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Articles from Angie Thompson | Selfgrowth.com
- Three Ways You Can Learn from Movies - by Submitted on May 22, 2009 from Angie ThompsonMovies are everywhere. Their stories, phrases, and scenes are a part of our culture. We all have favorite movies, favorite memories relating to movies, and in some cases movies that help us define our lives. While you may not think about it, movies have probably enriched your life. Movies are ...
Views: 7301(1 vote) - A Leadership Primer on Celebrations - by Submitted on Dec 21, 2009 from Angie ThompsonIn talking with leaders over the years, I`ve noticed that most seem to struggle with celebrations. Some struggle with when to celebrate. Some struggle with why they should. And some don`t have a struggle because they don`t celebrate at all. (Here the struggle is for those they ...
Views: 764(7 votes) - 5 Reasons Why Creativity Matters to Leaders - by Submitted on Sep 28, 2009 from Angie ThompsonTwo of the most popular topics of workshops and business books are creativity and leadership. Both are popular because at some deep intuitive level most everyone knows they are both are worthwhile skills to have and to develop. However, while both are important and valued, they aren`t always ...
Views: 3214(4 votes) - Finish this sentence - by Submitted on Nov 05, 2012 from Angie ThompsonBrick WallWould you like a way to get better ideas, faster? Would you like to nearly automatically tap into your subconscious brain to help you solve your vexing problems? Would you like a tool that would help your team think more clearly? What if I told you that tool was free, except ...
Views: 1178(2 votes) - Six Reasons Leaders Need to Stop! - by Submitted on Jun 16, 2014 from Angie ThompsonEvery leader I talk to has plenty to do. We live in an age of the full plate, the fast pace and the stuffed to-do list. While this may be a sign of our times, there is another sign that we see and observe every day; and we don’t really realize that this sign can do more than keep us safe and ...
Views: 784(2 votes) - Unleash Your Energy - by Submitted on Mar 02, 2010 from Angie ThompsonSince experts say we all are truly complex bundles of energy, it makes sense to think about how we can manage, use and increase the amount of energy in our bodies and minds. Because when we are better energy managers, we can create better results in all areas of our lives. The topic of ...
Views: 759(2 votes) - Five Performance Lessons from The Biggest Loser - by Submitted on Feb 13, 2010 from Angie ThompsonMy wife`s favorite television show is the The Biggest Loser. If you`re not familiar, it`s an NBC reality television show that chronicles a group of seriously overweight people from all walks of life as they try to become more healthy - and lose lots of weight. To give you an idea, the most ...
Views: 787(8 votes) - Five Keys to Lasting Inspiration - by Submitted on Dec 21, 2009 from Angie ThompsonEveryone I know loves the feeling that comes with being inspired. They like the mental lift, the energy, the attitude, the productivity, the satisfaction and even the way it makes them feel physically. And as wonderful and valuable as inspiration is, for most of us, it`s hard to capture, ...
Views: 1796(6 votes) - How to Become Well Connected - by Submitted on Sep 28, 2009 from Angie ThompsonYou look at the conference brochure and survey the list of keynote speakers, the various topic tracks, look at the schedule of other events and learning opportunities, and decide to invest your money or budgeted dollars on attending the event. All of these criteria are valuable and good ...
Views: 1415(6 votes) - Six Secrets to Building Your Confidence - by Submitted on Mar 03, 2010 from Angie ThompsonIf you have seen the movie or stage musical The Sound of Music, you likely remember Maria leaving the Abbey to become a Governess. As she winds her way through town and toward the von Trapp mansion she sings of her uneasiness - and her lack of confidence in her ability to succeed in this ...
Views: 714(3 votes) - Six Ways to Defeat Complacency - by Submitted on Mar 03, 2010 from Angie ThompsonComplacency - and its ill effects - is all around us. Consider politics. Democrats held one Senate seat for 47 years, and assumed they`d win again in 2010 but didn`t. Consider sports. 2010 is the first year since 1993 - that`s 17 years - that both number one seeds, presumably the two best ...
Views: 2977(3 votes) - 4 Ways to Create Greater Accountability in Meetings - by Submitted on Dec 04, 2009 from Angie ThompsonMeetings, in most corners, don`t have the best of reputations. I often hear people say, "I`ve got to go to a meeting," but I don`t think I`ve ever heard someone say, "I get to go to a meeting." Why? Too many meetings with too few results; often rehashing or revisiting issues and actions ...
Views: 768(1 vote) - 7 Reasons Why Education is a Wise Investment - by Submitted on Dec 04, 2009 from Angie ThompsonWhile different people will have different opinions about "education" and its value, I don`t know anyone who wouldn`t agree that "learning more" is better than "knowing less". Education, as I define it for this article, includes school, seminars, workshops and all manner of formal approaches; ...
Views: 2025(1 vote) - Are You Serious? Six Ways to Answer That Important Question - by Submitted on Dec 04, 2009 from Angie ThompsonI`m guessing this has happened to you. Someone - could be a spouse, co-worker, friend, anyone - tells you of his/her new plan or goal. He`s going to lose 30 pounds. She`s going to learn to play the piano. The chronically late employee says she`ll always be on time. The person who dominates ...
Views: 736(1 vote) - Capturing Your Flashes of Brilliance - by Submitted on Dec 04, 2009 from Angie ThompsonWe`ve all heard the phrase a "flash of inspiration" or a "flash of brilliance". I don`t know where those phrases came from exactly, but they create a perfect metaphor. Think about the flash from a camera (or if you are old enough, from a disposable flashbulb). Some spark or electrical ...
Views: 696(2 votes) - Creating Results Out of Thin Air - by Submitted on May 18, 2010 from Angie ThompsonMagic WandThere are tools, seminars, books, CD`s, teleseminar, webinars and workshops (and more) to help you learn and improve in any area of your life. I should know, I have bought and attended many of them, and sold a great number of them as well. This article isn`t meant dissuade you from ...
Views: 986(3 votes) - Five Approaches to Being More Proactive - by Submitted on Dec 28, 2009 from Angie ThompsonAt a 10-year class reunion, four friends gathered to visit. Tina and George reflected on the differences in Steve and Angela after they walked away. "They were both so smart and outgoing when we were in high school," George said. "Yeah, they were both voted Most Likely to Succeed, remember?" ...
Views: 1432(1 vote) - Five Ways to Keep People Focused on Their Goals - by Submitted on Dec 28, 2009 from Angie ThompsonGoals, whether formally stated or not, are critical to all organizational success. We (hopefully) all have over-arching organizational goals; but on a more practical and immediately applicable level, we have project goals, productivity goals, quality goals, developmental goals, and the list ...
Views: 902(2 votes) - Four Ways to Engage Your Team Every Day - by Submitted on Dec 21, 2009 from Angie ThompsonOne of the biggest business buzzwords today is engagement. Everyone suddenly seems to have realized that we need to have employees who are engaged in their work. It seems to be the latest "holy grail" in leadership and management circles (teams, lean and total quality are just three past ...
Views: 2165(2 votes) - Four Words For Leaders to Remove From Their Vocabulary - by Submitted on Dec 26, 2013 from Angie ThompsonWe spend the early parts of our lives adding to our vocabulary. Teachers and parents want us to learn new words. And research shows that vocabulary is a good predictor of success. And yet I am asking you to take four words from your vocabulary? Yes I am. To be clear, it isn’t like you ...
Views: 753(2 votes) - Get Out of Your Comfy Chair - by Submitted on Mar 03, 2010 from Angie ThompsonAhh, the comfort zone. As humans, this is a place we love. We look for, strive for and have created products and even entire industries to help find and maintain high levels of comfort (hello Lazy-Boy!). You`ll find this desire for the comfort zone in all areas of life - physically, mentally, ...
Views: 778(3 votes) - I Work With Them, But Do I Have to Like Them? - by Submitted on Oct 26, 2015 from Angie ThompsonThe idea for this article came from a question I recently received from a manager, who asked: What do you do when a group of people that work together have a lot of history and just don’t generally like each other? As you can see from the title, I’m not answering the exact question, but I am ...
Views: 990(1 vote) - It's Time to Go Back to School - by Submitted on Oct 08, 2009 from Angie Thompson"Back to school" has many meanings - some positive and some maybe not-so-positive. In my mind, those three words together conjure a whole swirl of thoughts emotions and memories from shopping for school clothes, to new teachers and friends, to fresh notebooks and more than a little ...
Views: 781(2 votes) - Leadership Lessons from the Berlin Wall - by Submitted on Dec 28, 2009 from Angie ThompsonIn 1961 the East German government built the Berlin wall to stop the flow of people into West Germany. Over time, the wall did more than stop the flow of people. It became a powerful symbol of oppression and stopped the flow of ideas and freedom. On November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall ...
Views: 674(2 votes) - Leadership Lessons in Humility, Gratitude and More From Kathy Ireland - by Submitted on Dec 05, 2012 from Angie ThompsonLast Saturday I had the opportunity to hear Kathy Ireland speak, and as the picture proves, meet her and give her a copy of From Bud to Boss. Guy Harris, the co-author, and I wrote this book to help new leaders gain success as they move into their new position. Most know Kathy is a supermodel ...
Views: 690(2 votes) - Motivation or Inspiration: There is a Difference - by Submitted on Oct 08, 2009 from Angie ThompsonOften on airplanes people ask me, in casual conversation, what I do for a living. After explaining it in a few sentences, they often knowingly smile, and say: "Oh, you`re a motivational speaker." Well, honestly, I believe that is NOT true; nor is it even possible. So I cringe internally, ...
Views: 774(2 votes) - Read This First! - by Submitted on Nov 05, 2012 from Angie ThompsonDear Learner, I don`t know why the training is on your calendar. Maybe you are being told to go. Maybe you don`t even really know what it is about. Maybe you`d rather go to training than be at your desk. Maybe training means a chance to get away from home for a day or two. Maybe you are ...
Views: 839(2 votes) - Reading: Why We Should and Why We Don’t - by Submitted on Dec 21, 2009 from Angie ThompsonI`ve long been a reader, and as I reflect on the life of my business, I can clearly identify my reading habit as a factor in my success and progress. Specifically, I`ve found five things that reading does for me: Reading keeps me learning. Reading certainly isn`t the only way to learn, but ...
Views: 698(3 votes) - Seven Key Actions to Greater Personal and Professional Development - by Submitted on May 19, 2010 from Angie Thompson"What did you learn today?" It`s a question that sounds familiar to most of us. You were likely asked it when you were a kid. And, if you are a parent, you`ve probably asked it of your kids too. But when was the last time you asked it of yourself? "What did I learn today?" If you ...
Views: 739(2 votes) - Seven Ways to Nurture Business Relationships - by Submitted on May 18, 2010 from Angie ThompsonEarly in my consulting career I started telling people the consulting business is a relationship business. I was right, just a little short sighted. Actually all business is a relationship business. All work is a relationship business. All leadership is a relationship business. And ...
Views: 4346(3 votes) - Six Limits Leaders Need to Challenge - by Submitted on Feb 24, 2014 from Angie ThompsonWe all have limits – the boundaries beyond which we just don’t go. After all, it wouldn’t be safe. It wouldn’t be prudent. It wouldn’t be easy. We set limits for safety purposes, for logical purposes and sometimes as excuses. Limits are a part of life. But as leaders, we must be in the ...
Views: 791(2 votes) - Six Ways to Avoid Being a Micro Manager - by Submitted on Sep 21, 2011 from Angie ThompsonThink about your perfect supervisor/manager/leader for a minute. Build a mental list of the attributes that perfect person would possess and think about the words you would use to describe that person. Done? I don`t know what is on your list, but I`d bet the farm on what isn`t. Micro ...
Views: 674(1 vote) - Take This Oath to Communicate Change More Effectively - by Submitted on Dec 26, 2013 from Angie ThompsonPhysicians take the Hippocratic Oath before they can practice medicine. Lawyers take a professional oath after they pass the bar. And people elected to all sorts of positions take an oath of office. Considering how important the leader’s role is in communicating change effectively, and how ...
Views: 759(2 votes) - The 4 Fundamentals of Leadership Gratitude - by Submitted on Dec 28, 2009 from Angie ThompsonGratitude is a positive emotion and studies have shown it creates a more positive attitude, reduces stress and provides many other benefits. But, c`mon, we don`t really need studies to tell us this, do we? You know how it feels when you are grateful. This article won`t restate the obvious ...
Views: 716(2 votes) - The Achilles Heel of Process Improvement - by Submitted on Dec 21, 2009 from Angie ThompsonFrom a fairly early stage in my career I have been involved in process improvement activities. While at Chevron in the early 1990`s, I served as a Quality Training Consultant teaching organizations, among other things, process improvement tools. The goal of the training and the efforts overall ...
Views: 895(3 votes) - The Case for Customer Partnerships - by Submitted on May 26, 2009 from Angie ThompsonCustomer partnership. Let`s pull this phrase apart into the individual words: Customer. This can be a person or organization who pays for your products and services. These external Customers are who most of consider when we think about Customers. But Customers can also be the person or group ...
Views: 1273(1 vote) - The Five Lessons of the Eraser - by Submitted on May 19, 2010 from Angie ThompsonEric was busy building his career - and it was going well. Even though things were going well, he was always glad to talk to his long-time mentor, Jan. Jan had been one of Eric`s college instructors, and they had remained in touch throughout his career. Jan was going to be in Eric`s town ...
Views: 1879(2 votes) - The Gift of Goals - by Submitted on Jan 11, 2013 from Angie ThompsonTwelve days ago I started a series of posts I called The 12 (Leadership) Days of Christmas. In it I said that for each of the next 12 days, in keeping with the song, I would offer you a leadership task, designed to be a gift to both you and your team if you completed it and acted on it. The ...
Views: 722(2 votes) - The Most Powerful – and Potentially Dangerous – Question of All - by Submitted on Oct 08, 2009 from Angie ThompsonWhy? We hear it all the time (especially from kids) and ask it often (more on that later). "Why?" is a question used in all sorts of situations, and its prevalence should hint to its usefulness. And yet, for all of its value, "Why?" can cause a lot of problems, miscommunications, ...
Views: 782(2 votes) - The Superpower of Persuasion - by Submitted on Dec 28, 2009 from Angie ThompsonEvery good superhero has a superpower. You know, the thing that always helps them get out of a jam and save the day. Leaders may not be superheroes, but we do sometimes find ourselves in a tough or challenging situation. However, unlike like our superhero friends, we don`t always remember to ...
Views: 1970(2 votes) - The Truth About Influence - by Submitted on Nov 05, 2012 from Angie ThompsonEight year old Sam Baker was wondering about something, so he asked his parents, "How come our town doesn`t have a Christmas tree lit up for everyone in town to enjoy?" He reasoned that other nearby towns had trees, that they had a tree at the White House, and that he saw them light a tree at ...
Views: 905(2 votes) - The Walls are Talking - Stress, Passion and High Performance - by Submitted on May 19, 2010 from Angie ThompsonIf you don`t know me, I`m the office of The Kevin Eikenberry Group. I`ve not always been an office - in fact for the first 47 years of my life I was, well, a house. I had kids and grandparents roaming my wooden floors. I`ve heard laughter and seen tears. Frankly, I thought I`d seen it ...
Views: 800(2 votes) - To What Do You Pledge Your Allegiance? - by Submitted on Dec 04, 2009 from Angie ThompsonIf you grew up in the United States, you know what I`m talking about. Every child learns the Pledge of Allegiance in elementary school . . . "I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty ...
Views: 836(1 vote) - Unlocking the Biggest Communication Challenge - by Submitted on Oct 08, 2009 from Angie ThompsonIf you are breathing, you are communicating. And you communicate in every role you play - friend, colleague, parent, spouse, coworker, leader, you name it. Since we communicate all the time, you`d think we`d all be pretty good at it, yet sadly that isn`t the case. We can - and we must - ...
Views: 873(2 votes) - Unlocking the Passion Paradox - by Submitted on Feb 13, 2010 from Angie ThompsonIn my opinion, passion is one of the most attractive qualities a person can possess. When you are passionate about something, others are drawn to you; you are able to influence more effectively and lead more successfully. Beyond these interpersonal facts, there are valuable personal ...
Views: 774(1 vote) - What You Can Learn from Christopher Columbus - by Submitted on Oct 08, 2009 from Angie ThompsonIn 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. If you are like me, you learned that rhyme sometime in elementary school. Specifically, Columbus left on his first voyage on August 3, 1492, sailing in search of a seagoing route from Europe to Asia with the vision of creating a trade route for ...
Views: 1034(2 votes) - Why Leaders Can't Delegate Onboarding To HR - by Submitted on Mar 17, 2014 from Angie ThompsonOnboarding. It’s that very corporate sounding work for what used to be called New Employee Orientation. If you work in a large organization, your HR department likely has created a process for doing this – and while the depth and success of these efforts may vary widely, chances are your ...
Views: 722(1 vote) - Will You Graduate or Commence? - by Submitted on Sep 28, 2009 from Angie ThompsonAcross the country each spring thousands of graduation events are held. They are celebrations of accomplishments, the reaching of goals and more. Interestingly, these events traditionally are called two different names as if they were synonyms: Commencement and Graduation. As will be ...
Views: 711(2 votes) - Five Powers of Coaching - by Submitted on May 18, 2010 from Angie ThompsonSpiderman, Wonder Woman and Superman all had super powers; they had special skills that allowed them to be super heroes. They had great powers given to them at birth that made them special. Generally speaking, they didn`t have to develop those powers, they just had them. We too were born with ...
Views: 833(5 votes) - Five Reasons to Read More Biographies - by Submitted on Jun 14, 2010 from Angie ThompsonMark Twain wrote, "The man who does not read good books is no better than the man who can`t." Walt Disney said, "There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate`s loot on Treasure Island." And, more recently, Theodore Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss) taught us, "The more that you read, the ...
Views: 879(9 votes)