It can be learned and practiced – Issue #72 People with charisma seem to have an effortless ability to attract, charm, and influence others. Some believe that it is a natural talent (i.e., you’re born with a certain amount of charisma). Others suggest that charisma is a bundle of behaviors and skills that can be…

Take advantage of the priming effect – Issue #71 Let me start by saying that I don’t believe in “manifesting” or the “law of attraction.” Sorry, you can hate on me in the comments if you like (premium subscribers can leave comments).  However, I do think there is a method to the madness of visualizing…

Relationships take time – Issue #70 Social media is a double-edged sword. It can waste your time and introduce you to the darker side of society. However, it is also a useful way to connect with likeminded souls and people you admire. For example, all of us have authors we’d love to meet someday. We’ve…

You can develop them, if you care enough – Issue #69 There are tens of thousands of books on the subject of Leadership. There are millions of opinions, articles, and research studies on what makes an effective, successful, great leader. The advice can often seem contradictory, and the list of required leadership traits is overwhelming. What unicorn fits…

Don’t rush to fill silence – Issue #68 It seems like many of us are uncomfortable with silence. Now that we all carry a smartphone everywhere, moments of peace and quiet are a thing of the past. I’ve noticed something whenever I am anywhere that people need to wait (e.g., a doctor’s office, the DMV,…

Your calendar is your friend – Issue #67 “What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important.” ― Dwight D. Eisenhower Yesterday, in my Slack career community, we were talking about the challenges of making time for all of your most important tasks and activities. It seems like something always creeps…

Try these techniques to ignite your innovative thinking Individuals and companies have so many burning questions around innovation, creativity, and brainstorming: How can I become more creative? How can our organization become more innovative? Why do our brainstorming efforts eventually fail? What are the secrets? I’ve encountered a thousand different forms of this question in…

Don’t be passive-aggressive – Issue #65 “Well, since I haven’t heard back from you about the job, I decided that it was time to follow up.” Don’t be that person. It is essential to follow up after a job interview if you haven’t heard anything for about a week. However, you do not want to…

Think about what lights up your creativity – Issue #64 Various approaches to creation and innovation have been on my mind lately. I’ve spent most of my 26-year career being part of teams that were responsible for creating products and services, mostly in Tech. In many cases, we were evolving and reshaping something that already existed. In a few rare…

It’s an easy way to project more confidence – Issue #63 I’m not sure when I first started noticing a decline in eye contact, but it seems like fewer people look you in the eyes during a conversation now. Smartphones only serve to exacerbate the problem. This issue became more apparent when I was interviewing job candidates…