In meetings, it’s easy to run out of time. Participants rarely allocate sufficient time to summarize what’s been discussed and assign action items with any time to spare. In this episode, I provide a few practical ways for meeting leaders to think and act with the ending in mind.  

When Amazon infamously ditched PowerPoints in meetings and opted to use a six-page written narrative format, many professionals took notice of their bold move. However, very few followed their lead. After reading a book on Amazon’s leadership philosophy (“Working Backwards”), I decided to experiment with a new meeting format. In this podcast, I provide a […]

What happens when managers have too many people and priorities to handle? A recent Wall Street Journal article highlighted a growing concern when organizations are trying to get much more from a thinning front line of leaders. One of the results is that bosses are running out of time to spend with their extended teams. […]

Polished leaders all master these three areas. They can frame their role powerfully, share courses of action convincingly, and summarize complexity consistently. In this episode, I provide very practical ways to improve in each area to rise above the rest.

We can speak very different languages, from finance, tech and science to logistics, legal and engineering. What are some simple ways to increase your awareness and avoid common tendencies to talk past people and lose them along the way? In this podcast, I share a clip from a 1960’s show “Flipper” and provide some common-sense […]

What’s the return on investment (ROI) if your organization is filled with clear communicators? In a recent conversation with a business consultant, I was challenged to measure it mainly in time savings. In my experience, however, that’s the easy answer. The deeper one is calculating the hidden impact when you cause chaos and confusion?

As new leaders step into new roles, many of them fail to help their subordinates understand the best way to communicate with them. Rather, they let vague assertions, false assumptions and ongoing trial-and-error observations shape the way they get and give information. In this episode, I provide a simple two-step process to gain clarity about […]

If you want to become a clear and concise communicator, getting your extended team to commit would go a long way. After more than a decade of teaching our BRIEF system, we have introduced an annual subscription service that is designed to drive accountability and predictable outcomes. In this podcast, I shed some light on […]

According to “Shark Tank’s” and entrepreneur Kevin O’Leary, Steve Jobs and Elon Musk had incredibly high signal-to-noise ratios. In other words, they could maintain high levels of clarity without succumbing to distractions, disruptions or low-level chatter. In this episode, I share some practical ways to manage your noise and increase your ratio.

Call Back Episode 209: Tech Timeouts, originally recorded on October 18, 2021. When you are always on, that means you’re never off. Living in a 24/7 world of pervasive connectivity, we are challenged to find rewarding moments during the day to disconnect.

A 1980’s self-help guru predicted that if you “go into the silence” for 30-60 minutes, you will get clarity 100% of the time. In an environment that doesn’t allow even a few minutes alone, we may find this hard to believe or impossible to achieve. Well, in times that are highly volatile, uncertain, complex and […]

Think about being in a meeting and seeing someone who has no vital role and nothing to say. They just fill a chair and add no immediate value. Like a potted plant, they may be there to fill a space. In this week’s episode, I challenge conventions about not inviting people that don’t need to […]

Whether it’s an important conversation or a very difficult one, we need to be ready. In this week’s episode, I will walk you through six different considerations to put you in a frame of mind that improves your chances that the exchange will go better than planned.

Watching someone communicate with no purpose and no plan is brutal. It’s like seeing a poor farmer scatter seed blindly into the wind. If this is how you show up, it’s going to take a toll. Many people communicate like this, with little or no plan with what they want to say. This is where […]

Great leaders are authentic and willing to share when they’ve struggled, been tested and have failed. Success is often the result of severe challenges, stupid mistakes and painful losses. By being able to open up and share these personal stories, leaders can connect with people more deeply than by barking orders and giving speeches.

Many professionals aspire to be thought leaders, yet few have what it takes. If this is what you (or someone you might know) feel compelled to pursue, be warned that with this role comes responsibilities. Not only do you need to be experienced, knowledgeable and respected, but you also must be a clear communicator who […]

If you can’t sit still for a moment, it will be hard to extract the real value AI. As these mind-bending developments increasingly take root, we may be too busy to even take notice. The irony – harsh reality, actually – is that we absolutely must embrace quiet time to slow down, learn and embrace […]

Boomers, Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z all think they’re somehow superior. When it comes to communication, there are definitely differences but people share more in common than they’d like to admit. In this episode, I provide an limited overview that gets you thinking more about what we all value.

Professionals may worry too much about their presentation skills and fail to improve their daily conversations. Whether it’s calling someone, providing an update or having a side-bar discussion, these moments happen far more than standing at a podium and wowing an audience.

A subject matter expert (SME) can be both a source of knowledge and suffering. Without realizing it, they can dive into the weeds and pull you in deep with them. In this episode, I share some practical considerations to help curb your tendency to become a say-it-all.