Marc and Al invented a trendy new textured wallpaper. But their efforts were a total failure. Nobody wanted that wallpaper. Then they tried to use the wallpaper as housing insulation. That too was a flop. Then they had the opportunity to use it to wrap a newly launched computer during transport. …
We weren’t really mad at each other, but it sure seemed that way. While I was in law school, my future wife drove a few hundred miles to see me after a discussion over text where we both misread tone. I don’t recollect what we wrote to each other that …
There are two donut shops near my office. The donuts taste identical. The interiors are similar. The locations are equally convenient. But at one donut shop, the employees mumble and are more interested in the cash register buttons than the customer in front of them. At the other store, the …
There are many significant traits of exceptional leaders. Integrity is at the top. Two stories show the power of integrity in the lives of others. Story One – Easy Eddie Al Capone owned virtually all of Chicago in the 1920s. He had a net worth of more than one billion …
Charlie was a fighter pilot in Vietnam. The enemy shot Charlie down during his 75th combat mission in the war. He ejected from his jet and parachuted into enemy territory. Charlie spent six years as a prisoner of war. When Charlie was released, someone recognized him when he got back …
Resilience is a shield protecting us from perpetual change, persistent stress, and constant pressures—it leverages our most challenging situations towards our growth. The story of the donkey and the farmer illustrates the power of resilience. One afternoon, a farmer’s donkey fell into a pit. The creature bellowed for hours as …
Wells Fargo paid $3 billion to federal prosecutors because of a fourteen-year failure of communication. That bank’s management communicated information in a condescending, emotionally laced, and unnecessary way. That created a culture where employees did not speak with transparency. In the Wells Fargo scandal, the bank’s senior administrators urged its …
Nolan is a cornerback for the Philadelphia Eagles. The highpoint of his position is sacking the quarterback. That’s because it creates a psychological change in the quarterback. It makes him angry. We know that anger causes tunnel vision. It narrows your senses and significantly erodes your ability to make intelligent …
Howard was born into a low-income family in Brooklyn. He got a scholarship to college and started a sales career, eventually joining a small coffee wholesaling business as the third employee. They sent him on a trip to Italy, where Howard saw how coffee houses were places where people were …
Imagine that a customer wants to return a dress to your store that she wore and ripped. You’re reluctant to take back such an expensive piece. But your supervisor tells you her loyalty is worth much more. You do it anyway. That clerk was Stanley Marcus, of Nieman Marcus. And …
