Dean Brenner

Simon Sinek is a favorite around here. We’ve written about him specifically in the past, and there’s a huge overlap in many of the themes we teach… This is a great addendum to some of the posts we’ve written in the past on listening, understanding, and seeing the other side. Simon’s advice, Be the last to speak. Take […]

Ask anyone who performs at a high level: athletes, dancers, singers, etc. They all prepare and practice their skills the same way. They break their skill down into smaller “sub-skills,” then practice each one individually, then put them all back together, and their overall skill level has improved. The same is true with communication. “Great […]

The Latimer Group team is taking a much-needed and well-deserved break this week. Like many of you, we have experienced a wide range of highs and lows this year. So, I have encouraged our team to try to pause, and take a really deep breath for a few days this week. Deep breaths are good […]

We all have learned a great deal in 2020… I know I have. And the learning is not over. It never is. But every once in a while, even though the learning and the growth continues, it makes sense to pause and think about what has been learned. So, as we start to close in […]

In nearly every workshop I teach, the topic of “the open” comes up for deep discussion. My colleagues and I focus a great deal of time and attention to teaching people how to engage their audience, right from the first moments of the presentation or discussion. And one of the biggest mistakes we see people make is […]

Good communication requires a lot of things… listening, planning and preparing, and practice are definitely on the list, among other things. But one of the deceptively important elements of being a good communicator is about “picking the correct moment” carefully. Certain types of messages can be delivered at almost any time. Telling someone something good, […]

Writer’s Note: We continue our focus on the positive in this week’s blog. Our goal is to make you smile, and give you something positive to think about. Today, we are reposting something I wrote in 2017, about how and when to push a child, and how that relates to our relationships in the workplace. […]

Writer’s Note: We continue our focus this week on uplifting stories, meant to make you smile. Today, we are reposting something I wrote almost exactly one year ago, about an email I received from my son. I hope this post works as intended, and that it puts a smile on your face. Enjoy! Every once […]

Writer’s Note: Our focus this week on The Latimer Group blog is uplifting stories that will make us smile. And we will start off our week by reposting one of our favorite and most popular posts ever, about my daughter and a morning ritual. Enjoy! This is one of those simple, personal stories that I […]

This has been a fascinating, exciting, frustrating and scary week in the United States. Which of those emotions are strongest in you probably depends on, like so many other things in our country right now, your political leanings. This week has been all of those things for me, and more… a really emotional and complicated […]