Many of us are aware of the work of Daniel Goleman and others on Emotional Intelligence (EQ) but recently I came across the work of Professor David Livermore of Michigan State University who studies Cultural Intelligence (CQ) in understanding and adapting to different national cultures. He describes ten value "polarities" that in some combination can [...]
Nearly 100 people shared a light dinner together while the meeting continued. One of the great joys of our work is seeing people come together to create something that no one thought was possible. My partner Bev Seiford and I had that experience recently when we worked with Saline Area Social Service (SASS), [...]
TED Talks are a great source of information and inspiration. Recently, a client suggested a talk by Simon Sinek entitled "How Great Leaders Inspire Action". In his 18 minute presentation, Simon proposes that people follow you not because of what you do but because of why you do it. As we begin a year-long series [...]
Nonprofit organizations are increasingly challenged today. In our town, a wonderful social service nonprofit closed its doors recently after many years of growth. Part of the problem was reduced funding from some of its main sources like the United Way; but the larger problem was a loss of focus. […]
We are all familiar with it – the stuff in the air that prevents one from seeing the road signs ahead. Does it exist in organizations? Several weeks ago, while working with a large system, the President/COO commented “it feels to me like they are in the fog!” He was responding to a presentation of [...]