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...

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...
Remote Work vs. Return to Work – The Leaders Challenge

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...

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Using Principles to Work Together for a Shared Solution

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...

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Keep Confinement in Perspective

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...

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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...

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Overcome the Rough Spots

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...

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Reach Your Goals Before It Gets Too Hot

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...

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Stop Saying Yes To Everything

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...

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Overcoming the Addiction to Distraction

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...

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Amazon Disrupted: Are You Ready for the Future?

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...

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Four Ways To Keep Your Commitments and Integrity

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...

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The Personal and Social Benefits of Laughter

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...

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Achieving Your Best Starts with One Step

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...

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How To Become A Significant Team Leader

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...

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Seeing The Positive In Spite of The Negative

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...

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Jeff Bezos Wants Amazon Employees To Be Terrified

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...

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Your Current Confidence is Limiting Your Potential!

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...

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The Good Side: The Truth about Image and Influence

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...

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Insanity, Einstein, and Your Results!

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...

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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...

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Realizing Happiness When Gravity Pulls You Down

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...

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Get On Track For The Life You’ve Always Wanted

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" --...

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A Position on Your Disposition

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...

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Did You Get What You Expected?

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...

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How To Keep Work From Sinking Your Life

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...

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Stalled Out? Create Some New Momentum!

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...

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Enthusiasm is a Skill

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...

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Silence is not Golden

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...

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A Decisive Mindset

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...

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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...

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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...

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Four Ingredients for a Winning Apology

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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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CONNECT WITH STEVEN ONLINE