Two Minute Mondays

It’s been said that no one goes to Las Vegas twice – for it is not the same city and they are not the same person.  That’s notthe actual saying, but let’s use it for #TwoMinuteMondays on 30 years of Vegas tradeshows.

This is showing up more in social media, but I started thinking about it as part of Newtonian Physics – and the Law of Inertia. Are you an object at rest or in motion?  Let’s talk about that on #TwoMinuteMondays

That phrase is usually applied to organizations that started and thrived down one path.  Lately, I’ve been looking in the mirror to remind myself about what got me here and where I want to go … how about you? #TwoMinuteMondays

This week, to wrap a three-part series on mentoring – let’s talk about the differences between MENTORS and COACHES. #TwoMinuteMondays

Last week, I had the best phone call.   A work colleague and I were catching up – and at the end, they asked, “ Hey, can I get on your recurring calendar? ”   It was a request to begin a mentoring relationship.  This #TwoMinuteMondays episode is part 2 of 3 in a series on mentoring.

You can learn a lot from failure – if you embrace it – but you often need a lever or catalyst for change.  In my case, the single most impactful book I ever read was “ 21 Laws of Leadership ” by John C. Maxwell.  It was given to me because of a recent failing – and taught me some of the most formative lessons that I still rely on today, including “ Iron sharpens Iron .” #TwoMinuteMondays

I’ve been to 3 conferences – in 3 weeks – on 3 continents – and I learned 2 things:  The power of meeting in person AND the art of introducing someone.  Let’s talk about that on #TwoMinuteMondays.

Here’s the best work advice that I ever got around travel –please take an extra day.  Let’s talk about why on #TwoMinuteMondays

Last week, we covered “When you argue with the town fool, the town gains a second fool.”  This week, we’ll apply that advice to Social Media and Politics.

What do Ben Franklin, Abe Lincoln, Mark Twain, two Lions, and me have in common? They all give versions of this same advice.  Check it out on #TwoMinuteMondays

Real transformation, unfortunately, often only happens through change or challenge.  Perhaps nothing depicts the magic of transformation like a caterpillar into a butterfly, so there are some lessons we can learn from that time in the cocoon.  Let’s talk about that on #TwoMinuteMondays.

An old French proverb teaches that perfect is the enemy of good . One of my favorite books talks about the difference between good to great. And I'll just add that “perfect” is overrated.  Let’s talk about why

This month, I’m back in class for a few days and also taking a few days off. That got me thinking, so I wanted to share some GOOD NEWS: There will always be more work to do .  Over the years, I have missed out on some great classes, vacations, and meetings because I wasn’t fully present in the room … #TwoMinuteMondays

Almost every project I lead is through a virtual team that includes new folks because I love mentoring; especially when its helping colleagues gain new experience or perspectives.  Sometimes, those first or second timers get relatively ‘small roles’ … but there are no small roles, just big opportunities .

This week, I’d like to share a powerful phrase that I’ve sometimes struggled with: “ We judge others by their worst behaviors; we judge ourselves by our best intentions ” This applies everywhere in life, but let’s talk about it within the workplace

There’s a saying that “ The two best days to plant a tree are ‘Twenty years ago’ and ‘today’ ” – meaning, sure, you wish it had happened way back then … but if it didn’t, don’t wait any longer, do it now. Love that, but there’s another tree story that I think we can learn from.

In my last episode, I suggested that if you are a leader, then you are an apple . Building on that, if you serve others, then you are an apple tree. Here are 6 tips on doing that, starting with – if you are an apple tree, don’t try to make oranges .

Think about this: you can count the number of seeds that will come from an apple, but you cannot count the number of apples that will come from one seed. That's what leadership impact looks like.

Have you ever been in an argument – and you knew that you were right – so all that was necessary was the other person needed to apologize? Yeah … you might have been right … they might have been sorry … but that probably wasn’t how the argument ended. Let’s talk about that.

Delegating expert tasks rarely yields immediate time savings, but it always results in growing others’ expertise and your impact – and that is time well spent. Let’s talk about why.

Have you noticed that some TwoMinuteMondays videos are closer to 3 minutes? (never over, but close) Admittedly, ‘ One-Minute Mondays ’ seems too short to be meaningful – but ‘ Three-Minute Mondays ’ seems too long to try. Let’s talk about what those ‘ Two Minutes ’ are really supposed to be.

If you’ve ever gotten through a big project/event and wanted to talk about how to do it better, you might have had an “after action” meeting – usually framed around Start, Stop, Continue . There’s a twist on that which I like better. Roses, Buds, and Thorns explores the WHY as well as the WHAT to do differently. Let’s talk about that …

People and organizations often have “core values” that define who they are or want to be – which in turn, ought to drive every other decision you make. One of my core values lines up with what my employer calls “ Innovate and Iterate .” Let’s talk about how that works.

Repeated attempts is NOT the only key to improving a skill. In fact, sometimes when folks repeatedly just “do”, they develop – and then the repetition reinforces – bad performance. So, the answer can’t be just “ try harder ” or " try more often " – the answer is feedback through coaching. Let’s talk about “ A Tale of Two Speakers .”

Never Stop Learning! This week, I'm completing an education experience, so let me reflect on where education fits within an IT career. After 35 years in technology, I’d argue your fast track as an IT Professional probably has a lot more to do with certifications than anything else. Some may argue that – but certifications unlock at least three massive accelerants to your IT career.