Browse by Band, Artist, or Leadership Theme
Each week we feature a different band or artist, sometimes a few. Read articles covering the bands or topics below.
Bands & Artists
Your brain wants what it knows… and craves to learn things it doesn’t. Music is the perfect vehicle for both of those. We select a combination of proven artists with cuts from deeper on the albums or playlists that you may not know. We also challenge us all to try new genres of music that we are not familiar with, to see what we can learn that is both familiar and different. If we get the balance right, it will give you a pleasant dose of dopamine, and just enough tension to encourage your brain to start your day with learning in mind.
Leadership Topics
Topics for each week are selected from challenges that have been experienced by leaders at all levels of various organizations. They come from actual life experiences, and are often highlighted with personal stories that are “anonymous” for everyone but the author 😉 They are built around best practices and approaches that have been proven to work, mostly because the opposite is what was tried. Each article can stand alone, and also fits into a framework of 7 articles that stick together on a topic and group to illustrate it from those different perspectives.
For a deeper dive into the empower framework, visit this page.
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What do you observe in Delegation?
My love of jazz was cultivated over years, noticing that I studied better with songs that didn't have lyrics. Not that I don't appreciate great lyrics, but it frees my mind to focus more on the tones, and also the "work" I am trying to do. I never studied in the...
Your partners in Delegation…
In the process of looking for a new Senior VP of our business, I was on the interview team. While I would not be reporting to this person, he would be leading the business teams that my engineering teams supported, so my input was helpful. I received the resume in...
Managing Delegation….
"Delegation is a math problem. If you can figure out how to have 5 others do the work you could do even 50 % as well as you, you will be 250% more effective." That was the way I was welcomed into the ranks of "management". Buried in that simple statement are a...
How do you engage Delegation?
As things are stabilizing this fall, more and more people are offering on-line workshops. The ability to teach to an audience that can be global, without having to rent a room, organize food, travel, etc, has been remarkable. Done well, you can actually create a...
Navigate and renew your Positive Intelligence…
Like Activate, Navigate moves you forward...I finished a different class last week with over 60 coaches from all across the globe. It has been confusing for my wife as I have been mixing the 2 together in our daily walks through mountains and finally put it together:...
Activate and execute Positive Intelligence!
Activate helps you execute..So long as we are taking a brief tour of my Father's gifts to me, there was this jem - "Engage Brain before putting Mouth in Gear". And with as many voices going on in there, that is harder than it sounds. 😉 "Still the mind" was Bruce...
wonder about Innovating Positive Intelligence
Innovate is a wonder to behold...One of the great gifts my Father gave me was an ability to turn things around. He had a famous saying that rings in my ears daily: "If you can't fix it, Feature it". It is so nonsensical as to be comedic... yet true. Stepping into...
Explore while observing Positive Intelligence
observing you will find Sage Explore..."Slow Down." "What are you not seeing here?" These were not easy, natural shifts for me. Rushing to the "right" answer, jumping forward with the "obvious" thing to do, even finishing peoples’ sentences because "I knew what...
partner with Sage Empathize for Positive Intelligence
The partners you need are 5 Sage voices... That is probably the longest I have written about "negative" things in a long time. The way the Positive Intelligence material is presented is similar: we are spending time really getting a grip on how to blunt the voices...
The Controller Positively mis-manages Intelligence
The Controller gives the illusion of managingStratocasters are amazing instruments, particularly in the hands of a true master like Eric. After the gifts he purchased, he had a few remaining - and because you can mix and match parts, he disassembled them and created...
Does Positive Intelligence engage your Victim?
When The Victim engages... When I put the "setlist" together for these two weeks, can you believe I didn't have Layla anywhere? It is such a classic Clapton song that I wasn't sure where to slot it in, and actually didn't at first. Add to that there are SO many...
Restless renewal of Positive Intelligence…
Both Restless and renew start with "r"...As often happens, today's post was penciled in first. This is my last remaining personal Saboteur and the one that I think guides all of mine... Restless. And I knew it would land on Sunday, the day of Rest, a Sabbath set...
Avoiding executing with Positive Intelligence?
The Avoider can execute on auto-pilot... Being caught between Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce, Eric more and more just wanted to be a small-time blues guitar player. Hard to pull off when you are acknowledged as one of the greatest ever. But rather than confront that,...
wondering if Positive Intelligence is Rational?
Rational, particularly Hyper, makes you wonder... All rock music is Blues - at high volume. Full Stop. If you are Hyper Rational, that is what you would say. It all started with 3 chords, in the Mississippi Delta literally at the Crossroads of Highways 1 and 8 in...
Sticking with Vigilant observation of Positive Intelligence?
Sticking to what I am observing is... I can't tell you how many people have tried to get me to focus. When it happens, it can be amazing - like putting all 21 spelling words into only 3 sentences when I was in the 2nd grade. But - it is extremely rare, and why...
Is Pleasing your partner in Positive Intelligence?
The Pleaser is a partner that... I am told often that I have a very pleasant demeanor. Normally as I am listening to others talk, I will smile, nod to encourage the person to continue to talk. Ministers in particular have commented that as they deliver their message...
managing Hyper-Achiever with Positive Intelligence…
Like Eric's use of an overdrive pedal ... When constructing the stories each week, I try to keep the music in order, making it easier to understand. The additional constraint adds to the 7 empower elements, the theme for the week, the musical selections, and my...
engaging Positive Intelligence… Here Come the Judge!!
engaging Positive Intelligence...Like everyone, I have had a bit more time at home lately, and have been putting that into learning. I am just starting a new program called Positive Intelligence, which claims to put together research about The Brain, Positive and...
How do you Engage to Leave?
Listen on iTunes I was going to take the week off from writing (again) when of course a great song comes on. One thing I love these days is how much time I have in the car - seriously. I love driving and I made it a gift to not “work” in the normal sense...