LISA'S BLOG

You’re sooo special.

You’re the best little soccer player out there, and to show you just how special you are, we’re going to give you a huge trophy.

Of course, we’re also going to give one to everybody else on the team. It doesn’t matter whether they played or not, whether the team won or lost, or even if you came to all the practices; everybody gets a trophy.

Call me a killjoy, and trust me, many have, but I don’t think giving away token trophies inspires anyone to new heights of improved performance. [...] Continue Reading…

Would you rather be around someone who’s depressed, or someone who’s angry?

Anyone who’s ever had to live or work with someone who’s chronically depressed or angry knows that it’s no fun. If you suffer from either malady yourself, you’re probably not too thrilled with it either.

We tend to think of depression and anger as two completely different conditions. Yet they’re often flip sides of the same coin.

Depression is often anger turned inward, and anger is often depression turned outward.  (I’m talking about the everyday kind, not the severe clinical kind.)

Depression [...] Continue Reading…

They’re the employees who show up for work with their bodies, but they leave their brains at home.

A recent Gallup poll revealed that 71% of workers are not engaged in their jobs.  That means 7 out of 10 people are just going through the motions at work.

Disengaged employees cost you money and customers, and they can suck the life out of an organization.

Please join me for a FREE webinar: Motivating Employees During Tough Times – 3 things you can do right now that won’t cost you a dime. Mark your calendar for July 22 at 12 PM CT.

Listen to [...] Continue Reading…

Can a friend help you get promoted? Or lose weight? Or be a better parent?

Statistically speaking, yes. Studies show that partnering with a peer increases your odds of being successful at just about anything.

I’m living proof that the combination of peer pressure and accountability can get you out of bed on a day when you might otherwise be tempted to hit snooze.

I’ve lost an inch and a half off my waist in the last 30 days, and I wouldn’t have done it if it weren’t for the gawd-awful pact I made with [...] Continue Reading…

Can a single conversation ruin your business?  Or end your marriage?

Author and leadership expert Susan Scott says, “While no single conversation is guaranteed to change the trajectory of a career, a company, a relationship or a life – any conversation can.”

Scott, the author of Fierce Conversations, writes, “Our lives succeed or fail gradually, then suddenly, one conversation at a time.”

Which is kind of a scary thought given that most of us don’t spend much time thinking about, or planning, our daily conversations.

Yet as Scott points out,  “What gets talked about in an organization – and what doesn’t get talked [...] Continue Reading…

What makes someone a great friend?

Is it being supportive and accepting you just the way you are?

Or is it someone who has the guts to kick you in the tail and demand that you do better?

I had an abysmal book signing several years ago that gave me a different perspective on what it really means to be a friend.

It was one of those awful, embarrassing no-show events that every author dreads. To make matters worse, it was one of the first public events for my very first book Forget Perfect [...] Continue Reading…

Which is harder, trying to get a job or trying to keep one?

With 14.8 million people unemployed, job competition has never been stiffer.

If you’ve already got a job, there are plenty of people out there who are quite eager to take your place. And if you’re looking for work, you already know how tough it is.

Companies close, departments shut down, organizations change and jobs we once complained about have become precious jewels.

Said another way, the days of just showing up are over.

So what’s the secret of getting or keeping a job? [...] Continue Reading…

Why do people of the opposite sex act so weird at work?

Anyone who works in an environment where their sex is in the minority knows that men and women are different.  Actually, anyone who’s ever gone to school, ridden a bus, dated, read a Facebook page, been married, raised kids or walked through a mall knows that we’re different.

In most cases, it’s a good thing.  Yet it can pose problems at work, especially if one gender has a set of unspoken rules that the other gender doesn’t even know exists.

Shaunti Feldhan, [...] Continue Reading…

Please join me for a free webinar series:Growing Your Business (without giving up your life)
Starting JUNE 24

We’ll cover:
Networking – How to generate leads,  when you don’t have time to get out into the community

Motivation- How to get your employees engaged, when you can’t afford raises

Organization – Streamlining your work and life, when you’re so busy you can’t see straight

June 24 session:  Is Networking a Waste of Time?  Or an Effective Marketing Strategy?
How to be a great networker without being a creeper

You’re overworked, understaffed and the [...] Continue Reading…

When we think about great parents, we tend to use words like loving, nurturing and kind.  Yet when describing high performing bosses, we’re more likely to talk about being decisive, tough and directive.

Parenting, especially mothering, is viewed as soft and sweet, while leadership is firm and aggressive. 

Yet in reality, great bosses and great parents are all those things.

We may like to think of home and work as separate animals, believing that one requires a soft approach (home) while the other (work) requires a tougher mindset.   But leadership is leadership, no [...] Continue Reading…