I have watched John Maxwell speak, teach and train for over 20 years. His ability to communicate to audiences or ‘one on one’ with individuals is based on the laws of communication he has developed below. His newest book "16 Invaluable Laws of Communication" outlines the key principles of effective communication. The principles are based on how John walks the talk with integrity, graciousness, a servant-leader mindset, and of course, his world-class cross-cultural speaking skills.

Everyone today talks about becoming a leader but what happened to the manager? Reading the Daily Drucker, I have noticed that many times, Dr. Drucker the author of modern management, mentions “manager” but we can also insert the word “leader” into many of his writings without distorting his intent. Is being a leader a higher level skill than what seems to be the lower level skill of an manager? There are several key differences between a manager and a leader and my research highlights the similarities and differences

During Covid and post-Covid I traveled to holiday in Bali – what a difference in serenity and harmony between the two trips. By the way…my first trip to Bali was way back in 1978 when things were a lot quieter! Returning to Bali in post-Covid January, I experienced the return of the disruptive tourist in Bali and can empathize with the local Balinese anger and the many press reports calling out very visible tourists who consciously ignore local values and customs in the normally harmonious island of Bali.

We are into the third month of 2023 and I figured we can do a quick personal check-up on your self-leadership and care. So, I checked with ChatGPT to see how it would respond. Here is what it produced with a few edits by myself. Effective self-leadership involves taking responsibility for one's own development and growth, and taking proactive steps to achieve personal and professional goals.

It’s been said that public speaking is the number one fear of most people, with death being second. “This means,” said comedian Jerry Seinfeld, “if you have to be at a funeral, you would rather be in the casket than doing the eulogy.”

My observation in Asia have seen that corporate leaders get promoted faster than their skill development in public speaking and presentations.

Times of turbulence are great opportunities for those who can understand, accept, and exploit the new realities that create value. Think about how Zoom exploited Covid and morphed working from home with virtual teamwork to be a new normal. One constant theme is the need for you, your team, and your company to face up to reality and resist the temptations of the certainties of yesterday, which are about to become the deleterious failures of tomorrow. Being born in Detroit, I saw this happen in the 1970’s with the “Big Three” automakers being overwhelmed by higher-quality Japanese cars.

We all have been stressed at one time or another. It can be triggered by work, health, finance, relationships, self-doubt or challenging circumstances in your life. I have experienced stress for all these causes and have found some “remedies” that can help you prevent or reduce your stress to live a more enjoyable, meaningful life. A few insightful caveats about stress before we look at stress reducers I have discovered.

For many in Asia, this long weekend heralds the Chinese New Year of the Rabbit. For many, it is a time to come home and honour parents (and in-laws!), reconnect to siblings and enjoy fellowship and good food. It can be a time of rest and recharging. To motivate you to reflect and recharge, I have assembled brief quotes (with some adaptation) from authors Walt Hendrichsen, and Robb Thompson to give you “food for thought” over the weekend – read reflect, digest, and make necessary changes.

The year 2022 was impactful for the learner/mentees in the Harvard Manage Mentor Spark community. Michelle Bonterre of Harvard Publishing lists out the 10 most popular skills the Harvard Manage Mentees desired to learn in 2022 below and I have given you action steps to take to grow you in these skills in 2023. Read on!

Wow! It’s December already and time to reflect on 2022 and plan for 2023. Emerging from Covid we have all learned life lessons that have led to success and possible setbacks. The coming year 2023 may not be any calmer, but a year of change, possible chaos and hopefully personal growth. Take this upcoming holiday period to reflect on your life in 2022 and to prepare for 2023. Begin by reviewing your 2022 by answering and reflecting on these six questions:

Organizations must train and grow their people to remain relevant and competitive in this rapidly changing world. How then do we avoid the pitfalls of training disillusionment and achieve success in the development of our people? This visual I have adapted from Dartner says it all.

Year-end performance appraisals are a year-end SOP for many organizations. With a dramatic increase of quiet quitting, job hopping and fierce talent attraction competition, it would be wise to conduct appraisals on your organization’s culture, leadership competence and employee engagement. Culture Amp has recently conducted research on why people leave organizations.

All of us are emerging from Covid for better or for worse. On the horizon, we see inflation, chaos, and the continual noise of negative and amplified social media. As you and I finish off 2022, I want you to reflect on how you have grown or possibly regressed through Covid and experiences of 2021 - 2022. If you decide to do this, have a pen and paper ready to record what you have learned, how you have grown, and what you might do differently in the future.

Over the past 30 years, I have interviewed thousands of candidates for positions in leadership, sales and service. From this long experience of “success and failure,” I have gleaned four actions you should always employ during any interview. The four actions support the solid interviewing skills of preparation, conducting, and evaluating the interview.

Wow! It is already the fourth quarter of 2022. Many of us are already into reviewing results for 2022 and planning our 2023 goals. These 4th Q activities usually involve the review of sales, revenue, KPI’s and of course the dreaded year-end performance appraisal.

During my home leave over the past month, I have experienced the deaths two people and have reflected on the legacy they left behind: an ex-boss who became a personal friend, and a queen of 70 years. After examining their lives, I will leave you with insight and questions you may ask yourself about the legacy you are establishing as you journey through your life of relationships

In times growth, the success of an organization is often regarded as a by product of the market place and the organizations strategic position. However, when things aren’t going so well, attention goes to the company’s leadership.

Pause and reflect for a moment on communicators you’ve heard speak at conventions, retreats, special events or other conferences. My guess is—some of them were so good you can still remember their big idea. Others, I imagine, you only remember their name. You can’t remember what they said for the life of you. Most of you reading this article communicate with students in some context. If you’re like me—you win sometimes, and you lose sometimes.

Last week I sat down with Mette Johansson to discuss her upcoming book on authentic leadership. We discussed how being an authentic leader means actively living your core values in the cultures you live in and the relationships you have. I then read the article by Michael O’Malley of HBR on the 10 Principles of Effective Leadership and made the connection that effective organizations are led by authentic leaders.

Last week PwC sent me an article on their research on trust between organizations and their customers and employees. The research paper is called “Trust: The New Currency for Business.” PwC has much deeper pockets and global reach for research than my little company, so I have provided you with the download of the article at the end of this short blog.