Da Coach's Blog

We all need a hug ...

Hug Your People  Jack Mitchell, CEO of one of the country's top clothing retailers and author of Hug Your Customers, explains why creating a "niceness culture" is great for business.  Try it on -- you'll like it!

You Built to Last?

Success Built to Last: Creating a Life that Matters  If you liked the book Built to Last about how great companies attain and then maintain long-term success, here's one that profiles individuals with the same kind of scientific rigor.  Among the dozens of subjects interviewed for this book are Herb Kelleher, Michael Dell, Richard Branson and a host of fascinating others -- all were concerned from the get-go about making a difference, not fitting in.

A book on some great brands ...

Accidental Branding: How Ordinary People Build Extraordinary Brands  Author David Vinjamuri introduces you to some remarkable entrepreneurs who started out just like you and me but turned their passions into huge businesses without ever intending to -- showing that it's always about love, never about the money.  If you enjoy hearing tales of how people made it despite seemingly overwhelming odds as much as I do, this book is definitely for you!

Green is Good ...

Stirring It Up:  How to Make Money and Save the World  Gary Hirshberg, the "CE-YO" of Stonyfield Farms, shows you how going green can add green to your bottom line.  (They make mighty tasty organic yogurt -- ever try it?)

They're Number One ...

How Toyota Became #1: Leadership Lessons from the World's Greatest Car Company  Find out how a humble loom building company (!) in the 1920's evolved into the manufacturing behemoth it is today.  Author David Magee exposes the combination of arrogance and ignorance of the Big Three (GM, Ford and Chrysler) that will have them following Toyota's tail lights for the foreseeable future.

I got my "Phil" on Friday night ...

Chicago has the best outdoor concert venue I've ever been to anywhere:  Charter One Pavilion at Northerly Island, a little gem of a place right on the lakefront. And it just so happens I witnessed Phil Lesh & Friends play a MONSTER show there this past Friday night -- check out the setlist.  Founding member of the Grateful Dead, Phil is 68 years old, still pushing the envelope of rock and roll improvisation -- I wanna be like him when I grow up ...

He knows "Jack" about Leadership ...

Jack Welch Speaks  A lot of meaty quotes from the former GE CEO about what it was like to reshape an already good company into a great one over the course of almost 20 years.
      

Yoga south of the border ...

Winter finally ended here and we had a wonderful week down in Puerto Morelos, near Cancun for the 11th annual White Iris Yoga Mexico Retreat (click on "Retreats")  If you want to join us next year, mark the week of April 4th - 11th, 2009 -- you'll find the heat helps you get into the down dog pose real easy ...

A great book for leaders ...

What Got You HERE Won't Get You THERE  Marshall Goldsmith, THE "Coach to the CEO Stars," give solid actions you can take to go from being a very good leader to becoming a great one.  His unique approach:  Most people at or near the top of an organization are pretty good at "To Do" lists.  Goldsmith suggests a "To Stop" list, and goes on to list 20 specific habits you might need to break to help you improve your interpersonal leadership skills.

Bring the right Mindset ...

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success  What separates high achievers from the pack?  Author Carol Dweck suggests winners have an ability to view failure as a "growth opportunity" rather than a defeat, an important lesson for anyone in a leadership position, especially parents and teachers.  The book shows us how to interpret situations that don't go our way as a challenge to get better rather than labeling ourselves a "f&#%ing loser!"  (That would be "failing loser" -- what were YOU thinking?)