Developing New Leaders

In this installment of MindShare, we feature Lynne Viscio, Principal of MG Strategy, a company that focuses on alignment through internal communication, accountability and measurable business results. Lynne, you are a former educator and sports coach. Can you compare coaching executives to coaching athletes? Whether you’re coaching athletes, executives, or anyone really, it’s important to…

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Successful Joint Business Planning Begins With Great Questions

Successful joint business planning requires vendors and retailers to share as much important information as possible. But you have to know what to ask and how to ask it to get the information you need. There’s an art to asking great questions; an essential skill that far too few people in leadership positions possess. Here…

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The Key to Successful Negotiations

We find ourselves in the position of having to negotiate just about every day—at work, on a trip, in a relationship, with your kids, at a restaurant. How do you approach these negotiations? You wouldn’t be alone if you said that you stake out your position and try to bend the other party to make…

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Syndicating Leadership

No matter how brilliant or visionary the leader in a large organization is regarded, her effectiveness and success will be tied to her ability to model her leadership style; to have others make decisions consistent with the leadership agenda. We refer to that as ‘syndicating leadership.’ How confident are you that the people reporting to…

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The Power of ‘Thanks’

We here at The Curci Group talk a lot about leadership, communication, and engagement, offering a lot of advice on various things to do and not do. But there’s just one very small thing you can do today that will have a dramatic impact on the productivity and engagment of your employees: say “thank you.”…

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Bringing art to the people

Think you’ve seen some creative ways to market the arts? Well, here’s one that will make you smile. When the Rijksmuseum in Holland set out to boost attendance, they decided to do so by bringing art to the people. They chose a 1642 Rembrandt painting called the “Guards of the Night”….and brought to life the…

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The Power of the Pause

I once had the pleasure of meeting Maria Shriver. I was invited to a party that she and her (then) husband, Arnold were hosting at their weekend retreat outside of Washington, D.C. She struck me as an unusually strong and down-to-earth person. Capable of great empathy and yet totally driven. Ms. Shriver recently delivered the…

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The Science of Human Development

I’m intrigued by the countless connections between science and business. Organizations are organisms impacted by relational and environmental conditions. So, how do we as OD professionals help create alignment, or synchrony, within organizations? What conditions are necessary to align energies and behaviors that accelerate growth? In the online science publication, io9.com, author Robert Gonzalez shows how 32…

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Nothing Ever Changes.

We hear that from time to time. During initial discovery, we’ll hear employees say things like “they say they want to do things differently, but when push comes to shove, they’re averse to change.” Or, “great ideas, but who’s going to do it….we’re short-handed as it is.” Or, “changing the system would mean completely retraining…

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