This past Sunday was the annual Pittsburgh Marathon where over 30,000 runners – supported by an army of volunteers and close to 100,000 spectators – took over the city streets to challenge themselves to complete either the 26.2 miles of the marathon or the half marathon’s 13.1 miles. Other than a handful of elite runners…
Author: John Rodgers
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“If you keep your fence painted, your manure doesn’t seem to smell so bad.” Farm wisdom from the Big Valley in central Pennsylvania. My dad, John Sr., and I were meeting with several farmers who lease our farmland on Friday, when I heard that pearl of wisdom. This coming from the herdsman who has one…
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The human side of life embraces all emotions and experiences — the good, the bad, and the ugly. This is what I am thinking in January 2016. During the past year, I read around ten biographies of great people from all walks of life: politicians, inventors, business executives, and sports coaches. I am reminded of…
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“When a man listens, teaches, encourages — not because he has to, but because he wants to — he becomes a hero.” I’m not sure who’s responsible for the quote, but I keep it on my desk. I wonder what would happen if we just made that our goal for 2016. Happy planning this week….
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Time Out! My heart is crushed when I hear of senseless killing of humans by other humans. I am reminded of a recent adage I heard, “Hurt people, hurt people.” I look forward to traveling to Paris. Happiness, fulfillment, and joy are never found in a consumption mentality at the expense of others. Rather, they…
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Performance under pressure. Watching it is amazing. Most of us have jobs that have pressure, though we don’t have 10 million viewers watching everything we do and analyzing all of our decisions. The pressure of sports represents the ultimate in reality TV. This week, the Kansas City Royals won the World Series. While their players peaked at the…
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One of the greatest challenges in leadership is to correct mistakes with an effective corrective action plan and process. As a Level 5 Leader, the greatest challenge is walking the line of being helpful when we must be controlling in the situation. To be clear, I am talking about a major mistake outside of effective…
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We all have blind spots. The problem is we don’t perceive them. We don’t see them even when they are in plain sight of others. I was dealing with a manager this week who was so frustrated because one of his leaders could not see something that was obvious. So obvious, in fact, he should…
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Our world is changing and a new generation has arrived in the workforce: Millennials. They represent our future and want to be led not managed. They want to be valued and given a sense of purpose — a sense that they are truly making a difference. They do not want to wait to make a…
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Dale Carnegie Training will soon be releasing research stating that 2016 will be the year of Experience Innovation in the workplace and marketplace. This is exciting to me because it will invigorate leaders who are willing and committed to be focused on others rather than themselves by focusing first on their customers and prospects and…