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Author Archives: Al Watts
First Impressions
How do first impressions influence you? For the last few weeks I’ve been even more sensitive than usual to the their impact, probably because of the wide variation in quality that I experienced. Here are a few recent examples: We … Continue reading
Alignment And All That Jazz
Earlier this month our church sponsored its annual “Jazz Sunday,” and I thought about the jazz-like nature of excellent leaders and organizations. I am always struck by the camaraderie, communication and creativity of jazz performances. Ensemble members readily share the … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Leadership
Tagged alignment, change, culture, innovation, jazz, leadership
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Culture – Your Best Investment
I am struck by how often two “C” words appear in the press: “compliance” and “crisis,” as in crisis management or crisis communication. Corporations, particularly publicly held financial services organizations, are spending billions of dollars just assuring compliance with ever-increasing … Continue reading
How About A “Selfie?”
So, “Selfie” is Oxford Dictionaries’ “word of the year!” “Selfies,” of course, are those snapshots that we see practically everyone taking of themselves with smart phones and posting on social media. Oxford explains how “selfie” earned its distinction because of … Continue reading
Doldrums
Day after day, day after day, We stuck, no breath no motion; As idle as a painted ship Upon a painted ocean. – (Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Rime of the Ancient Mariner) Sailors know doldrums well – persistent stillness and lack … Continue reading
Posted in Leadership, Performance, Personal development, Sailing and outdoors, Teamwork
Tagged depression, leadership, motivation, performance, sailing, sales
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Persistence – Is It Always Good?
I’ve been thinking about persistence a lot lately. It started in the middle of gathering firewood in the BWCA, sawing a downed log that was a tad large for my folding saw. I kept at it, and was eventually rewarded … Continue reading
Posted in Adventure, Leadership, Performance, Personal development, Uncategorized
Tagged entrepreneur, goals, motivation, persistence, personal development, success
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Labor Day Reflections
What does Labor Day mean to you? For many, it is mainly marks the end of summer vacations, an extra long weekend, time for family cook-outs, great sales and the start of football season. I propose that this Labor Day … Continue reading
How’s Your Core Strength?
Physical therapy following shoulder surgery and back issues gave me a new appreciation for “core strength.” Physiologically, core strength is primarily a function of our abdominal and lower back muscles, pelvis and diaphragm working together to provide support, balance and … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Ethics, Integrity, Leadership, Performance, Values
Tagged core strength, culture, ethics, leadership, peformance, strategy, strength, sustainability
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Clear the Deck!
In older days, “Clear the deck!” was a common command to prepare for doing battle at sea. The command focused attention, cleared visibility to gain a better perspective on the action, eliminated distractions and quickly channeled resources where they were … Continue reading
Situational Awareness
On October 22, 1707, four ships and at least 1,400 seamen of Her Majesty’s fleet were lost off the Isles of Scilly near England; the primary cause was miscalculation of longitude. On the night of April 14, 1912, the “unsinkable” … Continue reading
Posted in Adventure, Leadership, Personal development, Sailing and outdoors, Teamwork
Tagged authenticity, awareness, leadership, strategy
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