. In a post on his Harvard Business Review blog, expert business consultant Ron Ashkenas explains the shift that occurs during crises, and gives some excellent advice on how to stretch it as …

“I y’am what I y’am, what I y’am.” Now, I am an actor, a speaker, and a trainer–as well as a writer. When I act, I act. When I speak, I speak. When I train, that’s different, too. As I said earlier in my previous blog, acting is more than “being someone else” or “a …

Unleash Your Potential: Acting in Business Training This all began as a comment to my LinkedIn colleagues of actors, trainers, speakers, and assorted other related professionals. Someone had asked the question: In your opinion what is the difference between an actor and a speaker? It actually stirred up quite the controversy. Actors, speakers, and trainers …

When I talk with people they state they are disappointed that sometimes they do not accomplish their goals – a promotion, start a business, run a marathon, go back to school, or whatever they set their sights on. They have great intentions and mean well, but they fall short on execution. What they set out …

The following guidelines ensure the ethics management program is operated in a meaningful fashion: 1. Recognize that managing ethics is a process. Ethics is a matter of values and associated behaviors. Values are discerned through the process of ongoing reflection. Therefore, ethics programs may seem more process-oriented than most management practices. Managers tend to be …

Ten Ways to give your Quality Management initiative the best chance of success and sustainability.

The research and literature on change indicates that a primary reason for the success or failure of a change initiative hinges on the skills and knowledge of the individuals responsible for leading the change. So what leadership behaviors or competencies are most strongly associated with effectively leading or overseeing change initiatives? This blog entry introduces three competency areas that enhance the capacity of a leader to coordinate and drive organizational change: Systems Thinking, Strategic Savvy, & Organizational Agility.