In November 2015, in a bid to make myself seem smart and important, I delivered my very first TED talk. It was filmed in a dark room with theater-style seating (a TED requirement), and I wore the blue-jeans-with-sport-jacket combo that is one of the only two acceptable outfits for a man to wear. (The other,…
I’ve been making my living as a keynote speaker for the past eleven years. I like my job. It’s allowed me to visit dozens of cities and countries I might otherwise never have seen. It affords more flexibility than almost any other career I can imagine. (Careers with more flexibility include ‘part-time sock collector,’ which…
So, today is Administrative Professionals Day, and bosses the world over are asking their administrative assistants to pick out presents for themselves that their bosses can then pretend to give them. If I were an administrative assistant, I would probably buy myself a helicopter and then write my boss the nicest thank-you note ever. Better to…
Oh, the little things. They shouldn’t matter as much as they do, right? After all, there’s war and famine and crushing poverty in various places around the world, which means that our tiny little problems shouldn’t bother us like they do. That’s what I keep telling myself, anyway. But then someone decides to poke me,…
One of the most difficult parts of having to work with other people is dealing with anyone who seemingly revels in refusing to consider anything you suggest before you’re even done suggesting it. You’ve got an idea you think might work, you make the mistake of getting excited about it, you then make the further…
Figuring out how to deal with change is one of the more difficult elements of professional life. I’ve spoken at close to 1,000 conferences at this point, and the vast majority of my clients want me to help prepare their attendees for upcoming changes or to help smooth the transition from a change that got…
If you’re even halfway interested in becoming a better leader, then I’m sure you’ve read dozens of books and articles and case studies about leadership. You’ve probably seen a few statistics that have made you really stop and think about your own approach to management and leadership. But you’ve never seen a statistic like this…
Welcome to almost spring! With any luck the snow is finally melting and turning your backyard into a slushy mudpile you won’t want to walk in for a month. The birds are returning to peck holes into the side of your home, your friendly neighborhood bears are coming out of hibernation, and any Southerners reading…
As you may already know, I do a lot of my work from home when I’m not traveling. (I used to do a lot of my work out of other people’s homes, but they eventually found out what I was doing and started calling the cops.) That is usually a beautiful thing, since my wife…
I had an inspiration in the shower today. That happens fairly often, and not just because I’m a compulsive bather (I shower almost every day – my mom would be so proud!). I think it’s because the shower is one of the very few places in my life when I am not at all in…