It’s tough to respect a leader who’s always losing his cool. Case in point: during college, I worked in a family-owned Italian restaurant whose proprietor had a fiery, larger-than-life personality. When he was frustrated, ‘Tony” was prone to emotional outbursts. One day, I received this upbraiding for not setting up the salad bar correctly: “You…
Communication
What Savvy Networkers Know
My definition of networking is: “the purpose of networking is to connect people who have a mutual interest in developing a business relationship or assisting one another”. So with that framework in mind, I invite you to consider the following ideas, which I’ve playfully named “Miller’s Maxims”.
How to Avoid Getting Sucked Into Needless Activity
There’s no shortage of important work to do – both at home and in your job. So, the last thing you want tossed your way is unnecessary work. Nobody likes needless activity, right? But this is easier said than done. I’m sure you can easily recall getting pulled into something that did not add value…
How To Gain Buy-In From Your Team
When my daughter was in elementary school I chaperoned a group of second-graders on a field trip to the ArtPrize exhibition in downtown Grand Rapids. Picture this: ten 8-year-olds, excitedly dashing around parks and gardens, in and out of exhibition buildings. They were so excited to experience the art displayed throughout our city. Naturally, their…
Discovering Pez
What An Interactive Candy Teaches Us About Leadership and Coaching Christmas time always provides many fun memories and this year was no exception. Santa left Pez dispensers in my kids’ stockings—for the first time. My daughter was very excited to try out her new Pez “toy”. With my background as a corporate trainer, I’m a…