The Apollo Attitude – When Failure is Not an Option

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It’s hard to beat the movie Apollo 13 for drama. Over 200,000 miles from Earth, in the vacuum of space, an explosion disabled a space capsule on its way to the Moon.

The mission was over. And it would have been reasonable to assume the astronauts’ lives were over, too. Yet three days later, the astronauts were standing on the deck of an aircraft carrier.

Then there was the three-masted sailing ship Endurance, which left England in August 1914 under the command of Ernest Shackleton with twenty-eight men determined to cross Antarctica by sled.

The Endurance ended up trapped and crushed to splinters by ice floes. The men lived on the Antarctic ice for another two years.

Total survivors out of the original twenty-eight men? Twenty-eight.

What if you approached every challenge in your life and in your work as if you simply HAD to overcome it? I’ll tell you what – you would do it. You would find a way, and you would get it done.

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About the Author

Roxanne Emmerich’s Thank God It’s Monday!: How to Create a Workplace You and Your Customers Love is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal and #1 Amazon bestseller. Roxanne is renowned for her ability to transform “ho-hum” workplaces into dynamic, results-oriented, “bring-it-on” cultures in a day. Listen to the free 60-second audio with teammates each Monday to clean up the craziness in your workplace and focus on getting massive results. Sign up today at www.ThankGoditsMonday.com.

Are You a Good Leader?

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You will be if you draw on key ethical principles. Here’s how to do it, whether you’re a CEO, a banker, an entrepreneur, or anyone else in business

“Never underestimate the other guy’s greed.” This isn’t just a classic line from the 1983 Brian De Palma film, Scarface (written by Oliver Stone). It also reflects the attitude that has caused the economic disaster we’re now clawing ourselves out of.

Isn’t it time for a new way of thinking?

I propose the following leadership guidelines for C-level executives, investment bankers, entrepreneurs, and everyone else whose decisions can affect the financial well being of other people.

1. WHAT’S GOOD FOR THE GANDER IS GOOD FOR THE GOOSE.

At a time when companies are slashing their labor forces and freezing salary increases, and when some employees are being asked to take lower-paying positions, it is deeply unethical for leaders to retain their sky-high compensation and to expect enormous bonuses. They should follow the example of Michael Kneeland, CEO of United Rentals, who recently asked for, and was given, a 20% pay cut. Let’s hear more reports like this one.

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About the Author

Dr. Bruce Weinstein is the public speaker and corporate consultant known as The Ethics Guy. His new book, Is It Still Cheating If I Don’t Get Caught?, (Macmillan/Roaring Brook Press) shows teens how to solve the ethical dilemmas they face. For more information, visit TheEthicsGuy.com. To read Bruce’s complete biography, click here.

The Ethical Executive

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Hardly a month goes by – or so it seems – without yet another headline about apparent unethical behavior in the executive suite: from criminal misrepresentation, to tax evasion, manipulation of accounts, and a whole smorgasbord of fraud. Not surprisingly, as investors, employees, legislators, or simply bemused observers of human behavior, we all want the answer to one question, “Are today’s corporate leaders unusually corrupt?” The disconcerting answer is that these leaders are no different than you or us. Even if we have good ethical values to begin with, given certain situational or internal pressures, every one of us can become unethical.

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About the Author

Robert Hoyk is a Clinical Psychologist and has conducted research in several institutions. He has taught communication skills to executives, physicians, and couples. Robert lives in Laguna Beach, California with his wife, author, Julie Brickman.

StrategyDriven Podcast Special Edition 26 – An Interview with Omar Khan, author of Liberating Passion

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StrategyDriven Podcasts focus on the tools and techniques executives and managers can use to improve their organization’s alignment and accountability to ultimately achieve superior results. These podcasts elaborate on the best practice and warning flag articles on the StrategyDriven website.

Special Edition 26 – An Interview with Omar Khan, author of Liberating Passion examines how executives and managers can liberate their organization’s passion; tapping into the workforce’s inner energy and commitment to deliver breakthrough results. During our discussion, Omar Khan, author of Liberating Passion: How the World’s Best Global Leaders Produce Winning Results and Founder and Senior Partner of Sensei International, shares with us his insights and illustrative examples regarding:

  • the tangible benefits of releasing the inner energy and commitment of an organization’s workforce
  • organizational characteristics, conditions, and cultures that kill employee passion
  • primary passion liberators and their underlying principles
  • actions executives and managers should take to liberate their employees’ passion
  • passion liberators that help build a diverse and inclusive organization as well as one that rewards personal achievement

Additional Information

In addition to the incredible insights Omar shares in Liberating Passion and this special edition podcast are the additional resources accessible from his website at www.Sensei-International.com.   Omar’s book, Liberating Passion, can be purchased by clicking here.

Final Request…

The strength of our community grows with the additional insights brought by our expanding member base. Please consider rating us on iTunes by clicking here. Rating the StrategyDriven Podcast and providing your comments online improves our ranking and helps us attract new listeners which, in turn, helps us grow our community.

Thank you again for listening to the StrategyDriven Podcast!

About the Author

Omar Khan, author of Liberating Passion, is the Founder and Senior Partner of Sensei International, a global leadership development firm serving clients in the Americas, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Dubai, and South Asia. Omar has served as a trusted advisor to the leaders of companies including 3M, American Express, The Ritz-Carlton, Microsoft, Motorola, and Hewlett-Packard. His articles have been featured in the Washington Post, Consulting News, Strategy and Leadership, Personal Excellence Magazine and many others. To read Omar’s full biography, click here.

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The Ten Commandments of Workplace Motivation

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Unmotivated employees have rightly been called “the black holes of the business universe.” Fortunately, motivation is not something a person is born with or without. Applying these Ten Commandments can go a long way to helping existing employees find their motivation.

1. Commit with all thy heart so others might follow
Before you ask your employees to commit, you must be fully committed yourself. Throw your heart over the bar, make that complete commitment, and others will follow.

2. Call it tight on dysfunctional behaviors
Declare a zero-tolerance policy for dysfunctional behaviors. People saying one thing and meaning another, giving lip service, gossiping, backstabbing… Enlist a company-wide commitment to stop every one of these.

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About the Author

Roxanne Emmerich’s Thank God It’s Monday!: How to Create a Workplace You and Your Customers Love is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal and #1 Amazon bestseller. Roxanne is renowned for her ability to transform “ho-hum” workplaces into dynamic, results-oriented, “bring-it-on” cultures in a day. Listen to the free 60-second audio with teammates each Monday to clean up the craziness in your workplace and focus on getting massive results. Sign up today at www.ThankGoditsMonday.com.