You all know Bill Nye the Science Guy. If you’re of a certain age, you grew up watching him on TV. If you’re beyond a certain age, your kids grew up watching him on TV. But did you know that Bill Nye the Science Guy was invented out of desperation on January 10, 1987? And it all happened because a low-paid comedy writer asked a different question.
Social media and technology have made it easier than ever to connect with others. It’s great to know that with tools like Skype and others, you can connect instantly and in real time with a colleague or family member across town, across the country, or across the globe. That said, nothing beats (or ever will beat) face-to-face, in person contact.
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There’s a lot to be said for creative ideas that push the needle forward, even incrementally. But where do you go when you need a truly breakthrough idea? The kind of idea that will revolutionize your business—maybe even your entire industry—and cause your competition to wonder if they’d be better off just closing up shop? If that’s the kind of breakthrough you’re looking for—you need a wacky neighbor.
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In his wonderful book, A Whack on the Side of the Head (still one of the seminal books about creativity), Roger Von Oech talks about the concept of looking for the Second Right Answer. The idea is that most people (and you can substitute “people” with “leaders,” “teams,” and even “organizations”), when looking for a solution to a problem or challenge, stop after coming up with a solution. A solution. One, single solution. But just because it’s the first solution ...
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When it comes to customer service, one size definitely does not fit all! And yet many companies treat their customers as if they were all cut from the same cloth. Sure this makes things easier, cheaper, and more efficient. But it sure doesn’t create loyal customers!
A long time ago, shortly after the dinosaurs died off, I had a ...
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You’ve got a great vision for your team, and you’re genuinely excited about it. Great! Good for you! But now, how can you get your team as excited about it as you are?
When I was producing my TV show Almost Live!, I was fortunate that my team was nearly always fully engaged in the outcome (or at least ...
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As a business speaker who helps extraordinary leaders produce extraordinary results, I’m often asked, “How can I get my team excited about the outcome? How can I get my team to ‘buy-in‘? How can I get my team engaged?” Believe me, as a leader who’s led a team to extraordinary results, I’ve asked those same questions.
I’m embarrassed to ...
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I hear it all the time: “How can I get my team to all focus on a single goal? How can I get them pointing in the same direction? Honestly, some days ‘herding cats’ seems easier than leading my team!” I get it.
As I found out while leading my incredibly creative team at Almost Live! (the sketch ...
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It’s relatively easy to be a leader when everything’s going well. But what about those times when things go wrong? What do you do then? It turns out the answer is not easy…but it is simple.
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If your team isn’t performing at the level you’d like them to, maybe you need to look at where you’ve set your own bar.
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