September 16th, 2014 by Kelly Kienzle
“Ambition eventually wears out and probably should. But you can keep your zest until the day you die.” John Gardner spoke these words to a roomful of McKinsey consultants over 20 years ago. He was speaking about personal renewal. He went on to say: “Be interested. Everyone…
August 7th, 2014 by Kelly Kienzle
Summer offers so many choices. We can choose to go outside or work from home; choose to wear sandals or flip-flops; or choose to stay out later or not. But is it only the season that gives us more choice? Why aren’t we at choice more…
June 23rd, 2014 by Kelly Kienzle
How many workshops on listening and speaking have you attended in your career? How many books and articles have you read on how to be more effective in your communication skills? If the number is something greater than the number of vacation days you’ve had in…
May 6th, 2014 by Kelly Kienzle
“Design and launch a meaningful marketing initiative for 2014.” I wrote that 4 months ago in January. Since then I haven’t done anything meaningful in tackling that goal. It is critically important, requires huge mental energy, and has many moving parts and multiple steps. All of…
April 3rd, 2014 by Kelly Kienzle
A Deliberately Developmental Organization (DDO) is, on the surface, some people’s worst nightmare. This strategy states that colleagues should be fully transparent about their greatest weaknesses, explicitly state what their developmental goals are, and constantly be working towards achieving them. Ouch. Yet underneath this strategy can…
March 4th, 2014 by Kelly Kienzle
I always have cheesy wall calendars. Every year, I don’t remember until January to buy a new wall calendar. And then I’m left with paltry options like “Rainbows!” or “Justin Bieber Unleashed.” And 2014 was no different. Sometime in mid January I trekked to our local…
February 4th, 2014 by Kelly Kienzle
Today is February 4 and if you’re already a bit disillusioned and uninspired by your resolutions, here’s a new perspective: Look at all that you do have. Consider your strengths. What are your successes? What do you want to do more of? (Caveat: This does not…
December 10th, 2013 by Kelly Kienzle
“I don’t speak well in front of groups.” “I don’t speak well in front of groups yet.” The difference in the construction of these two sentences is small. But the difference in power and possibility is enormous. The first sentence shows a fixed mindset of…
November 8th, 2013 by Kelly Kienzle
Don’t you wish that you could feel just a little calmer? What is that elusive “thing” that would help you feel more engaged and at peace? How do you put just a little more joy in your work life? Try “Thank You Fridays.” “Thank you Fridays”…
October 7th, 2013 by Kelly Kienzle
The next time you have the urge to give someone feedback on what they did, here’s an alternative: Re-focus to the macro issue and think forward. Macro-Issue Feedforward is my spin on Marshall Goldsmith’s excellent Feedforward tool. I added the “Macro-Issue” part. Here’s how my (and…