Leading Role Models originally appeared in the Huffington Post September 5, 2013 This series shines a spotlight on twelve people who achieved success with heart — the right way. Several years ago I ran into an unusual situation with a consulting client. One of my colleagues suggested that I bounce my ideas off Frank Sonnenberg…. [Read More]
Honesty: The Plain and Simple Truth
What would happen if lying were the norm? Spouses wouldn’t be able to trust one another; leaders wouldn’t be credible; and the news would be meaningless. Everything, and I mean everything, depends on honesty. That’s why it’s so critical to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth. The truth is . . …. [Read More]
Be Humble: Don’t Let Success Go to Your Head
Their stories are all too common: After years of hard work pursuing the American Dream, these self-motivated high achievers reach the pinnacle of success that’s so richly deserved. And — you guessed it; they let success go to their head. Whatever happened to being humble? These folks think they’re so special. They buy expensive “toys”… [Read More]
A Promise Is a Promise
Do you think before you make a promise to someone? What if you can’t deliver on your word? Does it really matter? The world isn’t going to come to an end, is it? Well, actually no, but have you considered . . . Many people are pretty casual about making promises. As a result, promises… [Read More]
ACTIONS Speak Louder Than Words
The car with a religious bumper sticker just cut me off. The parent makes the rules and then routinely breaks them. The leader just asked everyone to scale back and then spends like there’s no tomorrow. The politician says, “Trust me,” but we quickly learn that his promises are empty. The truth is, talk is… [Read More]
Trust: How to Earn Someone’s Faith
Trust — or lack of it — is inherent in every action that we take and affects everything that we do. Trust is the cement that binds relationships, keeping spouses together, business deals intact, and political systems stable. Understanding the meaning of trust allows you to work toward being a trusted and trusting person. Building trusting… [Read More]
The Values on Which Trust Rests
Trust must be carefully constructed, vigorously nurtured, and constantly reinforced. Trust is established over time, gradually, through a long chain of successful experiences. Building trusting relationships is a process that can best be described as stacking layers on a foundation one at a time in such a way that each layer bonds on top of… [Read More]
How to Build Trust: Creating the Foundation
Trust is never guaranteed, and it can’t be won overnight. Trust must be carefully constructed, vigorously nurtured, and constantly reinforced. Trust is established over time, gradually, through a long chain of successful experiences. The following paragraphs describe how to build trust. Building trusting relationships is a process that can best be described as stacking layers… [Read More]