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by Dan Oswald Today we celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Inarguably, he accomplished much during his lifetime, and there certainly are lessons we can learn from his approach to life and leadership. King was a man who developed a followership that numbered in the hundreds of thousands—if not millions—made up of […]
by Dan Oswald If you haven’t been living under a rock, you’ve undoubtedly heard about what is now being called “Bridgegate.” (I, for one, am tired of “gate” getting added to every controversy and scandal, but I’ll leave that rant for another day.) It seems that one of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s top aides, […]
by Dan Oswald Webster’s defines cooperate as “to act or work with another or others . . . to associate with another or others for mutual benefit.” It sounds simple enough, but in practice it’s not. Nothing is more important in an organization than interdepartmental cooperation, yet it’s so difficult to achieve. Why is that? […]
by Dan Oswald I’ve been reading Tell My Sons . . . by Lieutenant Colonel Mark Weber. The book is filled with the life lessons he has learned. After a routine Army physical revealed he had stage IV intestinal cancer, he began a battle for his life that he ultimately will lose. When he realized […]
There’s a very powerful scene from the first episode of the television series The Newsroom, which debuted on HBO last year. In the scene, the news anchor, played by Jeff Daniels, is a member of a panel that sits before a large auditorium filled with adults of various ages. A young woman from the crowd […]
As I write this, it’s Super Bowl Sunday, and tens of millions of viewers will be tuning in to watch the big game tonight. In fact, I heard this morning that 177 million people watched last year’s game. For most of us, our team’s season is over. With 32 teams in the NFL, there’s only […]
by Dan Oswald What’s your favorite subject? For many people it’s me. I don’t mean me; I mean them. To them, me is them. Got it? What I’m trying to say is that often a person’s favorite subject is himself. People want to talk about themselves. People like to think about themselves. People are concerned […]
by Dan Oswald As we kick off 2013, it’s a great time to take a step back as a manager and assess your situation. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in the day-to-day activities of managing and lose sight of the bigger picture. The beginning of a new year provides a natural break for […]
by Dan Oswald Being a good manager is a delicate balancing act. You have certain responsibilities, and the buck often stops with you. Assigning tasks, monitoring progress, and measuring results come with the territory. Look “manager” up in the dictionary, and you’ll find it described this way: “a person who has control or direction of […]
I’m not very big on surprises. Years ago, for my 40th birthday, my wife threw me a surprise party. A lot of thought and planning went into it. Friends and family flew in from across the country. I had no clue what she was up to, so when I walked in the back […]