With increasing diversity in the workplace it will take more time, patience and effort to learn the correct way to say people’s names that are in languages that are foreign to us. In my experience there is no better and easier way to begin to develop respect and trust of others than by taking the time and effort to learn to pronounce their names properly.

How easily do you grant your trust to other people? What factors play into your ability or inability to trust certain individuals around you? What do people need to do to earn your trust? As I personally reflect on these questions, I'm reminded of both the importance and complexity of trust in our lives, our work, and our relationships.

Complacency and micromanagement seem to be two diametrically opposed ideas. Yet complacency leads to micromanagement. And micromanagement causes team complacency. They feed off of one another and yet they are mortal enemies.

If organizations were mindful — referring to the simple act of noticing new things — leadership would be quite a different matter. They would not only be mindful themselves; their most important responsibility would be to enable their followers to be mindful as well. One might argue that in an increasingly complex world — where work cuts across all types of institutional boundaries — the leader’s only task may be to promote and harness “distributed” mindfulness.

By putting more of our attention on wanting what we already have, and less attention on fixing things or wanting what we don't yet have, we can create a deep sense of peace and joy in our lives, our work, and our relationships, which, more than most specific outcomes or material possessions, is what most of us truly want anyway.

If a hotel can become famous for leading ducks across their lobby at 11:00 then certainly your business can become more well-known for some simple ritual that customers like to photograph and tell others about and reporters love to cover. In fact it’s surprising that so few businesses and other organizations see the power of memory-making rituals that we keep talking about the few that do.

By systems dysfunction I mean when systems created by humans fail to function as intended, often showing signs of aberrant behavior. Examples within a social systems context might include fewer people dying when doctors go on vacation, legal systems that aren’t always just, educational systems that fail to educate, and so forth. Smaller scale examples might include the addiction recovery center where staff members demonstrate addictive behavior about their work, the spiritual community that resorts to arms and violence, the hospital system where more people catch infections that anywhere else. You get the idea.

I hear a lot of people say we have to wake people up... convince them of the urgency of this moment... make them realize that the planet is headed for disaster! But I don't see it that way. Anybody who needs to be woken up at this point is so deeply asleep that they're not the target audience for global activism. We don't need to wake the sleeping so much as we need to harness the energy of those who are already awake. Enough people know we're in trouble; what they want to know is what to do about it.

“People don’t like change.” I probably hear this statement at least once a week. Unfortunately, it perpetuates the thinking that change is a foreign, stressful experience that people will try to avoid. The reality is quite the opposite. Change is an essential part of our living experience. We change to live. But we don’t live to be changed. When you understand this difference, stress becomes a potential energy source for enabling change.

It can be a chaotic and challenging undertaking to be self employed or running a small business in these unprecedented times of climate change, peak oil and global economic crisis. What does it mean to “surf” the recession? How do we perform this complex balancing act?

Most consumers would agree that choices are good when we are making buying decisions; therefore, we would assume the more choices we have, the better we feel. This is simply not the case. Recent studies have shown that consumers prefer a few choices over only having one item to consider. Too many choices, on the other hand, gives them the feeling of being overwhelmed, and they are paralyzed in their buying decision.

Life is for purposefully and consistently growing into the best and truest version of ourselves. It is for creating a life that is meaningful, filled with passion and a feeling of fulfilment. The good news is that if we do not already have the life we desire and want we can create it.

We always have a choice as to what we pay attention to, what we focus on, and what we appreciate (or don't). Make a commitment to yourself to appreciate the simple things in your life in a genuine and ongoing way, and see what happens!

Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Richard Holbrooke used a phrase I love when it comes to changing our thinking about how things have to be. In a 2004 interview in Leaders magazine the experienced diplomat was asked about people in the world he most admired. He replied, "The greatest person I ever met, bar none, is Nelson Mandela, and I have gotten to know him very well. No man is perfect, not even Mandela, but he took history by the throat, seized it, and changed its course through a combination of moral authority, vision, strategic sense, practical genius, and a remarkable capacity for forgiveness toward the thugs who ran South Africa under Apartheid."

Journalist Carl Honore believes the Western world's emphasis on speed erodes health, productivity and quality of life. But there's a backlash brewing, as everyday people start putting the brakes on their all-too-modern lives.

Sometimes in conversation I wonder what are they really thinking. So, perhaps, have you. At such times I instinctively ask questions. Research shows that most of us do. That doesn’t help. Instead try this. To get a glimpse of what most concerns that person, be warm yet brief. That’s most likely to evoke a question from them.

My late, great friend and mentor, John Wooden, was fond of saying, “Assume that your best is good enough.” Coach Wooden was far from an overoptimistic Pollyanna-filled dreamer. He was a realistic, down-to-earth man who achieved the highest goals imaginable by putting the right people in the right places and expecting them to perform at their best.

These questions have no right or wrong answers, and sometimes asking the right questions is the answer, from Practical Tips for Productive Living.

A few weeks ago while I was on a run, the saying "keep your head in the clouds and your feet on the ground" popped into my head. I'm not sure why I thought of this, but once I did I couldn't get it out of my mind. And while I've heard this saying many times (and actually have always thought it was pretty corny and cheesy), I started to think about it more deeply and realized the true wisdom of this idea.

Abraham Lincoln often described maturity as the ability to perform vigorously long before the urgency is at hand. Most of us during our high school or college years allowed the deadline for the term paper or the date for the final exam to creep up on us before we were fully prepared. Successful people overcome this in their professional lives as they set their own deadlines and do not let outside forces or other people control their sense of urgency or force them into desperation.

There are easy targets and then there are easy targets. I almost hesitate to write about Carl-Henric Svanberg, Tony Hayward and the bunch, because the entire media world has already aimed, fired and riddled the bulleseye with bullets. What else can be said about this hapless gang? On the other hand, since my thing is communication and leadership, I do want to comment because there are lessons here. Aside from how stupid can you be.

Big exalted brains create big expensive solutions! Rory Sutherland says many flashy, expensive fixes are just obscuring better, simpler answers. To illustrate, he uses behavioral economics and hilarious examples.

Author of The On-Demand Brand: 10 Rules for Digital Marketing Success in an Anytime, Everywhere World

Imagine spending $1 Billion on security for a two week event for the G8 and G20 summits in Toronto. WOW! It's absurd! OK it's an important event. But over $1 billion! Just on security! Were (are) there any other options?

This past weekend, I was out of town to give a speech. Just as they were preparing to introduce me to the audience, someone let me know that there had just been a news bulletin that Coach John Wooden had passed away. I was immediately struck by a flood of emotions. I was sad for the loss of my friend but grateful that he had lived 99 productive years. I was emotional about the loss of a great leader and mentor but thankful that the lessons he had taught me and so many others around the world would endure.

It seems some progress has been made with the latest attempt at containment however, if I read things correctly the "solution" will be a "relief" well that will likely be completed in August. August? Three more months of spewing oil into the Gulf? Wow!

The G8 and G20 summits are being held in Canada this year, specifically in Toronto and cottage country a few hours north of the city. Kudos to the world leaders for taking the time for some face-to-face conversation and hopefully we will see some alignment on the critical global issues we face today. All fine and good ... however ... It's been reported that the cost of security for the event is over $1 billion. Really?

Bigot: strong word you say? Indeed it is and it may be time to call it what it is and stop this incessant sanctimonious crossfire that dominates our airwaves and, for some, our conversations. As background, I have been troubled and quite vocal in my newsletter and blog editorials about the growing ideological divide in the U.S. and the negative impact it is having on my country, seemingly precluding any respectful and civil discourse between opposing views in Washington, our media, or even in living rooms around the country. I see this as a major crisis and perhaps the biggest threat to our future as a nation.

As I look throughout my life I realize that the situations, relationships, and experiences that cause me the greatest stress and frustration, are almost always the places where I'm not being flexible. And, on the flip side, the more flexible I am - the more peace, ease, and fulfillment become available.

The disaster in the Gulf is terrible, horrible, and what grief and damage will be caused as the hurricane season gets underway. So many questions ...