In an era where it seems like many companies have become heartless sweatshops grabbing for every nickel they can get and squeezing their employees for more and more, having a larger purpose still matters.

People have become jaded about mission and vision statements. Too often, they become meaningless platitudes put...

Have you ever heard someone say, "I should write a book?" Perhaps you've said it yourself.

I believe everyone has a book in them.

As an author, people often approach me with the "everyone says I should write a book" line. They then proceed to either tell me...

It's always easier to judge the past than the present. The problem is we tend to judge people by looking backwards without considering how things looked from their vantage point at the time.

It's easy for us to say that investing in a buggy whip company is a terrible...

Do you want to know the one thing that will make every single one of your relationships significantly better?

It's easy. If you think a kind thought, say it. Out loud.

How many times have you thought, "Wow, my co-worker is really great with customers" or "Gee, I love...

They slack off all year, avoiding chores like the plague, whining and complaining every time you ask them to do anything. Then, two weeks before the big guy comes to town, they're suddenly enthusiastic and eager to please.

I'm not talking about kids sucking up for Santa. I'm talking about...

I confess -- I'm a resolution maker.

I've found that I'm significantly more successful if I stick to just one realistic resolution. Case in point, "I'm going all organic" in 2003 was a total bust. I was back to Quik Trip corn dogs by mid January.

I've found...

Stan was excited about his presentation. His proposal was perfect. He was confident the senior leadership team would quickly buy into the brilliance of his plan. He was envisioning a fat promotion.

Imagine his surprise when 5 minutes in, the CEO said, "I don't think so, let's move to the...

It started with stuffing. But then, as Southern family fights tend to do, it went from stuffing to sweet potatoes to full-fledged character assassination.

It's the kind of fight that sears into your soul, because you know that it's about a lot more than just stuffing. It's about them...

Running a busy life sounds good in theory. But more often than not, it can feel your life is running you.

A high-impact life, with lots of work and personal responsibilities, is challenging because you care passionately about every single aspect of it.

The problem is that when...

Wouldn't it be great if people announced their dysfunctions and hidden agendas at the start of a relationship rather than you having to discover it later?

Think about how much time you would save. You'd know right from the get-go whether or not you wanted to hire, date or vote...

The human mind is a funny thing. We crave purpose and meaning, yet we get easily mired in the mundane.

For example, we volunteer for a project because we're inspired by the vision of better schools or a cleaner park. But as we start organizing the phone tree or...

Are you sabotaging people without realizing it?

We want the people around us to do their best, but sometimes, in our efforts to "help," we wind up making them feel worse.

I've watched well-intended bosses, parents and spouses unknowingly crush the very people they want to build up....

You know the old adage "The customer is always right."

Guess what?

Sometime they're not.

It doesn't matter whether you sell cupcakes, or you're trying to recruit members for your church, attracting (and keeping) the right customers is more important than pleasing a small group of complainers.

Her name was Karen.

She sold the same prescription drug products as every other rep in her company. Her geographic territory was a nondescript slice of interstates, strip malls, aging hospitals and understaffed, high stress, fake plant-adorned doctors' offices, just like the other 450 reps in her organization.

Yet...

I've observed a horrible phenomenon: the inability to accept a compliment about your employee, spouse, or child.

For example, last week my daughter had a friend spend the night. The young lady was polite, helpful, interesting, and a true delight to be around.

The next day when her...

Do good things happen to people who think nice thoughts? Do nasty people eventually get punished in the end? It sounds good in theory, but how do you explain all the rich jerks in the world?

The concept of karma has taken root in our culture. It's come from ancient...

We tend to assume that arguments are bad. We're wrong.

The best ideas often come from arguing. Here are two examples:

How fighting against a highway created a network of parks and bike trails

Back in the 1970s my mother led the fight against Route 66 in Arlington, Virginia....

Positive thinking is kind of like crack. Once you become addicted to it, you can't get enough. Before you know it, it's become a daily habit and you're trying to push it on all your friends.

But for many, positive thinking is just too wild and crazy for them...

Q: What do world hunger and bad customer service have in common?

A: The secret to solving them both is empathy and innovation.

Empathy and innovation seem like an unlikely pairing, but together, they're the secret to solving just about everything.

Here's why. You have to care about...

Can a single pivotal behavior elevate the culture of your entire organization?

It can if it's the right behavior.

Here's how a simple one minute act helped an organization outperform their competition by leaps and bounds:

My family and I were moving our daughter into Boston University last...