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One of the greatest struggles that every organization goes through is the battle against institutional memory loss. The loss is gradual. It begins before you are even aware that it has begun. And if left unchecked, the loss will gain momentum, and usually ends with a terrible fall, at great cost. History gets repeated. Mistakes […]

Recently, I have been thinking about how critical it is for me to start my day with a positive attitude and I reflected on this story and memory from a few years ago. It’s an example of how your attitude can impact your day and my hope is that it encourages you to be intentional […]

Communication clarity is really hard in the 21st century… a mantra I have recited over and over in this space. It’s hard because of the noise, the competition for mind share, and shrinking attentions spans. But often the best way to combat difficulty and noise is to focus on the most simple, basic elements of what you […]

Over the course of this blog, we write frequently about the important ingredients for great communication… clarity and brevity chief among them. Today we touch on a third critical ingredient: context. Context is critical. Context creates relevance. Context helps your audience engage and listen. Context helps your audience care. We are all time starved. We are all attention deprived, to varying […]

I was in a deep conversation the other day with an executive I am coaching, discussing communication behaviors, leadership styles, and what are the non-negotiable characteristics of great communication and leadership. And at the top of the list we were putting together was this… as often as possible, it pays big dividends to be able […]

Originally published with the Forbes Coaches Council. Not everyone is naturally a great communicator. In fact, almost all successful communication — persuasive, engaging, inspiring — is made, not born. It requires preparation, skill and practice. Of course, it takes time, and we all know how little we have of that. What helps is to keep some key […]

Regular readers of this blog know that I am an avid gardener, a weekend activity that has taken on a more prominent role for me in recent years. Prior to my early 40s, I wanted nothing to do with gardening… it was too closely associated with “weeding,” a weekend assignment from my youth that left […]

I recently had the chance to appear as a guest on the Digital Tells podcast, with Host Sam Norton. Sam and I had a great conversation about communication in the 21st century, and specifically what new demands COVID-19 has placed on our communication skills. We covered a lot of time in a short period of […]

This post was written by Hannah Morris, Director of Assessment & Advancement at The Latimer Group.   I have three kids and they all speak a different language than I do. When they start speaking MINECRAFT, I feel lost, and to a certain extent, excluded. It is not something they are doing intentionally or malevolently or even consciously. […]

Long time readers of this blog know that I am a regular (but not constant) amateur poker player. I have a regular game with a group of friends, and our low-stakes game will range from one table of 6-8 players, to occasionally multiple tables with 12-20 players. And once per year, on the first Saturday […]