Vision

How to put ideas from a conference into action:

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We’re entering a time of year when lots of people have professional development and conference opportunities. Lots of time when attending such an event, you get lots of ideas from the exhibit hall, from networking, from breakout sessions, and from keynote speakers and plenary sessions. You come home with lots of materials, then life happens, … Read more

The Olympics of Dedication

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The Olympics have a way of shining a new light on the meaning of dedication.

The opening ceremonies were comprised of one spectacular vignette after another, with thousands of performers, musicians and athletes knowing exactly where to go and what to do during every minute of their moment in the spotlight. That’s dedication.

Every commercial that runs during the Olympic Games tells the athlete’s tale of foregoing dessert, not watching TV, not skipping a single day’s workout in order to be the best. That’s dedication.

Then there was the Chinese farmer who spent the last two years traveling to London via rickshaw just to see the Olympic games. A little extreme, but yes – that’s dedication.

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Fear and Vision

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Fear paralyzes; sometimes we allow it to, calling it “caution”. It’s good to be cautious.  Not so good to be paralyzed. Either by over-analysis OR by fear. (Though, extreme analysis can combat fear; see Freakonomics for the statistics on child restraints…) A good nugget from Tim Ferriss’s Four-Hour Workweek is this (paraphrased): The thought of … Read more

Be smart about SMART goals (shortcut included)

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Last week’s blog talked about the value of vision as a leader. With vision, you have a clear destination; a clear destination can aid in motivating your team. But with vision, comes goals. Goals serve as checkpoints on the way to your vision. But how do you know you have a goal worth pursuing? Enter: … Read more

Silos in the real world…

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This post will be a part of a local effort from author and change agent Danny Heggen that is worth your attention, but I share it here as an example of how misguided passion, particularly from leaders, can lead to potential division. It’s so fun and rewarding to be a part of Des Moines these days. … Read more