From the Author

In a previous post, I reminded you that feedback is great, and I suggested three ways to get more value from any and all of the valid feedback that comes your way. I also cautioned about the importance of distinguishing between useful, helpful feedback and feedback from people who: 1) don’t really know what they’re […]

Feedback is great. It’s an important and easily available way to learn more about your strengths and weaknesses, as well as to identify the best available opportunities to improve your level of productivity and success. Of course, this is true only of feedback that comes honestly and earnestly from people who accurately see who you

Survey after survey shows that something like three quarters of all people are afraid of speaking in public. That’s an important disability, because so much of your productivity and success in your work and your life involves sharing your ideas, trying to gain cooperation, and generally communicating both with people you know and with strangers.

One key element in maintaining or improving your level of productivity and success is your positive mindset. For a variety of reasons, feeling stressed, worried about the future, and/or inadequate to meet your challenges tends to degrade your performance. That’s why people with a naturally positive attitude often find it easier to maintain their productivity

One of the opportunities, and consequences, of becoming more productive and successful tends to be encountering additional leadership responsibilities. For a handful of good reasons, people who accomplish more than most others are often asked to lead both people and projects. Even when not asked, productive and successful people often see and want to pursue

As you steadily increase your level of productivity and success, you will inevitably come to the point where you’ll be trying to do something new. This could be a task or a project that’s entirely new in the world, or simply something you’re doing for the first time in your work and your life. You

In writing these posts, I’ve frequently mentioned (some might say “harped on”) the crucial role that others play in supporting and improving your level of productivity and success. But I haven’t said much about what you can do to help others. That’s what I’m going to do this time. But note that while the structure

I’ve mentioned more than once in this series of posts the importance and inevitability of working with other people. That’s mostly good news, because people are interesting and can be capable of great, wonderful ideas and actions. But there’s bad news, too, because some people are just plain difficult to deal with. Difficult people come

Unless you’re already perfect, there are probably some changes you’d like to make in yourself. Some of these changes may be attitudinal or philosophical. Some may involve changes in your personality. But in many ways, every change boils down to behavior. This is because behavior is the way you interact with the world. It is

With all the talk about productivity and success, it’s easy to forget that the human animal is far from perfect. Much as we may know what we need to do, and much as we may want to do it, and much as we may be capable of doing it, sometimes we simply don’t do what