BLOG, BLOG, BLOG
Well, its better than a pile of blah, blah, blah!
A blog by Steven Iwersen for Leaders and Achievers ~ insights, ideas, and thoughts on current issues.
Remote Work vs. Return to Work – The Leaders Challenge
ARE YOU READY FOR THE NEW LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE? Once nearly vacant freeways are returning to the familiar bumper-to-bumper stop-and-go patterns. If traffic is any indication, society is rushing into a traffic jam of activity and expectations. Business leaders are...
Using Principles to Work Together for a Shared Solution
How can we champion a shared solution in times of crisis? Long before I wrote the business fable "The Porcupine Principles" -- the World Famous Porcupine Races brought a community together around one basic problem: How do you persuade a Prickly Partner to be a...
Keep Confinement in Perspective
I remember thinking, “Well, when you put it that way, I don't have any problems or excuses.” The man on stage was one of my peers in the National Speakers Association. He was sharing a powerful message about overcoming the hardships we encounter. If there was anyone...
Together We Can
The culture of disruption has been disrupted! We've been disrupted. Still, a fundamental approach to thriving during times of change has taken on new significance. Discover how a local business is adapting and tapping into "Collective Power" to stage a comeback for...
How to Respond to Crisis with a Proactive Strategy
Discover how you can stay focused on growth during the global disruption of COVID-19. Here are two suggestions for positioning yourself (and your organization) to be in a leading role when the 'all clear' signal is finally given.
Overcome the Rough Spots
Norman Vincent Peale told of a time that he was golfing with a pro. Peale had hit his golfball into the tall grass - "the rough," and he made the comment that it was going to be harder to play the ball. The pro pulled up a blade of grass and told Peale to chew it. "Is...
If You Can’t Walk It, Don’t Talk It: Why Core Values Matter
If you can’t walk it, don’t talk it! One of the four key elements that I speak about in my keynote program is the importance of defining your Core Values and using them as your primary framework for growth. I’ve discovered that individuals (and organizations) whose...
Reach Your Goals Before It Gets Too Hot
We Miss Our Goals Because We Overlook and Miss Simple Opportunities No one really knows why it was so hot in the building, but it was hot! Usually the cooling system worked so well that people often complained about it being so cold it felt like working in a...
Stop Saying Yes To Everything
Overcommitted. Busy, but struggling to make real progress. Unhappy. These are common problems for leaders, business owners, and entrepreneurs that are just starting in their respective roles and ventures. The desire to be helpful to others can cloud your...
Overcoming the Addiction to Distraction
Research suggests that you will probably switch tasks or be distracted in about 3 minutes, 20 seconds. So, I’ve written this article to be read in that amount of time. Hopefully, you will get to the end. (If it helps, this article concludes with some ideas to help...
Grow Up and Lead Like A Second Grader: 7 Tips for Effective Leadership
Do you remember the last time you went to the bookstore and stood in front of the leadership/management section perusing the titles for the one perfect book that might help you become a better leader? What were some of those titles? Could they have included... The...
Amazon Disrupted: Are You Ready for the Future?
Are you ready for the next big change in your business? The way you did business is no longer the way you do business! Marketing your product and services to generate traffic has shifted from print to digital formats. Payment has gone from cash to a simple wave of a...
Skipping Church and Going to Disneyland Could Improve Your Business
Skipping Church and Going to Disneyland Could Improve Your Business Such blasphemy! How dare I suggest that we could learn ideas from a secular business and apply those strategies to a spiritual endeavor! [ Keep reading for 7 Tips To Create A Breakthrough When You're...
Four Ways To Keep Your Commitments and Integrity
The fastest way to build a reputation of integrity is to keep your commitments. "I have discovered that the successes in my life depend greatly upon my commitments and the failures are directly influenced by my compromises." (Quote from January 27th entry in Porcupine...
The Personal and Social Benefits of Laughter
Laugh a little. No better yet, laugh a lot. It’s good for your mind, heart, and relationships. Seriously. The scientific research shows that laughter is a tremendous stress reliever. It has been found to have an anti-inflammatory effect on blood vessels and your...
Achieving Your Best Starts with One Step
She stood there looking out to the horizon. One foot on the boat. One foot on the dock. The dream tugged at her heart. The doubt pulled her back like an anchor. She could push off and have a new experience. Or she could stand there like everyone else, waiting for the...
How To Become A Significant Team Leader
Matt Paradis plays football. It is his job. He plays for the Denver Broncos. Matt has made his presence known and has become a significant team leader in a very short time. He even has a Super Bowl Championship ring! That’s quite impressive for a guy who just started...
Seeing The Positive In Spite of The Negative
The Reason We Miss Great Opportunities: The guy was super nice. Sharp dressed. Successful by most standards. Someone that I thought I could learn from. And, he had a coffee stain about the size of a dime on his white shirt. I wanted to look him in the eye as he spoke...
Jeff Bezos Wants Amazon Employees To Be Terrified
What Terrifies The Richest Man in the World? Jeff Bezos wrote, in his 1998 annual letter to investors and employees, that he expected his team members to wake up every morning terrified. He wanted them to be hyper-sensitive to the fact that their loyal customers could...
Your Current Confidence is Limiting Your Potential!
Confidence in what makes you feel secure may be the very thing that is keeping you from reaching your ultimate potential. It took me three summers of swimming lessons to finally graduate from the children’s swimming “Tadpoles” class to the “Minnows.” I could swim...
The Good Side: The Truth about Image and Influence
There are two sides to the good side. It is a strange phenomenon -- this desire for the good side. We want always to present our good side to the world around us. And, we want to be on the good side of the people whom we meet and with whom we work. It is a natural...
Insanity, Einstein, and Your Results!
I’ve heard it hundreds of times. You probably have too. “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results.” That quote is frequently attributed to Albert Einstein;, but there is no evidence that he ever said it. I...
Build Bridges, Not Monuments
Many people spend an extraordinary amount of their mental and emotional capabilities building monuments to past disappointments or the opinions of critical people. STOP Memorializing the discouragements and detractors! START building new relationships and new ideas...
If Everyone is on the Same Page, Why Can’t We Get Along?
Gaining clarity of direction is essential for your team or organization. But, there is something even more vital to your potential success. Steven reveals, in this video, a twist to the proverbial "same page" discussion and THREE ways that will help your people become...
Realizing Happiness When Gravity Pulls You Down
The pursuit of happiness. Some people believe that having enough wealth gives you the margin in your life to be comfortable and happy. Others think that embracing a simple life free of corporate pressures and expectations will provide happiness. I’ve met folks that...
Get On Track For The Life You’ve Always Wanted
Do you have moments when you think that all the hard work isn't paying off? I'll admit it - some days it feels like I'm not making any progress. It is on those days that I try to remember the powerful message from the children's story "Little Engine That Could" --...
Changing Your Perspective on Change
The Porcupine Principles! Helping to change the perspective of how to be proactive in building relationships while going through significant change. (See the Book Promo offer below) [video width="1920" height="1080"...
A Position on Your Disposition
I was sitting in the airport restaurant. A table by the window. A man and woman nearby started a conversation with me. We talked about the weather, where we were going, and where we had been. A few moments later they gathered their things and left. “Excuse me.” I...
Did You Get What You Expected?
Winning starts with believing. "They got what they deserved." That is a phrase we have grown accustomed to hearing. Athletes that become disciplined in practice tend to be better prepared to be champions. Salespeople who work diligently in prospecting and listening...
How To Keep Work From Sinking Your Life
I know of a university president that decided to take up boating. He realized that in his efforts to lead the institution into a new era of relevancy he was allowing his life to become overrun with meetings, agendas, and other peoples demands. He had no margin in...
Stalled Out? Create Some New Momentum!
There is nothing more frustrating than feeling stuck or lacking momentum on the journey to our preferred outcomes. But, we don’t have to accept those down times as a permanent condition. We can generate forward motion in our lives, even when things aren’t going our...
Enthusiasm is a Skill
Choosing to be an enthusiastic person is not a simple task. In fact, it is one of the most challenging disciplines that you will embrace. The reason it is hard is that it is much easier to be cranky, discouraged, and cynical. Each day is filled with justifiable...
Silence is not Golden
The Supervisor declared, “My team members are on a need to know basis. I’ll tell them what they need to know when I want them to know it.” When change is in the air, the longer you keep people in the dark, the more their imagination will gravitate toward the worse...
A Decisive Mindset
Predetermined: A Decisive Mindset “He has his mind made up.” “She has set her mind on achieving that goal.” You’ve heard those expressions before. They’ve been spoken countless times throughout history. Even Benjamin Franklin is credited with saying “You can do...
It is Better to Be Persuaded
Persuasive vs. Compelling I have a book about leadership that has been in my library since 1994. It is one of those books that is profoundly helpful and worth reading again. And again. I was looking for a different resource this last week, and that old familiar...
My Guest Appearance on Raw & Unedited
Honored to be interviewed by Ed Rigsbee, CAE, CSP for his show "Raw & Unedited" - a program for Association Executives. What a great surprise to hear this Association Executive say that he believes every trade association Executive or Director should...
Four Ingredients for a Winning Apology
We don’t usually consider an apology as a form of winning. An apology is deemed to be a sign of losing, an indication that we were wrong in some regard and we are conceding. Yes, an apology is usually an admission that we’ve failed to achieve a particular...
Low Employee Engagement Appears to be the Managers Fault
It has been said that people don’t leave companies, they leave people. When an employee chooses to leave an organization it is more likely because they have reached a level of dissatisfaction in a relationship with their immediate supervisor. This problem is more...
ONE WORD Can Help You Get More Done in Less Time!
"If I have one more thing that doesn't get done on schedule, I'm going to...!" The frustration is mounting for many leaders around the world. Everyone expects us to sprint to the expected outcomes; but at the same time the varied demands for our time and attention...
Five Unique Ways a Manager Can Influence Others
Managers have a tremendous responsibility to influence others. It is expected from the executive level that your influence will keep projects on target, help to improve productivity, and inspire employees to perform with excellence. Some managers exercise their...
Leading Change and Sustaining Your Corporate Culture
I am a change fanatic. Give me a choice between status quo or the opportunity to change, and I will jump for the new possibilities. Some people accuse me of being addicted to change. They say: “If Steven can’t change something during the day, he will drive home at...
The Basics of Motivation
Motivation is involved in every aspect of our lives. It secretly works behind the scenes providing a motive for the majority of our actions and opinions. Motivation can be positive or negative. It can have lasting influence or it will have a short life-span. The...
Why Do Employees Resist Change?
I don’t know of any industry that is not working through transitions of change. If you’re a leader in your organization you are leading change. And you may have noticed that some employees are not comfortable with the change. A few are openly resistant. Most are...
What You and Olympic Athletes Have In Common
The Olympic athletes inspire us with their remarkable accomplishments. They push themselves to the very edge of their talents and training, hoping to be on the winners podium. And what inspires me most is not that the winners are better than the rest, but that every...
Burning Bridges
Burning bridges use to be a military strategy employed by commanders that wanted to make a commitment to a particular course of action by making a retreat impossible. Today, employees committed to the strategy of advancing the company’s overall goals see “Burning...
Don’t Hesitate To Lead
Your employees want a leader who knows where to go and how to get there. They need a manager that can demonstrate a balance between the extremes of being too pushy and being a pushover! They will not tolerate a demanding approach. And if you hesitate to show some...
