Current Comments on Communication

Going from Good to Great

What makes a person or a company go from good to great? Jim Collins and his research team spent 5 years trying to answer that question and ended up writing a book on their results back in 2001 called “Good to Great”. After finishing it, I came away with a lot of information and insights,…

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The Brain on Art but your Soul on Hold

A friend of mine gifted me with the book Your Brain on Art and reading it has prompted me to share, not only its findings, but to add my two cents as well. The book is scientific in that it quotes research on the brain and art to prove that aesthetics make you healthy, and…

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Leading in a Time of Change of Historical Proportions

We’re always in a state of change, but we find ourselves now witnessing some catastrophic changes in the history of man. First of all, technology has become a major part of our everyday lives and through it, we have witnessed the introduction of mass media bringing group consciousness into our homes. We are now connected…

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Reciprocation as a Mature Social Skill

Gabor Mate in his book The Myth of Normal makes a case for reciprocity as being a basic need of humans. It helps people feel seen, acknowledged, heard and alive. You know that urge you have when you are eye to eye with an infant to mimic the same funny faces they make? That begins…

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The Number One Quality desired in Leaders

What would your guess be? What do you think that quality might be? To be organized, vision-oriented, profit motivated, generous with bonuses? Maybe authoritative, consistent, bold, good listener? According to a recent study, 68% of people surveyed said the quality they most desired to see in their leaders, which was predominantly missing, was the ability…

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Are you a responsible gardener?

Working with companies who are challenged, I often see people in key positions express leadership in different ways. One of the most impressive and effective ways is when the leader takes responsibility for the running of the place, no matter what came before or who did what. Think of any organization as a garden and…

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Unraveling the Drama Triangle

Do you love that dopamine rush you get with the high of saving someone from a ‘bad’ situation or solving someone’s problems for them, but loathe the feeling of being thrown under the perpetual bus when they blame you if it doesn’t work out they way they expected? Yeah, we’ve all been there. It’s a…

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A Kaleidoscope of Perspectives is Required

Everyone sees the world through their own perspectives, ever notice that? For example, two people sit together looking at the same sun on snow capped mountains in the distance. One person is wearing pink glasses and the other green. The one wearing pink glasses may see the mountains with a beautiful alpine glow and feel…

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Returning to the Workforce~ Body and…soul?

Many people report that after a year and a half of isolation due to a world pandemic, working at home in the safety, warmth, quiet and comfort of their home, returning to the office or to the tradeshows or customers in person has been very challenging. What happened to the comfy stretchy pants and slippers?…

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Navigating the Murky Waters of Virtual Communication

Since the invention of the telephone, we have been communicating virtually, which means not in the same space as the person we are connecting with. It was a big deal getting the answering machine, you didn’t ever miss a call. Now beeps, texts, tweets, faxes, emails, whatsapps, Zooms, Teams, Facetimes, to name only a few,…

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Pandemonium or Peace?

What is actually happening to the human race en masse? Setting the virus aside. Pandemonium. Let’s look at that. It means a wild uproar. It was the capital of Hell in Milton’s Paradise Lost. Take the word apart for closer examination of what is really going on. Pan (Greek god) and demonium or demonic. A…

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Communicating to be Understood

One of the things I totally enjoy is leading workshops on communication styles. You should see the looks on people’s faces when I explain simple things like, “that cake she baked for you was a message of love.” “Or the more you raise your voice to feeling communicators, the more they tune you out!” (Fiery…

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Changing the World: One Employee at a Time

Dealing with entry level employees in a production line environment often means high rates of turnover, which means higher costs of doing business through hiring, training and investing in new employees. In general, the people available for these production line jobs, extremely vital to our economy, are often lacking in education, positive role models, skills,…

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Culture and Communication~ What’s the Deal?

These two characters are creeping into the awareness of business owners, HR people, investment groups and anyone involved in the post-merger integration process. Why? I recently spoke with an investment group individual about some of their recent acquisitions. They invested in a survey of the employees of the new companies. Theoretically, they could then see…

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