Steve Clayton is the Chief Storyteller for Microsoft. He is tasked with presenting the mission, history, and message the way Microsoft wants to be viewed internally and externally. It’s an important job, especially when the mission statement is:
Get a Life
Get a life is intended to taunt someone who is devoting an inordinate amount of time to trivial matters. It can also apply to workaholics who are so dedicated to their jobs that they neglect their personal lives.
Manage Your Energy at Work
We hear about the importance of time management, but where do leaders find the energy to take care of all the issues they must confront? How do you maintain your energy on days or weeks when everyone is demanding a piece of you? As a leader, it is essential to manage your energy to lead and mentor those around you
Men and Their Friends: Just, Must, & Rust
My father, Gaylord Johnson, passed away this week, just six days shy of his 95th birthday. Old age, Covid-19, and pneumonia took him from us.
Six Steps to Reskill Workers
“Imagine a crisis that forces your company’s employees to change the way they work almost overnight. Despite initial fears that the pressure would be too great, you discover this new way of working could be a blueprint for the long term.” According to McKinsey, this is indeed what many companies are discovering as they respond to the COVID-19 crisis.
Do You “Post & Pray?”
Recently, an Executive Roundtable Member joked that the best method he knew of for finding new employees is “posting and praying.”
Born with one eyebrow arched?
In the book Talking to Strangers, Malcolm Gladwell explores why we are so ready to believe people we don’t know. In the chapter on Bernie Madoff, he describes an interview between SEC investigator Peter Lamore and Madoff. Madoff explained that “essentially he could see around corners; he had an infallible ‘gut feel’ for when to get out of the markets just
Conflict is good?
Peace is good and conflict is bad, right? Maybe not. Do you make every effort to avoid disagreements among your team? Judiciously managed team conflict in the workplace can aid a company’s long term business success.
The Silver Lining
Every cloud has a silver lining; we must look for signs of hope in the negative situations surrounding us. It’s easy to become enmeshed in negativity: high unemployment, businesses going under, and lives turned upside down.