The One Word That Will Eliminate Your Pressure
I used to work 100 hour weeks. I still do, on rare occasions. But back when I was first producing my weekly comedy TV show Almost Live!, they were routine. And most of those 100 hours, especially the...
View ArticleHow To Move From Pathetic Pretender To Powerful Producer
Producing great results consistently is hard. Producing great results consistently—and under pressure—is harder. It takes a great deal of confidence to pull it off successfully. But confidence, it...
View ArticleHow To Make People Hate You
This morning I flew from Seattle to Chicago for a speaking engagement. During the course of that trip, these three things happened: The 40-ish-year-old gentleman sitting behind me on the plane, while...
View ArticleWhy You’re A Fraud, And How To Stop It
You’re a fraud. That’s the bad news. You’re not very good at your job. Sure, you’ve been lucky so far. You’ve gotten away with it. You’ve managed to fool everyone around you. But sooner or later...
View ArticleHow To Be Better At Leading Change
70% of all change initiatives fail. That’s a pretty startling statistic. Especially when you consider how important change is. I mean, we all acknowledge this, right? There aren’t many organizations...
View ArticleIs Lack Of Preparation Adding To Your Pressure?
Twenty-seven minutes and fifty-five seconds. That’s the time I had to hit—exactly—every week for fifteen years. 27:55. Not a second more. Not a second less. 27:55. Welcome to the world of television...
View ArticleHow To Keep From Crashing When The Engine Stops
The single-engine Cessna 172 was about 1,500 feet above the Pacific Ocean when that engine stopped. I still don’t know why it stopped. All I know is that I was the pilot and the sole occupant of the...
View ArticleThis Simple Technique Can Reduce Your Pressure Immediately
What do you do when you’re under pressure? How can you be at your best when it matters most? If only there were something that could reduce that pressure—immediately. Well, I’ve got good news for you....
View ArticleIs A Lack Of Trust Killing Your Team?
Does your team trust you? Do they trust that you will: share the credit when things go well? have their backs when things go wrong? be honest with them about what’s going on in the company? make the...
View ArticleUnlock Your Creative Ideas With This Magic Question
It happens virtually every morning. You wake up, and there in the paper, or online, or on TV, is a success story. (Yes, they’re there. Sometimes you have to wade through the garbage.) Some...
View ArticleHow To Be Your Best When It Matters Most
I emceed a local TEDx event yesterday. It’s an interesting experience, watching eleven incredibly diverse people share a singular moment. A moment when they stand on stage, alone, in front of several...
View ArticleWhat To Do When You Feel Like A Fraud
Do you feel like an imposter? It’s okay. Really. Most high-achievers do, at least occasionally. (My research indicates that the percentage may be as high as 80%!) There’s even an official name for it:...
View ArticleWhy Talking To Experts Will Make You A Better Leader
In a few hours, I’m going to be delivering a keynote for about 800 college and university professors. These professors come from a wide variety of disciplines. I arrived at the conference just...
View ArticleHow The Pressure Of The Holidays Can Make You Better Under Pressure
As I’m writing this, the U.S. Thanksgiving weekend is just ending, and we’re all well into the throes of the holiday season. There’s nothing quite like the pressure of preparing a Thanksgiving dinner...
View ArticleHow To Produce Under Pressure Like A Concert Pianist
Last night I attended a performance by the Seattle Symphony of Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto. If you’ve ever seen the movie Shine, you know how daunting this piece is to a concert pianist. It’s a...
View ArticleWhy You Choke Under Pressure, And What To Do About It
Last night, I played keyboards in a band for a holiday party. I was playing songs that, for the most part, I hadn’t played in a year or more. There were several songs that I’d never played before. In...
View ArticleWill You Fail This Ultimate Leadership Test?
What is it that defines a truly great leader? Why is it that names like Joan of Arc, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Mother Teresa resonate throughout history, while countless others are...
View ArticleAre You Missing This Opportunity To Engage Your Customers?
What’s your story? Why are you in business? How did you start? What drove you to do what you do? If you work in a larger corporation, what’s their story? Do you know? Your story, and that of your...
View ArticleTry This Technique To Be Your Best Under Pressure
Do you have a Power Phrase? [You: “I ate a Power Bar for breakfast. Is that the same thing?” Me: “No.”] A Power Phrase is a concise phrase — one to five words — that encapsulates your highest self, the...
View ArticleThis Is What Leadership Really Is
Leadership is, at times, an honor, a burden, a privilege, a headache, a riddle, a mirror, a crisis, and a joy. Sometimes it’s two or more of these at the same time. But leadership is first, foremost,...
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