Free Webinar | How to Develop a Crucial Leadership Skill Description Every action is preceded by a thought. Nothing happens until a thought prompts a person to do something. Critical thinking isan intentional, exploratory mental process that purposes to enhance the practice of thinking so that resultant actions produce more positive results. Critical thinking can be defined as thinking-about-thinking. Leaders are men and women of action. Often the differences in leadership ou

Are you a critical thinker? Think about it. Leaders need to cultivate and practice critical thinking skills. I was in a meeting and heard the chairman say, “I wish we had thought about that before committing to this project.” Ouch! Something unforeseen had happened and it was a surprise to everyone present. The chairman had identified a missed opportunity for critical thinking in the decision making process. Leaders need to think thoughts that others don’t think Leaders are l

Exercise more. Check. Start every day with joyful gratitude. Check. Focus my energies using a well prioritized to-do list. Check. Well, it’s about that time in January when I realize that the several New Year’s resolutions that I made at the stroke of midnight on Jan 1, 2016 were made with wonderful intention but my resolve to living up to them is a bit short at the moment. Lots of people make New Year’s resolutions. It just seems like a great time to start again. With the tu

I find it rather easy to fool myself about some pretty basic things. For example, I espouse the values of physical fitness and a healthy diet. I even enjoy an occasional walk around the block and a salad (low fat dressing, please). But you won’t find me at the gym. I am fooling myself when I say physical fitness is important and then don’t model what it means to be physically fit. The opposite of fooling yourself is knowing yourself. Socrates, the ancient Greek philosopher, i

10 – 9 – 8 – 7 – 6 – 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 – Liftoff! Have you ever witnessed the launch of a rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida? It is a magnificent sight! I spent many years working as an aerospace engineer designing and testing rocket engines. When launch day arrives for a new propulsion system there is a tangible anticipation of success. After literally years of development effort everything and everyone is ready for the inaugural launch. The countdown process is

How do you end your Email messages? I make a practice of ending my correspondence like this: Encouragement! Paul I started using my encouragement ending a few years ago during a time when I was experiencing a lot of discouragement. I decided to push back against the onslaught of negative emotions I was feeling by doing something positive. The first time I concluded a message with my new encouragement ending it was awkward but the result was a more constructive tone and