While weak leaders blame their followers for a lack of alignment, strong leaders know that it is their responsibility to create it. Alignment doesn’t just happen. It is created. Here are three ways to make it happen with your team.

While weak leaders blame their followers for a lack of alignment, strong leaders know that it is their responsibility to create it. Alignment doesn’t just happen. It is created. Here are three ways to make it happen with your team.

I’ve had more than 20 bosses in my career. I worked well with nearly all of them. Most of them were surprisingly average—even forgettable. One was brilliant and became a role model. But he was the exception.

Most leaders have a vision for the future. Perhaps it’s been intentionally and thoughtfully crafted. Maybe it’s also clear, practical, and you’re optimistic it will have its intended impact. But the problem is, the people around you aren’t buying in. When you cast the vision, people are neutral and unmoved at best. You may even receive […]

Comedians refer to an audience that hasn’t heard any jokes yet as a “cold room.” It is thus the job of the comics who go first or second in the night to warm them up. You tell some jokes, suggest a convivial mood for the crowd, and hope they’ve brought their funny bones. I have […]

I was recently talking to a neighbor about an ordinance being considered by our city council. She didn’t like it and felt strongly that it shouldn’t pass. She went on to make the case to me, raising several valid points I had not considered before. I reminded her that the city was holding a public […]

At this point in my career, I’ve sold a lot of books. But I was hardly an overnight success. First came work in publishing and agenting. I learned how book sales worked—and didn’t work—well before I published a word of my own. I want to use my experience here to puncture a thought bubble I […]

Customer service is a double-edged sword. Get it right and you can make loyal, lifelong customers who sell your products for you. Get it wrong and you can find your business in real trouble. The Wrong Way to Do It My friend Frank gave me an example of the exact wrong way to do customer […]

One of the things I love about what I do is having the opportunity to learn and then share what I’ve learned with you. I recently spoke with twenty hugely successful entrepreneurs and influencers about how they cut through the noise and get heard. I’ve distilled what I learned down to eleven strategies, and I’m […]

Recently, my daughter Mary mentioned that she would like to begin speaking professionally. As an accomplished businesswoman and popular blogger, she was routinely on stage, but she was ready to turn pro. She asked for my help. As an amateur-turned-pro myself, I sat down and deconstructed how I got started. I emailed her a simple, […]

I create a lot of content across my blog, podcast, online courses, books, and membership site. And sometimes readers and other content creators wonder about my strategy. The other day I heard from a reader who not only follows my blog and podcast, but is also a Platform University member and follows #VirtualMentor. When he […]

When I talk about building a home base for your platform, people naturally assume I’m referencing a blog. But this is only one possibility. Your home base could just as easily be a podcast or vlog (i.e., a video blog). As I explain in my book, Platform, the key attribute of a home base is […]

Before you launch your product, service, or cause, you need “an elevator pitch.” Here are three reasons why and four components it should include.

Now that public speaking has become my primary focus, I thought it was time I revamped my Speaking page. I thought I would document the process here, in the event that you are thinking about “going pro.” This is the second of two posts.

Now that public speaking has become my primary focus, I thought it was time I revamped my Speaking page. I thought I would document the process here, in the event that you are thinking about “going pro.” This is the first of two posts.