When I was in the fourth grade, I was the new kid (again!), and this time it was close to the end of the year, so I wasn't going to bother making new friends. Well, to my surprise, my parents bought me a 64 pack of Crayola Crayons! This made me an instant hit in the classroom, and one girl, Esther, always wanted to borrow my crayons. The problem was, she kept breaking them! One day, with palm sweating and [...]
It’s one thing to call yourself “inspiring”, it’s another to be recognized by a local periodical as such. Like any “inspiror” (OK, that’s not a word), my motivation is to help people have hope in the possibilities of life. To have hope that their last challenge won’t take them out. To show them that life has seasons, and some of them carry some really ugly weather, but that with faith, hope, and love, they can weather that storm. So I [...]
One of the challenges seasoned change leaders have is entering a new environment and still being respected as a leader. This can come as a result of a re-organization, a job change, or life as usual for consultants (we're always the new kid on the block). The first thing any new person to a team must do is LISTEN. But the new kid will hear a lot of noise, so below are the critical factors you should listen for when [...]
I love the old adage "What you focus on grows". It speaks to investing our time and attention to the things that matter. And in return, you'll get dividends. Most times, people intend to focus on the important relationships, tasks, and projects in their lives, but it can be difficult. There are so many things vying for our attention, competing for our energy and focus. This can be especially frustrating when we talk about goals. Making goals is important, but sticking to [...]
Life always boils down to choices, and when it comes to dealing with difficulty, we really have two. As the famous poet Maya Angelou put it, "We can change our circumstances or we can change our attitude." I am a proponent of changing circumstances, no matter how difficult they may seem. But even the most aggressive overcomer can’t change everything. So, what do we do if a situation is beyond our control and we can't change it no matter how [...]
As a project manager, I have found delegation to be one of the most valuable tools in my toolbox, but it is one that I have seen often misused. Why is it misused? Well, quite simply because often times people don't understand the difference between true delegation and just telling someone to do something. Anyone can tell someone to do something, especially the "bossy" people, but can you properly delegate a task to someone? We'll take a pen for instance, if [...]
Can you imagine life without the rainbow? Can you imagine how sad the days would be without the flooding and be able to look forward to the beauty of the rainbow? We look forward to that beauty not only because it is beautiful, but because God sent that as a promise to Noah. To let us know that he will never again destroy the Earth from floods. At that moment, the rainbow took a very special place in our hearts [...]
Please don’t ask what you can do to help the Houston area. Just tell us what you are going to do to help. Texans are proud and this devastating flood has jolted us out of our comfortable lives and placed us in a very vulnerable position. If you ask what you can do for us, most Texans will point to those less fortunate than themselves. They may suggest you donate to one of the national organizations to show your support. [...]
The first project I was assigned as a young engineer was intended to bring about a massive amount of change to an industry that didn't particularly like change. I recall being mentored by engineers who kept their best information in a "tally book" in their back pocket. That would be the equivalent of Google docs today! The undertaking I was embarking on was going to digitize and standardize invoicing for the entire company...but first, people had to be taught how [...]
A couple of months ago, I attended a book launch and I won the door prize which included a T-shirt that said: “I’m booked”. That clever play on words has stuck with me, and with summer upon us, has given me something to ponder. If you have children, chances are you signed them up for a summer reading program to keep their minds engaged. I have done this for years with my kids and enjoyed watching them dive into A [...]
