Building Your Own Reciprocity Ring

Building Your Own Reciprocity Ring

In the book Give and Take Adam Grant explores the advantages of being a giver, taker or strategic matcher. I believe that his desire in writing the book is to convince more people to become givers or at least move closer towards becoming a giver. My favorite movie is Pay it Forward so you might expect that this book resonated with me. Grant ends the book by providing 10 actions for impact. In this article, I wanted to explore the action called starting a reciprocity ring.

From Prison to Social Entrepreneur

From Prison to Social Entrepreneur

Nine years ago John planned to take his kids to Disney World, but after being laid off he needed to sell his tickets.  When he tried to sell his tickets on Craigslist he was arrested and charged with six felony counts of obtaining money under false pretenses.  You must learn more about what John does now. He runs an accredited trade school to train electricians, orthodontics assistants, and plumbers. 

Should I Use a Broker?

Should I Use a Broker?

When buying or selling a house or yacht one is faced with the decision of whether or not to use a broker. On one hand, you might be tempted to try to save money by avoiding the commissions paid to a real estate agent or broker.  On the other hand, if you don’t have a lot of experience in this area, it is not wise to make a large purchase alone.  In this article, I will review some of the pros and cons of for sale by owner and share some of my personal experiences.  I have bought and sold both yachts and homes without an agent

Model, Coach, Care, Getting the Order Correct

Model, Coach, Care, Getting the Order Correct

Over the past few months, several articles have been written such as the one in Business Insider and the one in Inc where they talk about how Microsoft has applied Carol Dweck's Growth Mindset principles to support organizational growth.   From that model, they developed the management framework Model, Coach, Care.   I am a fan of having a growth mindset and this management framework but I believe they have the order wrong in their model.

The Learning Lunch

The Learning Lunch

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to speak at Reston Tech Talks. I spoke on the topic of the Value of Relationships. I shared my personal story, reviewed 4 great books, and provided 10 tips to build and grow business relationships. During the talk, I referred to what John Maxwell has called the learning lunch. In the question and answer session, an audience member told me she had never heard of John Maxwell and wanted to know more about the learning lunch.

Learning to Love Negative Feedback

Learning to Love Negative Feedback

In the first half of my life, I did not like receiving negative feedback.   I will admit that I was downright afraid of receiving negative feedback.  I did what I could to avoid receiving negative feedback which included such behaviors as trying too hard to be right, becoming defensive, and pretending I did not care about my performance in my areas of weakness.  This was a huge mistake and an area in which I am still growing.   I am confident others want to grow in their ability to love negative feedback, so I wrote this article to provide help.

Is Grammarly Premium Worth the Money?

Is Grammarly Premium Worth the Money?

I first heard about Grammarly from the CEO of my former company. For the first time, my company used the G Suite from Google. Excellent spelling and grammar do not come naturally to me. I had come to rely on the advanced features in the Office 365 Suite (Word and Outlook) to assist me with correcting my mistakes. After using G Suite (Gmail, Google Documents) for about a week, I was very concerned that my business communication would not be perceived as professional.

10 Ways to Push through Resistance In Business

10 Ways to Push through Resistance In Business

Resistance training is designed to use muscular contraction in order to build strength, anaerobic endurance, and increase the size of muscles and bone density.   Resistance training has positive affects on both our bodies and our brain.   I believe resistance training is required both for successful for athletes and business people.   The resistance training in business is not done in the gym, but is done in the battlefield of our mind.    You don't need to purchase any special equipment for this type of resistance training.  The resistance starts when you decide to take action on your life's calling. 

The Post Sales Call Debrief

The Post Sales Call Debrief

I did not aspire to become a sales manager, but like many others, I was offered a job in sales management because I was one of the best sales people.   The best sales people don't necessarily make the best sales managers and initially that was true about me.   Early in my sales management career, I tried to hire people similar to me and I was either too involved or not involved enough with my team.  Over the years I have developed a regular cadence of sales management activities that have helped me recruit, retain, and develop top talent.   This cadence includes…

6 Books to Change Your Teen's Life

6 Books to Change Your Teen's Life

I live in Northern Virginia, a community where many parents hope kids will get a sports scholarship.   They demonstrate this belief by the money they spend on travel sports including paid coaches, trainers, custom diets, and private lessons.   Sports have been shown to have positive effects on kids, but  statistically only .2% of students will get more than $25,000 towards a college scholarship.   This being the case, I believe that parents are better off saving money in a 529 plan and incenting their teens to read a few books that can change their life.