“Leadership is influence.” ~ John C. Maxwell One of the biggest challenges facing a leader is the ability to step back and influence others to get results. The key is to get results without doing the work yourself or micromanaging your folks into becoming clones so they do the work the exact same way you would.…
“Action is the foundational key to all success.” ~Pablo Picasso This week we’re talking about success! After pondering the topic I had this realization, ideas are simply thoughts that when acted upon, materialize in the physical world and push us closer to success. For example, every building that was ever built began as a thought,…
“All creation is a mine, and every man is a miner.” ~ Abraham Lincoln A while back, I was working with a group of leaders from a gold mining company to help them strengthen their Coaching Skills. Towards the end of the week I had an opportunity to tour the mine. My guide Jesse…
“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…
“Without reflection, we go blindly on our way, creating more unintended consequences, and failing to achieve anything useful.” ~ Margaret J. Wheatley The Law of Unintended Consequences A short time ago I was working with a team of senior leaders. We were discussing the overall purpose of the organization and the bottom-line goal that was driving…
Having a purpose bigger than you is where it all begins… In business I believe that the key to motivating employee’s requires two things: Help them identify their unique contribution to the organization and consistently recognize them for it. Show them how they are a part of something bigger than themselves. Imagine what would happen…
“We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.” ~ Martin Luther King (In honor of MLK) When you think about The Great Race, what comes to mind? Depending on your age, it could be the 1965 movie entitled, The Great Race, or the annual Great Race of North America, or…
An excerpt from Joe’s Latest book, Extraordinary Results for Life, now available here THE PATH TO AN UN-ORDINARY JOURNEY BEGINS… Self-awareness is the first step in becoming un-ordinary. When you can embrace a sense of humility, work to dissolve or minimize your ego, and push yourself outside of your comfort zones, you will then be…
Closing in on Your Purpose In my last blog, I discussed the difference between talents and skills. I also shared information on how talents and skills relate to being extraordinary and discovering your purpose. Well maybe got you thinking enough to ask yourself…ALIVE So how do I know if I’m getting closer to my purpose? Getting…
You Are Powerful Beyond Measure … We were all given the most powerful gift … the ability to determine what we think and therefore what we make things mean. And yet, most folks are wasting this incredible resource because they are all to busy trying to make themselves right and everyone else wrong or themselves…