Tips on Tipping from a World Traveler

It seems odd to me that people have such strong opinions about tipping – especially those opposed to it. I have traveled a lot over the last three decades. Not as much as the true “road warriors,” but far more than most people. I travel all over the US on a regular basis, and generally […]
What Are You Worried About?

Think of worry like a good spice: A little worry goes a long ways.
Set It and Forget It: The Worst Mistake You Can Ever Make

In the world of computers, the worst thing you can ever do is “Set it and forget it.” That got me to thinking about all the other things in our lives where we’re tempted to set it and forget it.
You Put Yourself Where You Are

Whether it’s creating a new future or maintaining a status quo, we get what we work toward. My motto for life and business is, “Nothing Happens by Itself.” So, if I don’t like some aspect of my life, I need to accept that I did whatever it took to create my current reality.
Quitting Has A Bad Name

The process of trimming – quitting something important – is rarely easy. It can be almost heart breaking.
Your Mind Doesn’t Do You A Lot of Favors

When we recall memories, we also apply filtering. As we pull them out of storage, we re-write them just a bit to fit within our world view and to provide consistency with other memories.
Inertia – Good and Bad

We all know what intertia is. Whether or not your mind immediately brings up an image of Sir Isaac Newton, you have certainly heard of Newton’s first law of motion: “An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless […]
Advice to Employees – and What It Means to Managers

As I go through my days and weeks, I talk to a lot of people. Most, I admit, are self-employed or the owners and managers of small companies. But, of course, I also talk to a lot of “normal” people who have jobs and work for someone else. They work for those owners and managers […]
Slow Down, Get More Done

This is so central to my life and my business that I had a poster made for my wall that says, “Slow down, get more done.” There are any levels to this advice. The simplest one is that sometimes you are so intent and frustrated in your work that you cannot make progress. For example, […]
How to Minimize Interruptions

The last few posts have been about minimizing interruptions. Interruptions are literally the single greatest productivity killer in your business or personal life! If interruptions are coming from an outsider, including clients, it is easy to set up rules to deal with this. But insiders (your employees and family) are a different story. You can’t […]