Relationship Mastery

Listening and Self-Delusion

I received a group email from a colleague the other day and I couldn’t stop laughing. The topic of the email was on communication and this is how he summed up his communications skills: “I love to hear myself talk. It’s nice to have others hear me sometimes, too.”   He was joking, but it got […]


Enlightened Leadership

A few weeks back I spent a couple of days with a senior leader who wanted to develop his “leadership intelligence.” He has produced outstanding results in many ways and he has superb “technical skills,”  but his people skills were suffering. As a result, his relationships were suffering as well. Great leaders produce great results in one or […]


“Shut Up and Listen”

Families and companies have a lot in common. After all, both families and companies are made up of people. That means there are plenty of opportunities for misunderstanding,  unresolved conflict and power plays. On the positive side, there are plenty of opportunities for connection, collaboration and the option of sharing power. When we aren’t connecting, collaborating and sharing the […]


How to Deliver an Unforgettable “Thank You”

If I were to ask you when you last reached out to someone via text, tweet, email or Facebook, you probably wouldn’t have to think long. We live in an age of instant communication—but while technology rocks, sometimes it just isn’t enough. If you want to send someone the message that you’ve made a sincere […]


Influence Tips From Elvis Presley”s Back Up Singer (Ray Walker)

I never saw Elvis in concert, much less met him. The closest I ever got to the King of Rock and Roll was in meeting Ray Walker of the Jordanaires, who sang backup for Elvis for 14 years. After seeing Mr. Walker perform at an event, I joined the small crowd around him to ask […]


What It Takes To Be Happy: Self-Love!

So far we have talked about two strands in the tapestry of happiness: • Self-Confidence • Vision Today we are going to look at the role of Self-Love in happiness; a topic that has created a lot of controversy, confusion and ironically, unhappiness! Think about these questions: • Should you love yourself? • How much […]


How To Deal With “Happiness Vampires”

In my last post, we looked at four tips to add more happiness to our lives. One of the tips had to do with staying away from what I call “Happiness Vampires.” A “Happiness Vampire” is someone who complains, whines about their circumstances and who is, more often than not, just plain negative and pessimistic. […]


Make Me Feel Important!

Do you know who Mary Kay Ash is? She was the brilliant entrepreneur who founded and built the Mary Kay Cosmetics empire. Would you like to know the secrets of her success? A long time ago (25 years) I read a book by her on leadership and there was one thing she said that I’ve […]