I knew there was no more pleading my case. The action to take was clear. I needed to have this conversation…

Should you have the good fortune to achieve a measure of success in your professional life, it’s tempting to sit back and get comfortable. But rest assured, the market and your competitors are not relaxing!

I have typically thought of my best as working the hardest, going the extra mile and speaking up when I have an idea. However, it occurred to me that perhaps there were other, seemingly opposite ways for me to express my best.

The culture of approaching a discussion as if it’s a battle of wits and the winner gets a prize extends well beyond the microcosm of my family.

“People all over the world want a good job with mission, purpose with a living wage. This finding gets you pretty close to the meaning of life in the new millennium.”

We have spent years endeavoring to bring the principle, “decency pays,” to the people we work with, and Wizard has been a great model for us.

I’ve been living the dream lately, so how is it possible I don’t have anything to share? Sometimes when we are the most on purpose is also when we have the least to talk about because our actions already say it.

How many organizations evaluate what they are grateful for in the outcomes they identify? Every outcome, whether positive or negative, is an opportunity to learn.

There were a lot of things on my list that needed to be rethought. And … there are actually a lot of cool things influencing my son today.

We do judge others based on superficial details such as grammar errors, habits, behaviors and appearance. Some of us work hard to get past or de-prioritize those judgments and assumptions.

Momentum in business, or even in your personal life, is like physics. Getting going, the start-up energy, is the hardest thing to muster…

I compounded my error with a bigger one: denying responsibility. I was willing to cross over into the absurd to avoid the consequences of my actions.

There appears to be a genuine shift in recognizing the power of decency in our business structures and models. If the business community is genuine in these efforts rather than playing to an audience, the shift could accelerate quickly.

Often, decency is viewed as at odds with corporate culture and policy, as antithetical to profit and business success. I would asset, though, that not only does decency not hamper corporate success, it promotes it. Some high-profile CEOs agree.

I surrendered to the full spectrum of what it means to be human and allowed grace to do its job. I gave myself permission to feel all of it. Then I wrote a poem about it I want to share with you:

People love compliments; they appreciate the acknowledgment and pay no attention to the delivery. In business, “verbal praise was more effective than cash bonuses,”

When I pay attention to how I parent, I become a better coach. The two experiences have many similarities.

A basic tenet of our coaching practice at Momentum Consulting is accountability, an essential component of executive leadership training, both with individuals and teams. Those of you familiar with us have surely heard one of us say “…there’s no blame in accountability, and no accountability in blame”.

In relationships at work or at home, remember that assumptions remain in your own mind.  Explicit requests are spoken or written in detail. And most people will rise to the occasion if you give them the requirements and expectations.  

If a person is editing their thoughts out of fear you might blab, you may end the conversation with a feeling of vagueness and irresolution, sensing you still don’t know their genuine opinions.