An Engraved Invitation

“Opportunity does not knock; it presents itself when you beat down the door.”
— Kyle Chandler

Waiting for an engraved invitation?  A signing bonus?  A big fat salary and lots of perks?  Someone to meet you at the door to hold your coat and your hand?  An elder confidante who commiserates at how competitive and frustrating it is to be […]

Forgiving Faster

“I concluded a particularly humbling foreign assignment and came home to lick my wounds.  The Boss, after a solicitous interval said, ‘Are you going to be laughing about this in 20 years?’  I responded, ‘Well, yes…’ He smiled and said, ‘Why not laugh now?’”
— Jennifer R. StJohn

There’s a lot of time wasted in self-flagellation […]

Servant of the Boat

“She’s as integral to the boat as the rowers are; they can’t do it without her.”
– Tom Terhaar
Head Coach, US Women’s Olympic Rowing Team
(1969 – )

“King of the Hill?” or “Servant of the Enterprise?”

At the 2012 London Olympics, the USA Women’s […]

Baby Steps

Lost in Rugby, England, Dwight Morrow and his wife, the parents of Anne Lindbergh, wandered through the streets for hours.  He stopped a little Rugby lad of about 12 years.  “Could you tell us the way to the station?” he asked.

“Well,” the boy answered, “You turn to the right there by the grocer’s shop and then take the second street to the left.  That will bring […]

Seeing the Big Picture

“To see the big picture, sometimes you must rise above the puzzle!”
– Anonymous

In our experience, some clients acquire a training seminar and go home happy.  But others, a few, go “All In!” and acquire, install, operate, manage and evolve an entire complex winning system.

Shovel & Pink Tights

The circus came to town. Dad and I made the trip to see the parade down 4th Avenue. Later that night we saw the Main Event under the Big Top!  The Elephants were my favorites — a long line of them. There, sitting atop the leader, at the head of the column, was a girl in pink tights and a satin leotard, her blonde hair pulled tightly back in a jaunty pony tail!  She had the best job in the world!

Management Rocks

Bancalero or Bricklayer?

Spanish Olive Groves on Majorcan terraced hillsides – held in place by stone walls of ancient design. No mortar in sight, these weathered walls (also seen on buildings and homes in the towns) serve to contain groves, lives and businesses behind uniquely patterned curtains of stone which quietly endure the centuries.

Endless, Cheerful, Repeated Coaching

“Man, you gotta have your head in the game every second of every play. You doze for a second, and the other guys are all over you and that’s the down, the quarter and the whole game. Too many games, and your career is done!”
—NFC Playoff Team Member

If a football team went a week without being intensely coached about the opposition, the […]

The Wisdom of Fusion

The Sales & Counselor Selling Series

1. Sales Riddle: “I can’t work with you until I know that you know what I know.”

We think it’s more important to “get” your customers’ issues, marketplace and challenges first rather than […]

You Can Change the World

“Everyone thinks to change the world.  But nobody thinks to change themselves!”
— Leo Tolstoy

“We can change the world, rearrange the world.  It’s dying to get better!”
— Graham Nash, Chicago

Examine Your Habits… of Thought, […]

Do Your Homework!

The Sales & Counselor Selling Series

“Rommel, you magnificent bastard, I read your book!” *

– General George S. Patton, U.S. Army
Spoken by George C. Scott, playing the general, […]

Management v. Leadership

(in a crisis)

Well, we admit it. We’re Americans.  And that old picture of Washington Crossing the Delaware has a warm place in our heart.  Also it points out the dual nature of being the Boss.  You have to Manage the crossing.  But once you’re across and out of the boat, you have to Lead to the ultimate victory.

Imposing Limits

The “Back to Basics” Series

“I don’t need time. What I need is a deadline.”
Duke Ellington
American jazz pianist, Composer Conductor
(1899 — 1974)

“When will you make an end?” Pope Julius
“When it’s finished!” Michaelangelo

Promoted? Step Up!

“Promotion is not an honorific for time served.”

Many people, after years of dedicated service, are promoted. Whereupon, they immediately fail in the new role. It’s not the nice new shoulder boards; it’s not the scrambled eggs on the shiny hat brim. It’s the fact that they have not gotten their head around what the new role means, requires, demands in the way of changed perspective, behavior and demeanor.

You don’t get to be the same person you’ve always been. […]

Management v. Leadership (in a crisis)

“Management works in the system; […]

Aliens from Babel on Groundhog Day

“There was a tribe which became successful, rich, and so arrogant that they decided to build a tower, tall enough to allow them to walk directly into heaven, without divine intercession.

As the work began, and progressed over time; the Almighty became angry and levied a curse on the tribe.  The next morning as they awoke and began speaking, they slowly became […]

The Many “Hats of Management”

“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts.”

-“As You Like It”
William Shakespeare

In the early days of railroading, each crewmember had a unique […]

“It’s the Culture, Stupid!”

“The Shepherd does not despise the sheep.”

– Biblical Proverb

“It will be the policy of this organization that to refer to a client as muppet, puppet, crumpet or strumpet, will be a firing offense.”

Friends, […]

Restoring Nobility to the Workplace

This is the last of the five-part; “What is Fusion?” series. Our clients have often said, “We didn’t know you guys do that!” Here’s our take on Strategic Planning — to let our clients and friends see past our well-known communication specialties and experience a deeper look at Holistic Management.

On Management

On Management
Part Four of Five
of the “What is Fusion?” series

“Let’s see if your walk is as good as your talk.”

– From “Zatoichi kenda-daiko” (1968)

We’ve already spoken about Communication, Sales and Culture Building. This article focuses on Management Development […]

Building a Culture

Building a Culture

Part Three of Five
of the “What is Fusion?” series

So far we’ve focused on the art of public speaking, improving communication skills and the fundamentals of presentations – all through the use of “Ready, Set, Go!”.  […]

Endless, Cheerful, Repeated Coaching

“Man, you gotta have your head in the game every second of every play. You doze for a second, and the other guys are all over you and that’s the down, the quarter and the whole game. Too many games, and your career is done!”

-NFC Playoff Team Member

If a football team went a week without being intensely coached about the opposition, the plays and strategy for the game at hand, and the positions and roles of each opposition player on each […]

Managing vs. Leading in Crisis

“Management works in the system; Leadership works on the system.”

Despite […]

This July, think about dependence.

“Gentlemen, we’d best hang together.
Or we will most assuredly hang – separately!”

– Benjamin Franklin
American Printer, Writer, Speaker
Founding Father
(January 17, 1706 – April 17, 1790)

Baby Steps

Lost in Rugby, England, Dwight Morrow and his wife, the parents of Anne Lindbergh, wandered through the streets for hours. He stopped a little Rugby lad of about 12 years. “Could you tell us the way to the station?” he asked.

“Well,” the boy answered, “You turn to the right there by the grocer’s shop and then take the second street to the left.  […]

Ancora Imparo

“And still I am learning!”
— Michelangelo

“Learning on the job is essential to judging!”
— John Paul Stevens
Associate Justice
United States Supreme Court
(1920- )

“The […]