Defining Priorities and Setting Direction Amid Uncertainty We’re now one full year into a new normal that’s gripped the world. Not getting political here only to say while COVID has severely impacted the lives of millions, my professional opinion is too many have stopped living life giving up control of your lives. Not me, nor many of my friends, family, peers and colleagues. If you’re of a similar belief, then read on. If not, my opinion is irrelevant to you. Here are the facts in how to adapt, overcome and reset 2021 amidst this global obstacle. Living & Leading in a Landslide of Change ..read more

Have an Elegant Thanksgiving I hope you and your family have been and continue to be in good health through this most trying year on all fronts! On behalf of The Culture Whisperer, we want to express our gratitude and appreciation for our friends, colleagues, clients and partners. We have purposefully cocooned in 2020 taking care of those closest to us. We look forward to a better 2021. Our goal continues to serve you well, and in turn, for you to share your Elegant Leadership with those around you. May the good things in life be yours in abundance that stay with you all year long! Wishing yo ..read more

When The Worst Happens Simply Turn Around Certainly, easier said than done…but the power of the solution lies in its simplicity. The previous article asked the question, what will you do when the worst happens? We are in virgin territory with no precedent and no proven process. Yet, the ONLY way for a solution to become proven requires it to be simple and replicatable. When a solution is simple and repeatable, then it becomes powerful when it can be executed practically. This formula is the underpinning context of the Elegant Leader with Voltage platform. I’m giving you the blueprint below on ..read more

When the Worst Happens  The line between an elite athlete and high-performing athlete is incredibly thin. Both take hard work commitment and sacrifice all without any guarantee of long-term success. Both dedicate years of their lives training, working to get better, competing to reach the highest level. Some get the breaks giving them the opportunity to shine, but it’s not enough to make an athlete’s career sustainable. Athletes know the risks of injury as part of the game and many take the “it won’t happen to me” approach. When it happens it can be devastating – fear, anxiety, anger and ..read more

Change Ineffective Habits and Gets Results Allowing employees, managers and executives to ‘get away with’ behaving inappropriately is what destroys a healthy culture and impedes great performances. We get what we tolerate. Whether the bad behaviors and habits are from the one employee who’s always late to meetings serving up some lame excuse or eliminating interruptions from a colleague who’s rarely listening during meetings to the manager who chooses to ignore the meeting’s going’s on in favor of hammering away on their phone, there’s ineffective habits we allow, as leaders and managers. We p ..read more

What’s Next? “…you want to not only survive, but thrive during periods of great change, hunkering down to weather the storm is just about the worst thing you can do…” First and foremost, we hope you are safe and healthy. We experienced an immediate shutter from most of our clients as they braced for what to do for the health of their people and the health of their businesses. While we empathized and understand the most important focus, we encouraged every client to maintain a ‘lifeline’ – an impartial sounding board alongside so we can help lead each leader through it together. Our goal remain ..read more

We were young, smaller, simple. What we knew was right there in front of us. We just were. Our days filled with dreams, laughter and not a care in the world. We told stories – real and far from real. We cut our thumbs with that dirty old Uncle Henry pocket-knife and claimed blood brothers for life. We built forts out back across the creek amongst the reeds and thickets where we’d sneak off pretending to be in lands far away. We’d tell each other stories, and sometimes we’d share what went on at night back home. Love was assumed. Loyalty a given, and trust never doubted. We had each other’s bac ..read more

Lead More… There’s thousands of books on how to become a better leader, and just as many with inspiring stories about leading varying industries, economies and overcoming adversities of all shapes and sizes. Looking in the mirror is great for generating or deepening your self awareness. But what if you don’t know what you’re looking for? Many executives and business professionals we’ve worked with once they’re honest with themselves reveal there’s this very small inner fear that they’re “not enough” or “less than” (feeling). When it’s time for people to go beyond where they are today, for wher ..read more

How Will You Attract and Retain Talent This Decade? What have you done or are doing to attract and retain talent in the lowest unemployement rate in decades? The economy is booming, 145,000 jobs were added in December alone. According to figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a record 158.8 million Americans are now employed with an uneployment rate holding steady at a 50-year low of 3.5 percent. There are now more job openings than there are job seekers to fill them – we’ve truly reached the elusive milestone of full employment. Here are more economy facts. Now we have a new prob ..read more

Let the Bloodletting Begin Well that’s an uplifting way to ring in the new year and new decade! Every year we encounter more and more retailers sending the first salvo of the ‘New Year’s Business Mortality’ results. “Over 9,300 store closings were announced in 2019 up nearly 20% over the previous record store closures in 2017, according to Business Insider. The number of store closings this year could be even higher with estimates from real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield as many as 12,000 major chain store closings in 2020. With 2020 only one-week old, retailers have confirmed at least 1 ..read more