Growing by Design
Shiny Objects and Patina Wisdom
It’s the season of glitter and shine. The beauty grabs our gaze. We like new, shiny things. It’s true in our personal and business lives. We are drawn to the shiny object and its promise. There is a different kind of beauty in the world too; the wisdom...
In Our Own Way
I have been struck recently how often the challenges we face in our work and lives are self created. In essence, we are in our own way. We can overcomplicate the issue We can be willing to hold onto assumptions that do not help us We can be unwilling to be...
Operator Error!
Design Thinking is... What is Design Thinking--good or bad? a useful approach or a waste of time? innovative or preserving the status quo? I hate to do it again but it's all in the AND, not the OR. Design Thinking is good and bad, useful and a waste of time,...
Studies or Stories?
What is your go to? When you have an idea or a recommendation to make are you likely to site a study with data or tell a story? Business often runs on analytical studies, statistics, significant difference. It helps us feel like we are foolproof in our actions. But...
The Magic of Rapport
As I was getting ready to de-plane after a business trip two men began to exchange heated words over one's complaint that the other man was standing in his aisle space. It kept escalating, but luckily the line started moving and then it ended. On the news the other...
Connecting as Leaders
What makes the difference between great leaders and the rest? I don’t think it is one thing, and not always the same thing for everyone, but I do think it is in transition. In the world before the 24/7 globally connected business world relentlessly coming at you, it...
Design Thinking-Moving Beyond Disintegration
I was reading an obituary of a former co-worker who died too early and discovered a host of other gifts she had that I had never seen or known. At work, I knew her as a lovely Marketing Professional, a highly capable one. Yet there was a greater dimension...
The P&G Family
What does it mean to be part of “The P&G Family”? Nearly 30 years ago I said yes to my job offer at P&G. My motivations were purely ambition related…to start my career at the world’s best marketer to launch my professional self. I had several...
The Cobbler: Barefoot No More!
You might remember the old adage, "the cobblers children have no shoes". I have always been fascinated by this. Why do we ignore applying what we do so well to ourselves? Somehow, we build an expertise and then forget we have it when we need it most. That...
The Role of Detractors!
Innovation is change by its very nature and so it brings out energy, both positive and negative. The positive energy is from all the people who get excited about the possibilities. But, there may be as many people who harbor negative energy...your detractors. You...