Dov SeidmanI love books like the one that author Dov Seidman wrote entitled ” HOW, Why How We Do Anything Means Everything“.  This book not only gets you thinking about the compelling and exciting times we are living in, but provides the reader an opportunity to reflect on this extremely important issue–just “HOW” we are doing everything we do mean everything.

Author Dov Seidman argues that we need a new approach to how we live our lives and pursue our endeavors.  Dov states that we are in a new “Era of Behavior” both as individuals and organizations. He states that as our world has become increasingly hyper-connected and hyper-transparent, we need to rethink our behavior in it.  Since everyone can instantly see not only what we do but how we do it, the value of principled behavior has been raised from a nicety to a necessity.  Our connectedness has rendered us interdependent, even morally so , and as such we can not longer win at the expense of others but instead rise or fall together.  We are more tightly bound to each other as never before and therefore we are judged by who is better at forging deep connections with other through shared values and shared responsibilities.

Throughout Dov’s book he cites examples and studies of just how important this new behavior has become.  Everything from the Middle East where popular uprising this year have been freeing people from despotic governments, to the donut vendor who boosted his sales by trusting customers to make their own change.  Through surprising anecdotes like these, cutting-edge research in a wide range of fields, and revealing interviews with a divers group of business leaders, experts, and everyday people on the front lines, HOW will inspire readers to reconsider how we think, how we behave, how we lead, and how we govern ourselves to uncover the values-driven “hows” that we need to adapt to our new “Era of Behavior.”

If you are interested in reading a book that will get you thinking about your own self-governance, and how your self-governance can mean so much to the way to do business to how you treat your family and lead your life then you will want to read ” HOW, Why How We Do Anything Means Everything.”

If you are interested in learning more about author Dov Seidman and his organization LRN please click here to be directed to his website.  If you would like to find out more about the book please click here to be directed to an amazingly well done book website.   They also have Facebook page for the book, and you can access it by clicking here.

 

Enjoy this wonderful interview with author Dov Seidman.

Greg LinkI recently interviewed my good friend and co-author of “Smart Trust“, Greg Link.  Yet another great book from the Covey Link team.

Many of you may remember a book entitled ” The Speed of Trust” which sold more than 1 million copies in 2006  in which Stephen M.R. Covey wrote about the importance of preserving and restoring trust was one of the most important elements in business today..

In “Smart Trust” Greg and Stephen provide a lens to see how trust issues impact every situation, and how you can cut through traditional either/or thinking to extend what they call Smart Trust, enabling you to operate with hight trust in a low trust world.

Greg speaks with me during this interview about how high trust organization time and time again outperform low-trust organizations by nearly three times.  Moving from a low-trust organization has hugh implications and opportunity abounds.   Organization that can embrace “Smart Trust” have the benefit of having employees, customers and communities that support their organizations thus , employee engagement, profitability and innovation are just a few of the benefits of operating with “Smart Trust“.

Greg and I discuss what they refer to in the book at the “ 5 Actions of Smart Trust“, and how Smart Trust Leaders consistently take these actions.  1) Choose to Believe in Trust–this creates the foundational paradigm out of which all other trust-building behaviors flow. 2) Start with Self–focus first on developing the character and competence that enables them to trust themselves and to also give others a person–or a team, organization or country–they can trust 3) Declare their intent…and assume positive intent in others–they signal goals and intended actions—both what and why–clearly in advance, and generally assume that others also have good intent and want to be worthy of trust. 4) Do what they say they’re going to do–they follow through and act to carry out their declared intent; walk their talk. 5) Lead out in extended trust to others–they are the first to extend trust an initiate the upward virtuos cycle that leads to prosperity, energy and joy.

One thing that I know for certain is that “trust” and “fear” can not co-exist.  If we can move our people, businesses and planet to to understanding the importance of embracing “Smart Trust” we will certainly move toward more equanimity. We would have a world where we work in cooperation with one another without the conflict that fear creates.  Competition would be replaced with collaboration and wonderful synergies would emerge  benefiting humanity as a whole.

 

If you would like to learn more about Greg Link and Stephen Covey please click here to be directed to their website.

You can also check out this YouTube Video about the 13 behaviors of high trust people. I hope you enjoy this wonderful interview with Greg Link from the Covey Link Team.

Guy FinleyI always have a great time interviewing Guy Finley.  He is one of my favorite authors with a heart of gold, and a love for humanity.

I had the pleasure of actually being involved in the making of “Being Extraordinary-The New Model for Success“.  This new book is what is referred to as an enhanced book for the Apple iPad.  I am a partner in an organization called Wiseologie Media Group, and we develop enhanced books for authors and publish them in the various forms of digital media for tablets such as the iPad, Nook, Amazon Kindle Fire etc.

Guy’s new book ” Being Extraordinary” is  a question and answer format allowing the reader to easily extract the words of wisdom from Guy Finley without having to read every page of the book–although you should its a wonderful book.  I personally interviewed Guy for over five hours, and our interviews are the foundational material included in “Being Extraordinary”  For Guy Finley this book is a leap into addressing many issues facing business leaders from a spiritual perspective.

A very important topic that is covered is the shift that Guy would like to see business leaders make, from one of “what can I take” to “what can I give or contribute to the world“.  This concept might seem simple, but imagine a world where our business leaders make a shift in their thinking from “taking” to “giving”.  Not only would our business world be transformed, all businesses and the stakeholders–employees, vendors, stockholders would become part of a global transformation in the exchange of good and services benefiting humanity–social responsibility would be the focus.

Guy says that the ordinary is created to serve the extraordinary, and that we realize this relationship within ourselves by learning what it means to come “awake” and be “present” to ourselves at all times.  In becoming extraordinary, one of the most valuable lessons is to awaken to our own personal relationship with our “higher-self” the self that transcends aspects of our self that are not awake to what and who we are becoming in each and every moment.  At this point we experience our own personal revelation, we realize that their are not failures only learning lessons and opportunities to progress in our own awakening to who and what we are becoming.

Guy states that the “I” must be willing to die for the “We” if we are to become fearless.  In “Being Extraordinary” the reader will learn that to transcend the ego’s dominion and realize our connection to the “One”.  You learn that you are  not separate, you are One with the Source and Being Extraordinary is part of our divine right.

If you want to learn more about “Being Extraordinary” please click here to be directed to the iTunes store where you can download the first two chapters for review on your iPad.  You can also learn more by clicking here to be directed to a You Tube video with an introduction to the book.  I hope you enjoy this wonderful interview with author Guy Finley about “Being Extraordinary“.

Jennifer LeeIf you are anything like me, you are going to love ” The Right-Brain Business Plan” with Jennifer Lee.  Jennifer Lee’s new book is exactly what I needed and is the first book of it’s type that I have ever seen that is designed to help people like me ( and maybe you) who are predominately right brained put together a creative business plan.

I can’t tell you how many years I have struggled with the linear approach to business planning, forecasts and all of the traditional approaches to building a business plan.  Well, you don’t have to follow that linear approach anymore.  Jennifer has made is easy to utilize your creative juices and still get everything you need in your business plan.

I used to think that creativity and business were words apart, especially after a decade of diligently climbing the corporate ladder while I stuffed my under appreciated creative spirit into the corner.  When I finally listened to my heart and took the bold leap of quitting my day job to follow muy dreams full-time, I discovered a much better way to live and work states Jennifer.

The left-brain thinking has dominated the business world for centuries;fortunately, though, dramatic shifts in our social and economic environment are leveling the playing field.  As we move from a knowledge economy based on information and analysis to a creative economy built on innovation and ideas, right-brain thinking will prevail.

As you might already guess the right-brain business is visual, creative and fun.  It looks more like a mind map for your business success.  Typically a business plan has yawn-inducing subheads such as ” Executive” Summary”, and “Company Overview”.  Jennifer has taken the liberty to come up with catchy creative titles for these sections like “Hearty Highlights” and ” Business Vision and Values”, and “Managing the Moola” I love her creative approach.

Jennifer shows the right brain individual how to have fun building their business plan, while thinking out of the box and giving them permission to ignite their creative side while developing their business plan  .  I know you are going to love my wonderful interview with Jennifer Lee about her new book entitled ” The Right-Brain Business Plan“.

If you would like to learn more about Jennifer you can click here to be directed to her website.  She also has a home study e-course that you can learn more about by clicking here.
Go for it, step out of your comfort zone and lean how Jennifer Lee can teach you to be extremely creative in the business planning process.

Right Brain

If you are anything like me, you are going to love ” The Right-Brain Business Plan” with Jennifer Lee.  Jennifer Lee’s new book is exactly what I needed and is the first book of it’s type that I have ever seen that is designed to help people like me ( and maybe you) who are predominately right brained put together a creative business plan.

I can’t tell you how many years I have struggled with the linear approach to business planning, forecasts and all of the traditional approaches to building a business plan.  Well, you don’t have to follow that linear approach anymore.  Jennifer has made is easy to utilize your creative juices and still get everything you need in your business plan.

I used to think that creativity and business were words apart, especially after a decade of diligently climbing the corporate ladder while I stuffed my under appreciated creative spirit into the corner.  When I finally listened to my heart and took the bold leap of quitting my day job to follow muy dreams full-time, I discovered a much better way to live and work states Jennifer.

The left-brain thinking has dominated the business world for centuries;fortunately, though, dramatic shifts in our social and economic environment are leveling the playing field.  As we move from a knowledge economy based on information and analysis to a creative economy built on innovation and ideas, right-brain thinking will prevail.

As you might already guess the right-brain business is visual, creative and fun.  It looks more like a mind map for your business success.  Typically a business plan has yawn-inducing subheads such as ” Executive” Summary”, and “Company Overview”.  Jennifer has taken the liberty to come up with catchy creative titles for these sections like “Hearty Highlights” and ” Business Vision and Values”, and “Managing the Moola” I love her creative approach.

Jennifer shows the right brain individual how to have fun building their business plan, while thinking out of the box and giving them permission to ignite their creative side while developing their business plan  .  I know you are going to love my wonderful interview with Jennifer Lee about her new book entitled ” The Right-Brain Business Plan“.

If you would like to learn more about Jennifer you can click here to be directed to her website.  She also has a home study e-course that you can learn more about by clicking here.

Go for it, step out of your comfort zone and lean how Jennifer Lee can teach you to be extremely creative in the business planning process.

Vadim LibermanI recently received the Spring Issue of “The Conference Board” Magazine” and was very impressed with an article that the senior editor Vadim Liberman wrote entitled ” In Sickness and In Health-Do Companies Care About Their Peoples“.   Over the last many years my interestes have been focused on wellness in the workplace, and Vadim’s feature article hit the nail on the head as far as I was concerned.

As Vadim states in the article ” As the world get flatter, its’s getting fatter and sicker.  Heart disease, diabetes, cancer and a host of other conditions afflict more of us than ever. But it’s not only our ballooning bodies that are ailing.  Companies are suffering from ill health, exhibiting symptoms that include lower productivity, engagement, and morale, as well as higher medical costs.”

In my interview with Vadim we speak about not only the issues of developing wellness program for organization to improve the overall health of the organization, but just as importantly we discuss the important issues of the necessary cultural changes necessary to sustain organizational vitality and health.

The main purpose of wellness programs–trimming medical expenses–is obvious.  Except that it’s obvious to no one outside the United States.  You see our focus is on reducing medical costs and it is our number one priority, but in other countries such as Canada, Europe, and Latin America productivity is companies’ top wellness-program objective.   According to Vadim’s research US businesses may be swallowing the wrong pill to slash overall expenses.  Productivity has a greater financial impact than medical costs, explains Barry Hall, a principal in the clinical-health-consulting and global technology-solutions practices of Buck Consultants.

According to the recent Buck Consultants global-wellness survey, two thirds of organizations currently have a formal wellness strategy, up from 49% in 2007.  However, few companies say they have fully implemented their plans, especially across borders, and 28% of those with no strategy admit they don’t know how to get started.  One thing for certain is that companies should seriously consider implementing a wellness strategy, and it needs to include a focus on the cultural issues of wellness as well as the metrics of creating a well and vital organization.

One connection seems clear: between worker heath and productivity.  “People who have poor health report lower levels of productivity” In fact one study indicates an 18 percent difference in productivity between healthy and unhealthy worker.  If you would like to read the entire article please click here to be directed to the Conference Board article.

 

I hope you enjoy my interview with Vadim Liberman the senior editor for ” The Conference Board Magazine

Roger ConnorsI recently interviewed author Roger Conners, and was so intrigued with the message that I invited him back to discuss another one of his other successful books entitled ” The Oz Principle“.

Many of us who are involved in the personal growth and human potential fields know that one of the first things we learn is personal responsibility.  This concept is at the cornerstone of being in integrety, and living a life of authenticy.  In my interview with Roger we discuss the “Oz Principle”  which by the way is borrowed from the characters in the Wizard of Oz.   I know everyone remembers the journey of Dorothy and her cast, the Tin Man, The Scarecrow, and the Lion.  And if you remember all of them were seeking something to make them whole, and they all were victims.

One of the most challenging situations for individuals and organizations is when they get into the cycle of being a victim as Roger explains it.   In this book Roger explains how the attitude of victimization has captured businesses everywhere in a chocking stranglehold.   In the book Roger explains why people in organizations must avoid the debilitating effects of the victim cycle in order to achieve results.  Also revealed are the “Steps to Accountability” as the key to obtaining what you desire, or yourself, your team and your organization.

If you are at all interested in creating personal accountability in conjunction with organizational accountability, then I highly recommend that you obtain a copy of “The Oz Principle“.  It is a must read for any person in management seeking to improve the performance of their organization, and create a happier, healthier and more creative organizational culture.  If you would like more information about the “The Oz Principle” please click here to be directed to the Partners In Leadership website.
I hope you enjoy this interview with a very knowledgeable change agent Roger Conners.

 

Craig NealI have known Craig Neal for a number of years, as a matter of fact I attended one of his “The Art of Convening” meetings at the Gap in Northern California several years ago.   I recently reconnected with Craig and had the opportunity to discuss his newly released book entitled “The Art Of Convening-Authentic Engagement in Meetings, Gatherings, and Conversations“.

If you are like me, you have attended lots of meetings during your career and frequently walk away wondering “why” did I attend?  If you have ever asked this questions, then Craig’s new book “The Art of Convening” is a must read.

In my interview with Craig we discuss what he refers to as “authentic engagement”.  Authentic engagement is , simply, a genuine expression of what is true for us, and an attentive listening to what is true for another, or others.  Why this simple human interaction often eludes us can be a matter of habit, distrust, faulty modeling, lack of attention, or fear.

Craig has created a wonderful model in the book that assists “the convener” in understanding the art associated with creating a gathering.  The model is referred to as the “convening wheel” and at the center is “The Heart of the Matter” with eight adjacent spokes:  Clarifying Intent , The Invitation, Setting Context, Creating the Container, Hearing all the Voices, Essential Conversations, Creation, Commitment to Action.   Craig states that there is a lot of pressure in our lives to go, go, go all the time–to drive to results and spring into action, often before the actions’s optimal time has come.  It’s counterintuitive to take the time to reflect on how we ill be in relationship with others. In a way, we have to slow down and do the internal due diligence to know what results we really want to drive and when it is time to take the action.
If you are at all interested in better understanding how to hold meeting with meaning, purpose and aligned outcomes then I highly recommend that you obtain a copy of “The Art Of Convening“.  This book will instruct you with essential questions to better understand your purpose, your meetings purpose and the associated actions you really would like to achieve from meetings, gatherings and most importantly conversations.  I hope you enjoy this interview with one of the masters in the business of “authentic engagement”.

You can learn more about Craig and Patricia Neal the authors by clicking here to be directed to their website.