In card magic, there are a number of secret moves, or “sleights,” that all self-respecting magicians must master. I still remember spending hours, days, and weeks practicing maneuvers like the side pass, the Elmsley count, the glide, and many others. I got fairly good, although my professional magician friends can run circles around me. I was a pretty good amateur, but I was never a master.
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It’s graduation season and with it, a great lesson for business leaders!
Those of you who are familiar with the magnificent physical specimen that I have become will find this difficult to believe, but in high school I was a band geek. That’s right. Conestoga Valley High School, marching band, drum section. While the cool guys were running up and down the field getting touchdowns and girls, I was marching up and down the field in spats. Envious, aren’t you?
So being one of the drummers in the marching band was not exactly ...
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If, as a leader, you find that you’re always the smartest person in the room…you need to hire better people!
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I’ll always remember the first time I met Jay Leno. It was around 1986, and I was the executive producer of Seattle’s legendary comedy TV show Almost Live! Jay was coming into town for some corporate event, and he had agreed to do a guest spot on our show. We’d arranged to pick Jay up at the airport, so at the appointed time I, along with our show host Ross Shafer (who already knew Jay), and a pre-“Science Guy” Bill ...
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You do a great job for a customer, and you’re set! That customer will never forget you! Right? Wrong! As it turns out, it is NOT your customer’s job to remember you!
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Can you be both the leader of, and an equal member of, a work team?
How?
For those of you who are scratching your heads and saying, “What the hell is he talking about?” let me explain.
For 15 years I was the executive producer of a sketch comedy TV show called Almost Live! But for those same 15 years, I was also one of the ...
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Are you feeling unloved and underappreciated? That’s okay! You can’t please everyone…nor SHOULD you!
A friend of mine recently asked me if I could sit in on keyboards with his band for an upcoming gig. I have the night available, so I said sure. A few nights ago I went to a rehearsal so I could meet the other guys in the band and get a feel for the music.
It could have gone better.
Oh, it wasn’t bad, mind you. But it could have gone better. They didn’t show me a set list or any ...
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Why do so many leaders find it difficult to engage their team? One of the reasons is that they don’t give their teams anything to be engaged about.