Joe Contrera is the Founder and President of ALIVE @ WORK LLC, a leadership development company dedicated to helping Extraordinary Leaders Achieve Extraordinary Results. He is the author of three books. His latest, Extraordinary Results: Mastering the Art of Leading, Coaching, & Influencing Others, is quickly becoming a must-have resource for leaders in organizations across the country. It will not only change what you believe about leading, it will help you build your leadership skills so that you can successfully influence others.
“There’s a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot.” ~Steven Wright When it comes to fishing, a lot of fishermen use a leader (an additional section of wire or line) to quickly connect or replace the hook or the lure to the fishing line. The type of leader…
Resentment is like swallowing a poisonous pill and waiting for the other guy to die!” ~ St. Augustine In the world of business and finance, when we refer to the phrase poisonous pill, we are referring to a strategy to fight an unwanted takeover. The purpose is to protect the company from being taken…
“It sure did kick up some excitement in the Senate when one Senator called the other Senators ‘sons of Wild jackasses.’ Well, if you thought it made the Senators hot, you wait till you see what happens when the jackasses hear how they have been slandered.” ~Will Rogers I think it is fair to say…
“True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.” ~ C.S. Lewis If you look up the definition of humiliation, you will notice words like; embarrassment, shame, indignity, and degradation. If you look up the definition of humility, you will notice words like modesty, humbleness, and a lack of…
“It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do. We hire smart people, and they tell us what to do.” ~ Steve Jobs One of the biggest challenges employees struggle with on a regular basis is dealing with a leader who micromanages. A clients once shared that their manager would…
“Sometimes, the best way to recharge is to unplug.” ~ Chris Butler A short time ago, I took a 2 week period and simply unplugged from my business. As difficult as it was to walk away for 2 weeks, I was reminded of the importance of taking time to unplug in order to recharge…
A few years ago, a friend of mine was telling me about her experience visiting a series of TV talk shows. I was curious about her experience, so I asked her a series of questions regarding the various hosts. What was most astonishing to me was the various hosts’ use of the audience. And while…
“When you don’t know your why, you don’t have purpose, when you don’t have purpose, you don’t have clarity, when you don’t have clarity you don’t have focus, and without focus you can’t accomplish a damn thing!” ~ Joe Contrera A lack of focus will make you highly ineffective as a leader. Sometimes a lack…
“It’s not denial. I’m just selective about the reality I accept.” ~ Bill Watterson Are you turning a blind eye to an issue in your business? What a leader chooses to see or more importantly, what not to see, can have a devastating impact on their business. Being aware of an issue and not taking…
“Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won’t come in.” ~ Isaac Asimov We all see the world through our lenses of perception. Every one of us experiences the world differently because our lenses are shaped by a number of variables: the beliefs…