Would you like to be twice as good as your competition? The Beatles knew the formula!
27
JUL
2014
JUL
2014
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How To Be Twice As Good As The Competition
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How To Be A Really Stupid “Smart” Leader
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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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8
JUN
2014
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JUN
2014
A Great Business Lesson From the Grammys
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Back in my Seattle TV days, I used to hang out occasionally with a guy named Dave Grohl, who was the drummer for a little trio called Nirvana. Last night, he and his current band, Foo Fighters, picked up five Grammy awards. While accepting the award for Best Rock Album, Dave said something that really struck a chord (pun intended, ...
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13
FEB
2012
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FEB
2012
A Success Lesson from Paul McCartney
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I’ve had the good fortune to meet Paul McCartney a few times. And I say “good fortune” not just because it’s cool meeting famous people; I say “good fortune” because of the lesson I learned—and re-learned—from this guy (who, as a refresher to our younger readers, was one of the Beatles).
Think about this: Paul McCartney is arguably the most ...
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30
DEC
2011
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DEC
2011
Are You a Worker Bee or a Wannabe?
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I was recently talking to a fellow speaker about marketing. She was complaining (whining, really) because she had to put together a new marketing campaign for her services, and she wasn’t enjoying the process. She said she didn’t want to do any marketing. I asked her what she did want, and she said:
“I just want people to hire me.”
Well, ...
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24
AUG
2011
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AUG
2011
A Lesson in Leadership from Jerry Seinfeld
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I recently read a New York Times Magazine article that says that in the late 19th century there was a theory about how human beings improve in their activities. The theory said that a person “could improve at mental and physical activities until he hit a wall, which he cannot by any education or exertion overpass.” In other words, there’s a point for each of us where we can’t improve anymore.
Turns out that’s not altogether true. Current research, as the ...
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25
MAR
2011
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MAR
2011
What if Lennon Hadn’t “Hired” McCartney?
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What if, on the day John Lennon and Paul McCartney first met, Lennon (who was the leader of his own band, The Quarrymen) had said, “You know, this McCartney fellow is pretty good—but I’ll bet if I look around I can find somebody cheaper.”
If that had happened, there’s a very good chance that you and I would never have heard of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, or ...
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20
SEP
2010
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SEP
2010
Don’t Ignore the “Small” Opportunities
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How many opportunities (including BIG ones) are you leaving on the table because you’re ignoring the small game?
I was just reading an interview with Paul McCartney’s bass player, Brian Ray (and what kind of pressure must that be—playing bass for one of the greatest rock bassists of all time?!). The interviewer asked the obvious question: “So, how did you get the McCartney gig?” I think Brian’s answer is a great business lesson for all of us. Here’s what he said:
“In ...
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11
AUG
2010
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AUG
2010
Stop Lying About “Going to Work”
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There’s a guy at my gym whom I call Burl. Not because he’s burly, like you’d expect a gym regular to be, but because he looks like Burl Ives. (For you younger readers, Burl Ives was a rotund, congenial-looking man, whom you may know as the voice of Frosty the Snowman. He was not known for his rock-hard abs.) Burl is there every morning, sitting on an exercise bike, watching TV. Not actually exercising, mind you. I’ve never seen him ...
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21
MAY
2010
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MAY
2010
The Unseen Details Make the Difference
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How committed are you to the quality of your work?
If you go to the British Museum (and you really should, you know), you will see the Elgin Marbles. These are a collection of ancient Greek marble sculptures that used to grace the Parthenon. (And by the way, contrary to popular belief, the “g” in “Elgin” is pronounced like the “g” in “goat,” not “gin.” Mmmm, gin.) These are magnificent statues, but what’s really amazing is what you see when you ...
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12
JAN
2010
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JAN
2010