Last night celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain killed himself. Three days ago fashion designer Kate Spade killed herself. These celebrity suicides cause us to recall Robin Williams suicide four years ago. Celebrity suicides seem to hit us–and certainly make headlines–far more than the “other” 50,000 suicides that happen in America...

For two decades I was a horrible boss. Most of the people who worked for me wouldn’t say that. Most of them liked me. I was popular, friendly, transparent, empowering, supportive. So what was the problem? I was non-confrontational. I didn’t give tough feedback. I let problems linger. Why?...

Crazy good interview with David Letterman. His rivalry with Jay Leno was legendary as was his self-doubt and obsession with being #1. But he says now:   “It was ‘The Late Night Wars’, oh ‘Jay’s winning, nobody likes me, and everybody likes Jay…Now I think, what was that? Who’s...

My friends call me stoic, Dr. Spock, or just Zen’d out. But the stress I’ve felt over the last 8 weeks has been crazy. Logically I know I shouldn’t feel stress. But anxiety isn’t logical. Anxiety means I’m living in the future. I’m worrying about things that haven’t happened,...

I promise you this article isn’t about podcasting. I’ve made over 100 changes to my podcast, The LEADx Show, even though it only launched five months ago. I’ve changed the mic, changed the recording software, changed the entire show format, changed the type of guest I’m inviting, even added...

How can we be productive–how can we get DEEP WORK done–when we’re being barraged with endless text messages, emails and social media alerts? And when we do reach for our phones at work, many think we’re being rude. I discussed this issue a couple years ago on FOX.  

Previously I’ve written about the downside of rules at work and how rules can be replaced with Accountability and Transparency+Trust. In this article I’d like to explore the foundational solution, which is hiring great people. Do corporate rules really reflect a hidden hiring problem? What can we learn from...

Why do some brands appear so much more authentic than others? The quest for brand authenticity among marketers has become akin to the search for the Holy Grail—a fool’s errand that ends in frustration. Authenticity is a subject that is endlessly debated, poorly defined and universally desired. A new...

“The difference between successful people and very successful people is that very successful people say ‘no’ to almost everything.” —Warren Buffett If you’re a consultant, author, coach, or highly successful in your field, you undoubtedly get emails and LinkedIn messages from people who want to talk to you. And as...

Ultra-productive people don’t use to-do lists, but they DO live from their calendars. Time blocking and planning and working from your calendar is key. But what if you’re using two different calendars, one for work and one for personal? One of my productivity students, Karen, specifically asked me, “My...