Overwork can hurt our relationships, our health, and the quality of our work. Here are 5 of the primary reasons people fall into this trap.

As we move into December many of us find ourselves busier than ever. The goals that we had set for our work for the year are approaching the finish line. Not only are we working to ensure that the goals for 2020 are met, but we are also beginning to work on developing our goals […]

For many of us, 2020 has upended our established routines or habits. As we get ready to move into the busy holiday season, it can be even harder to get back on track. Consider what habits you’re missing in your daily schedule. I want to challenge the idea that in order to create a new […]

“Who’s got something scary?” asked my friend’s producer. The if it bleeds, it leads mentality hung over the newsroom. The scarier the headline, the more views it would receive. It’s no secret that people respond to fear, and unfortunately, many leaders take this approach with their employees. But fear breeds complicity, not commitment. Instead of […]

When I first started speaking and writing, I traveled to more than 60 events in a single year. It exhausted me. Friends in the industry told me this type of travel was essential, but I believed I could find a better way to grow my business. I chose to ignore the naysayers. I made a […]

Vision and strategy are both important. But there is a priority to them. Vision always comes first. Always. If you have a clear vision, you will eventually attract the right strategy.

A lot of productive people operate in disorganized workspaces. The problem is that they’re not as productive as they could be. The hidden culprit stealing their focus is clutter. When I moved into my new office a while back, I was in the middle of a massive video shoot. Time was tight, and I just […]

I have a hard time saying “no.” Perhaps you do, too. I think it is more common than we think, especially for those who are empathetic or nurturing. Here are five reasons why we must get better.

The easiest way to get out of that funk is to change your physiology. It’s surprisingly easy and fast. Here’s a five-step formula.

People get “trained” to come late because they know nothing significant will happen until well after the announced start time…. For example, “the purpose of our meeting is to report on the results of our latest market research and give you a chance to ask questions.” Or, “the purpose of our meeting is to evaluate prospective titles for Don Miller’s new book and determine which one we are going to recommend to the author.”

Think back to the last decision you made. What were your options? How did you choose what to do? Most importantly, was the outcome of this decision instrumental in building your life, productivity, or happiness? Unless I caught you at a particularly productive or essential moment, probably not. Most of the decisions we make are […]

We are a society of list-makers. We gather groups of to-dos and to-don’ts, would-bes and should-bes, and we slap them down on legal pads and post-it notes, fancy journal pages, and stained napkins. Far too often those lists fail to translate to measurable success. It doesn’t have to be this way. When making lists, a little […]

Emily wanted to work in marketing. She was young and had no experience. She’d skipped college and used a portfolio of work and a Praxis apprenticeship to win a spot on the Customer Success team of a growing startup. But her goal was still marketing. She aimed right at it and started asking people in […]

Is execution more difficult than strategy? Nine out of ten business leaders say “yes.” If you are a leader with operational or production responsibility, you may feel an even higher sense of frustration when it comes to execution. In the early 2000s, a group of us at Franklin Covey began working on the methodology known […]

My two-year-old is asleep for the third time today. I thought I had developed a clever disciplinary method when I started telling him that cranky kids need naps, and sending him to bed multiple times. Turns out I was being more clever than I knew. Instead of being better behaved, he just keeps going to […]

The intentions are noble: You want to buy a house with a backyard for your kids, pay off debt, or do something to actually justify the $50,000 worth of student loans that feels like a noose around your neck. You vow to work harder than everyone else on your team, to be the first one […]

This past weekend our family had to cancel a special trip to a friend’s lake house that had been circled on the calendar for months. Our initial weekend plans had play and adventure built into them to recharge the grownups, help us finish a busy season well and open our minds up to new possibilities […]

For my first job in Washington, DC, I worked very long hours. One night, a rare dinner date was lined up. “What time do you get off?” my date asked to coordinate. A long, awkward pause followed. “It’s kind of a philosophical question,” I finally admitted. That was fine by me at the time, but […]

When Bryan Stockton was pushed out as CEO of toymaker Mattel, he fingered a complacent company culture for dipping profits. In fact, he went one step further and blamed the lack of innovation on bad meetings. Stockton’s story has been on my mind because I’m releasing a new book today called No Fail Meetings. Meetings […]

As a young leader, I was excited to attend the annual gathering of my professional organization. It promised three days of learning and networking, plus a few business sessions. During the first session, one of my elder colleagues, a man wearing bright red suspenders, rose to ask a question, something about whether a point of […]

Meetings are a necessity. Meetings also often stink. Typically, they are a waste of time. There are too many meetings—and most of them are often poorly-organized, lack coherent agendas, serve to do little more than reaffirm hierarchies than achieve results. As a result, poorly-run meetings cost companies $37 billion a year in lost productivity. Employees […]

I can tell you with some precision the moment I first doubted group brainstorming. This was many moons ago. A medium sized media firm that wanted to grow much larger had engaged my consulting services. They held a company-wide powwow, flying most of the managers and yours truly to corporate headquarters in Darkest Peru. The […]

Calendars are the lifeblood of business operations. They always have been and always will be. One of the most common observations of successful businesses (and individuals) is they are very highly organized and have a consistent procedure. A 2017 study by PMI found that only 60% of projects actually meet their goals. The primary cause […]

The best and most creative thinking and problem-solving can only take place during uninterrupted periods of time. You know it and so do your colleagues. Which is why your company wants to give everyone time one day a week—let’s say Thursday—to work alone. Easier said than done. It is difficult to control the array of […]