The other day I was talking with a client who had recently moved into a new role. It was a true stretch assignment. He left behind 15 years of experience in a specialized area. His graduate studies were almost irrelevant. "What did you say, when your boss first came to you?" I asked. "I turned him down flat," he replied. "Wrote him a lengthy email explaining why it wasn't the right job for me." "So, what happened next?...

At this stage in your life, you have certainly learned something about how to be productive. You don't get tapped for a top job, or lead an organization, unless you can get things done. Still, even seasoned leaders tell me they sometimes have a nagging feeling that they spend too much time on the wrong things, and too little time on the right ones. In the heat of the day, the consequences may seem insignificant. In the lo...

Have you ever been standing in a beautiful place, all by yourself, taking it all in? Have you ever found yourself thinking something like, "This is what it's all about?" It happened to me a few weeks ago as I stood on Popponesset Beach. The calendar had turned, and with the summer tourists gone, there were only a few fortunate souls observing this sparkling day on the shores of Nantucket Sound. As the waves washed gently...

Given what it takes for most of us to juggle our own work, family and personal lives, it is nothing short of inspiring to hear the stories of graduates of our community colleges across this country, many of whom had to work two jobs and support a family while getting their associate degrees. These are young (and sometimes not-so-young) people who didn't have time for beer pong and sun bathing on the quad. They drove ruste...

I haven't done a formal survey but it seems like there are more leaders than ever transitioning into new roles. Seismic shifts and market volatility, massive corporate restructuring, the speed of globalization, the pace of innovation; these are all forces that are catapulting leaders into new roles. Which prompts the chorus of inevitable questions from CEOs and leadership development/talent teams: are they ready? It's a l...

I once had a darkroom mishap. It was a disastrous day in my young TV career. This took place back in the "Anchorman" days (remember that movie?) just before videotape became the standard format for television. News interviews were still shot on film. That meant whatever you reported in the field that day had to be in the processor by about 4 PM. It took that long for the film to be developed so you could get the clips c...

So I am watching TV, I think it was ESPN, and they have hauled out an old 2010 interview with Bubba Watson, the improbable and irrepressible winner of this year's utterly unpredictable Masters Tournament. Bubba is smiling, hitting shots off the staged practice area, and telling a story about how he once demo'd a new golf club by playing an entire round with only that club. He shot a 77. "I figured after that it was worth pu...

I was on a panel at the National Speakers Association where the moderator posed this question: "As a business owner, how do you allocate your time to be sure you are doing the right thing?" If you lead an organization of any size, that is THE question, isn't it?It was a lay-up for me. Not because I always get it right. But because I actually have a formula that works.Years ago, when I was starting my company, I didn't have...

Speaking to the graduating class last year at Princeton University, Amazon.com Founder Jeff Bezos shared a story about a long drive in Texas with his grandparents. He was ten years old at the time.His grandfather was driving on the highway. His grandmother sat in the passenger seat, smoking cigarettes. Recently Bezos had been hearing an ad campaign about smoking. The gist of it was that every puff of a cigarette reduced...

As a woman who writes about leadership, I get invited to talk to a LOT of women's groups. It's fun, A glass of Pinot Grigio, a little conversation about Jimmy Choos, what could be better? I really really really really WANT to be part of the conversation... helping women succeed. Hey, I can still remember being the first woman to anchor a newscast (my first job). I can remember reporting from the Moscone Center when Geral...