If you've read any of Steven Covey's books you might remember the story of the woodcutter who, although much smaller than his competitor, felled a tree in half the time. The secret was that periodically the smaller of the two stopped his "sawing" and sharpened his saw, making him more effective than his larger more powerful counterpart. The metaphor shows us that sometimes we spend so much time producing results, "sawing,"  that we forget to "sharpen our saw," that is maintain or increase our capacity to produce results in the future.

Sharpening the Saw

If you’ve read any of Steven Covey’s books you might remember the story of the woodcutter who, although much smaller than his competitor, felled a tree in half the time. The secret was that periodically the smaller of the two stopped his “sawing” and sharpened his saw, making him more effective than his larger more…

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Listen, Please Listen

Last night while out to dinner, one of my dinner companions carefully and specifically ordered his drink, a bloody Mary. “I’d like it made with plain tomato juice, vodka, and a lime, I don’t want any spices at all, please.” The server took the order and shortly returned with a drink that included the spices.…

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Create More Magic

In our last tip Misery, Mediocrity or Magic I reminded you about the choice that occurs thousands of times a day in every business as the customer has the chance to make a judgment about the quality of service you are delivering. That moment is a Moment of Truth for the customer and a big…

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Health Kick

Misery, Mediocrity or Magic?

  I was running a little late last week on my way to a client in Ormond Beach, FL. I was due there to do a Wisdom Circle1 at 1PM and I was hungry. That meant fast food.   I’m a bit of a health nut, so when the “usual suspects” are the only options…

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Tonight, while reading an article on leadership in an issue of Inc. Magazine (still one of my favorites) I was taken aback by how many of the principles we’ve been talking about all these years add up to what today’s brightest employees are looking for in leaders today.

Everyone Wins

Every once in a while I like to take a look back at the writing I’ve done over the last 20 years or so – and my goodness, I’ve done a lot. What makes me the happiest is when I find that the wisdom and ideas I shared in the past is still red-hot relevant…

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When you ask people to recount some of the most pleasurable experiences of their lifetimes, they often tell of times when they were having fun. Times when they laughed together with others, shared a chuckle, were amused or lightened by the same perspective of a situation. Some even tell of work experiences where the whole team pulled together toward a common goal. Humor is used to bond with others, to lighten the heavy load of living and often to relieve stress.

Create Value with ‘Feel Goods’

Victor Borge once said that humor is the shortest distance between two people, and I must tell you, I heartily agree.   Given their options, most sane human beings would choose to do business with someone who is pleasant, courteous, warm, friendly, hospitable and dare I say, fun. Yes, of course it’s critical to be…

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Creating a Giving Culture  Grant suggests that people in leadership positions can: Encourage reciprocity: it's ok to seek help; it's good to give; pay it forward Help givers to set boundaries. Guide them to be perspective takers if they are prone to lacking assertiveness or to being overwhelmed with excessive empathy which can cloud their judgment Guide giving behavior in the direction of best impact: helping others whilst protecting one's own work commitments

Is Yours A Culture of Giving?

Dr Adam Grant, management professor at Wharton, wrote a book Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success. If you are on my mailing list and read my “Customer Care Tip” I’m going to take a wild guess that you are someone who has long ago embraced the idea of “giving”. When I recently saw an…

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