Startups and Entrepreneurship

he Royal Marines specialise in creating high performing teams, and yet they don't pay exceptional salaries or offer annual bonuses. Much of their performance is driven by powerful symbolism and the sense of belonging and commitment that this creates. Most organisations can benefit from a similar approach, boosting team performance without draining the corporate coffers. The secret lies in engaging team members with the corporate vision - and often embodying that vision in simple symbols. I saved my employer many thousands of pounds when I learned this lesson.

Do you have a talisman that is always with you? Something which inspires and motivates you, like a piece of religious jewelry, a wedding ring or a photograph of your family? Something that identifies you with a group of people who share your beliefs, your support for a sports team, your DNA or something else? If you do, the chances are you will quickly identify yourself with that group if you are asked to describe yourself - it forms an important part of your identity.

When I was twelve I knew I wanted to be this: As time has moved on, I still am, and do desire to continue to be, an artist. The level and notice that comes my way always changes. Absolutely fine...

As time has moved on, I still am, and do desire to continue to be, an artist. The level and notice that comes my way always changes. Absolutely fine with me. I am an artist creating daily with words, with ideas with love, and with my life.

Many years ago I allowed the Matrix (corporations, people, religion, and more) to convince me that I was not an artist or someone wired with a lot of imagination and creativity. It whispered ever so softly that I needed put the "art" away and remember the importance of security. It almost worked, but I wanted and got my life back. I write the following with great emphasis:

Get your life back! Whatever you must do, get your life back.

Mr. Schuerholz has had a very successful career in baseball on the management side of the game. He has worked for Baltimore and Kansas City prior to the Braves. With the Kansas City, under his leadership as General Manager, the team won the franchise’s first World Series in 1985. In 1990 he departed to the Braves and in 1991 the Braves went from worst-to-first and then on to win the World Series in 1995 and racked up 14 consecutive division titles, the most in baseball history. He has now stepped down as GM and has taken on the role of President of the organization. Under his guidance there were multiple Cy Young awards garnered, Golden Gloves and a few MVP awards as well. That is why when he starts talking about what makes for a successful team you start listening.

Wow, it’s amazing that half a year has whizzed by!  Now is a great time for leaders to look back over those six months with a mini-assessment for lessons learned and wisdom gained. Then, take yo...

The Army says that there are toxic leaders in its ranks. That's a problem. But 97 percent of officers and sergeants have experienced an exceptional leader, and that may be part of the solution.

The Washington Post headline reads "Army worries about ‘toxic leaders’ in ranks." The Army defined "toxic leaders" as those "who put their own needs first, micro-managed subordinates, behaved in a mean-spirited manner or displayed poor decision making." There appear to be a lot of them.

"A major U.S. Army survey [of 22,000 Army leaders] of leadership and morale found that more than 80 percent of Army officers and sergeants had directly observed a “toxic” leader in the last year and that about 20 percent of the respondents said that they had worked directly for one."

That's pretty serious, but it gets worse. Half the soldiers surveyed expected the toxic leader to get promoted. There's some good news, though, in a single sentence from the story.

"The survey also found that 97 percent of officers and sergeants had observed an “exceptional leader” within the Army in the past year."

I recently watched a commercial for a company that advertised the ongoing training their employees receive. It made me think about the wisdom this company used by leveraging what they do right as part of their marketing plan.

Let’s consider: What do we mean by a leader?

A leader is a person who influences lives of his / her followers. Do you agree with this statement? If we can influence lives of people around us, we can become a leader wherever we are.

Another thing: Leadership qualities can be developed. Some people may be born leaders but others can develop this skill.

Here are the four skills which we can adopt to become a good leader:

Do you know how to wake yourself up? Try these tips in order to get your day off to a better start.

One of the biggest challenges I have in life is falling asleep. I know what most of your are saying. If that is your biggest challenge in life then you do not have many challenges. I would agree with that. Still, I am jealous of my wife because she can easily fall asleep. No matter when I eventually fall asleep, I find waking up to be a breeze. When I wake up, I am ready to go and attack the day. Honestly, I hope that I do not wake up too early because I know that I won’t be able to go back to sleep. Today, I am going to talk about how to wake yourself up.

the simple and free but priceless act of showing respect is the most powerful lesson you will ever learn on the road to success.

Respect Deficit Disorder (RDD) has officially been added to a list of maladies that includes Two-Dimensional Leader Disease (2DLD) and Tired Leader Syndrome (TLS).

In this era of runaway deficits, it seems that the need to treat others with respect…especially those who work for and with us… well..it has run away.

The extent of the disease is not entirely known, although it has been widely observed in congress as well as in a large number of workplaces and oddly enough, even in settings where treating people with respect might be expected to be a key criterion for success.