Author Archives: Daniel

Process-Payments

Coaching/Consulting/Counseling or Facilitation Services Please enter a description USD Please enter a price Please enter an Invoice ID function initPayPalButton() { var description = document.querySelector('#smart-button-container #description'); var amount = document.querySelector('#smart-button-container #amount'); var Continue Reading ...

Trusted lies and the meaning of money

Recent reporting in the US indicates that we have accepted, as a culture, a "new normal" of half-truths and blatant disregard for facts.  Seriously?  Yes, unfortunately, this is no lie.  I wish I were kidding.  Apparently, some will consider this is a virtue, a victory over the rule of law, reason, and unadulterated honest dealings. It isn't. Repeated lying, especially the "rinse, wash and Continue Reading ...

Collaboration at Work

What's An Elephant Between Coworkers? By Daniel Robin Have you ever noticed how your perceptions and those of others often don't match? It is said that we all hold "a piece of the elephant" (and the elephant likes it). This is why collaboration is necessary and usually advantageous at work: to gain access to unfamiliar territory and the new resources that live in other people. Indeed, to get Continue Reading ...

Recognizing Talent – key traits for hiring and promoting

"It's not about whether candidates have the right skills, it's [more] about whether they have the potential to learn new ones."    - Claudio Fernández-Aráoz To recruit, promote and keep talent, it turns out that adaptability, capacity to learn, and constructive use of imagination are more important than knowledge.  Einstein was right.  But the master skill of "learning how to learn" can be Continue Reading ...

Collaboration

Collaboration can become "coliberation" when done right. When, exactly, are "two heads better than one"?  When the overall goal and task at hand deserve this form of closely aligned partnering.  Of course, not every type of work, every goal or every task deserves it, and when collaboration is warranted, success depends on the willingness and skill-sets of collaboration partners.  Key is to Continue Reading ...

Alignment

Lack of alignment around goals, or the deeper challenges of disagreements about priorities, the desired future, beliefs about what is possible, let alone worthwhile, sometimes fueled by egoic, dysfunctional, win-lose thinking, all limit success. When stakes are high, this lack of alignment can create quite a mess.  Though recovery from such setbacks isn't usually a problem, if there's a preventable Continue Reading ...

Imagine a Future Worth Having

"Without vision, the people will perish." - Book of Proverbs "Problem solving becomes the busywork of organizations in which people have forgotten their purpose and vision." - Peter Senge, author of The Fifth Discipline What is vision? Vision describes and makes explicit a desired future. Vision is a tool to help foster an environment of shared meaning where the future scenario is revealed and Continue Reading ...

Presentations that Don’t Suck

Why is PowerPoint a cue to take a nap for so many professionals? Is it because they can? Nobody is watching them, and they can finally catch up on some much-needed rest? Unfortunately, nobody is watching the presenter, either. Microsoft PowerPoint is one of the most used and most loathed tools in business today. It’s the go-to tool for 99% of presentation visuals intended to communicate with others. Continue Reading ...

Vision, Mission and Values

Management Tools for Building a Better Workplace By Daniel Robin Vision and mission-making work can serve you in carrying out your leadership role, unifying your efforts and building alignment and loyalty among employees. However, far more important than having mission and vision statements is having a clear mission and vision! The map is not the territory. This article offers tips for how to Continue Reading ...

New Rules for Communication @ Work

By Daniel Robin This article describes a set of new rules for effective workplace communication in an ever-changing economy. It assumes that you are part of a high-performing organization that values innovation, participation (collaborative vs. command-and-control styles of leadership), mutual accountability and, to some extent, sustainability. Doesn’t sound like your workplace? Perhaps that’s Continue Reading ...

Exploring the Inner Frontier, Part 3

What's a Healthy Boundary Between You and a Maniac? -- part 3 of 3 By Daniel Robin Hank says to me "It’ll never work," just two days after his team’s proposal was approved. Shirley says the reason the project is doomed is that nobody ever talks to her. I innocently ask "What can you do about that?" and she snaps "I don’t have time for this!" and walks out of the room. Whoa! How do you Continue Reading ...

Exploring the Inner Frontier, Part 2

Skills to Set and Maintain Healthy Workplace Boundaries -- part 2 of 3 By Daniel Robin Setting healthy boundaries at work can be your saving grace; it can also be a daily testimonial to your courage and skill. Whether you’re the boss who has not enough staff and way too much to do, or you’re a member of that staff, establishing and maintaining healthy boundaries is an invisible and challenging Continue Reading ...