Whether you invest your time, energy and capital in raising cows, pigs, and chickens, or in entrepreneurial ideas, advancing your mission, strengthening your team, or developing your career, it seems the process for healthy and sustainable growth is the same. A few weeks ago, the Washington Business Journal hosted Steve Case , co-founder of America Online (AOL) and current Chairman/CEO of Revolution LLC , an investment firm that is funneling cash into businesses, people, and ideas that are chang...
Aug 25, 2016•6 min
“Comparison is the thief of joy.” —Theodore Roosevelt Your decision is clear—you’re going make your imprint in your industry. You work hard, do your research, and put yourself out there. Feeling great, you think, “I’ve got this!” Then, you watch as someone else brilliantly outshines you, and think, “I could never be that good, so why bother.” Deflated, you begin questioning your goals, and start wondering if you should try a different route to success. Has this happened to you? It happens to me ...
Aug 17, 2016•7 min
With a touch of desperation and a tone of sincerity, she took the microphone during the Q&A section of my speech, and asked, “How do I get the very best human resource leaders to put their time and energy into helping me become one of the best?” Her question, along with the desperation, felt incredibly familiar to me, as I remembered back to the days I pleaded with several talented speakers and messaging experts to help me find and share my message. In fact, I remember snapping a photo of th...
Aug 10, 2016•8 min
Last week, I took a trip out to Spooks, Virginia. It’s located in Shenandoah Valley, and man is it beautiful there! It also happens to be where Polyface Farms is located. For those of you who follow the sustainable farming movement, or watched Food Inc —a documentary on sustainable solutions to food production—you might remember Joel Salatin . He’s the man behind Polyface Farms, and one heck of a passionate believer in creating the best possible system for both the environment and his livestock....
Aug 04, 2016•5 min
“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” ― Jim Rohn While I have never been a fan of the idea that we are the sum total of our five closest friends, I do appreciate the awareness that such a statement creates. The idea begs a couple of important questions— 1—What am I learning from the actions (or inactions) of those around me? 2—How are my actions (or inactions) instructing others? Often, without our even realizing it, those around us are taking cues from us about ...
Jul 28, 2016•6 min
During the Q&A session of a panel discussion I was a part of recently, a woman stood up and asked, “Is it okay to cry at work?” Previous to that moment, I would have said, “Of course, it’s okay to cry.” But I held my tongue because of the words I’d heard Freeman Hrabowski, President of UMBC, say during a speech just a few months before. “We teach our female students not to cry at work,” he said. At the time, I remember thinking, “You’re a guy—what do you know about women and emotions?” I fou...
Jul 21, 2016•7 min
Do you remember when you were a kid and really wanted a bowl of delicious ice cream for desert? Yes, a bowl. Several scoops, with gobs of toppings. And, you wanted it as your main course, not just desert. But, you knew your parents wouldn’t go for that, so you pushed your carrots around, ate your potatoes, and had a few bites of protein before you proclaimed yourself as ready for that mint chocolate chip yummy goodness. “You need to eat a few more bites of your carrots and chicken, and then we c...
Jul 14, 2016•6 min
Joel Salatin is a disruptor, entrepreneur, revolutionary farmer, and one heck of a leader. His work through Polyface Inc. (“The Farm of Many Faces”) has been featured in SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, GOURMET and countless other radio, television and print media. Profiled on the Lives of the 21st Century series with Peter Jennings on ABC World News, his after-broadcast chat room fielded more hits than any other segment to date. It achieved iconic status as the grass farm featured in ...
Jul 09, 2016•57 min
"The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off." —Gloria Steinem Freedom is delicious—intoxicating, really. It tastes like ice cream, and feels like abs of steel. It sounds like seagulls, crashing waves, laughter… adventure, and looks like an overflowing bank account. It sounds like generous and peaceful conversations with family and colleagues, and it feels like a million kindhearted hugs. Who wouldn’t want that kind of freedom? Freedom to be who you are unapologetically, to buy w...
Jul 04, 2016•6 min
Not in my wildest dreams could I have ever imagined that a young man, in a hoodie, talking hoodlum to his buddies through his wrist phone at a local coffee shop, could ever turn me into a hustler for his business. But—it happened, and here’s how… With 17% battery, he squeezed in right beside me at the tall table facing the lake at a local coffee shop, and plugged in his computer. His hoody covered most of his head, though his headphones, resting on his cheekbones, poked out, and left me wonderin...
Jun 30, 2016•7 min
After sharing the stage with Erin Moran just a few weeks ago up in New York, I had to interview her. While the innovative ideas and practices of the Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG) are certainly turning heads in the restaurant industry, it was Erin’s passion and energy that captured my attention. Throughout this interview, Erin shares about the experiences that prompted her into this line of work, the #1 key to tapping into human potential (This, from nearly two decades in the human potent...
Jun 26, 2016•34 min
In preparation for my interview with Anese Cavanaugh, I reviewed her website and watched this speech she gave at the Inc. Women’s Summit. Her message resonated with the mission of the Provoking Your Greatness podcast , and I was excited for this interview. Our forty minutes together felt more like catching up with a good friend than interviewing an expert, author, and successful businesswoman. With that kind of chemistry, I knew we had to work together on a project. A few weeks after the intervi...
Jun 23, 2016•7 min
Over the past two weeks, we covered tips 1-7. You can gain access to 1, 2, and 3, here . You can gain access to 4-7 here . Provoke Their Greatness Tip #8 Our DNA is already wired for success. While their performance and perceived attitude might not always be up to par, remember they are wired for success. Sometimes fears (humanity) get in the way of asking for help, which leads to underperformance and attitude problems. Fortunately, this is where tip 4 comes in handy. If their performance isn’t ...
Jun 16, 2016•4 min
As the author of Provoking Greatness: Unleashing Hidden Potential (Which Seth Godin says is “a generous book about stepping up to make art, to matter, and to contribute,” I’m often asked to coach progressive and passionate leaders. In fact, I’ve had the chance to work with and speak for leaders at Johns Hopkins, NASA, and Johnson & Johnson, just to name a few. Following my presentations, I often conduct on-the-spot coaching for those seeking to go beyond pushing for performance, onto provoki...
Jun 02, 2016•6 min
Two of the greatest lies destroying our workforce today are: we can’t earn a living using our God-given talents & my employees don’t care . In reality, we all want to use our natural talents to help our team, company, community, country, and our world—we just don’t always believe we can, and so we unconsciously sabotage ourselves in the process. Great leaders see this, and seek to provoke greatness in spite of insecurities. The leaders who experience the greatest results from their team are ...
May 26, 2016•6 min
People who want your stuff—want your stuff. You don’t have to force the gift that is you. The right people come and the wrong ones go. Your job is to focus on the ones who stay, even after you risked the possibility of rejection on the deepest level. Reject who I was pretending to be? No problem. Reject, or avoid connecting with the “me” beneath the layers of my own uncertainty? No thank you. It’s hard enough to accept and embrace myself—I don’t need to worry about you. Thinking everyone should ...
May 19, 2016•6 min
Last week, I talked about how to give yourself permission to struggle (evolve). In this post, I share what I think of as the most important element to our personal growth. Acknowledging the difficulty of evolution is the perfect place to begin. Recognizing the sheer challenge of our own evolution gives us permission to struggle. Sounds crazy—who wants permission to struggle ? You do, that’s who. Difficulty can never be used to mold you into a stronger, more authentic, version of yourself if you ...
May 12, 2016•3 min
Jennifer R. Lieberman’s passion is not only infectious… it is literally transforming the way an entire industry thinks about health care and leadership. If you want to gain access to truth behind what it takes to create collaboration and innovation, listen to this podcast! Jennifer Liebermann is a Kaiser Permanente “intrapraneur” who is passionate about shaping the future of health. In 2006, she launched Kaiser Permanente’s Garfield Health Care Innovation Center, the first of its kind. The Garfi...
May 08, 2016•29 min
Having moved many times in my life, I’d grown accustomed to the (hidden) benefit of starting over—zero expectations. When you’re brand new to a community, they don’t know what to expect, and so you have a chance to try on new behaviors and beliefs. Changing the way we show up for people who have come to expect certain behaviors and beliefs is far more challenging then starting fresh. Having relationships that are deep and meaningful can create expectations that may easily halt our growth, lest w...
May 05, 2016•4 min
Neatly stacked piles of paper with research from Harvard, Wharton, and Stanford sat on the table as we began our discussion about the event we were planning. “What’s that?” I asked my soul sister and colleague, Mali Phonpadith, excited to talk about how we can pull our resources together and co-produce a retreat for executives seeking breakthroughs in leadership. With an excited look on her face, she grabbed the first stack and said, “I went through all the top business schools and leadership tr...
Apr 28, 2016•5 min
Back in December, I had the great privilege of capturing Rich’s simple system for building a life, company, and career that spreads joy across the globe. For more on that interview, click here . This time around I wanted to get Rich’s perspective on why it’s lonely at the top, and some strategies for increasing connection and joy from the top. Without realizing it, I tapped right into one of his greatest struggles as an executive within a large company, before co-founding Menlo Innovations. Thro...
Apr 24, 2016•37 min
While anger, irritation, frustration, and sadness are generally undesirable, they can be quite useful in uncovering the difference we need to make. Complaining is another clue to pay attention to—the stronger and more consistent the complaint, the greater the potential opportunity. It’s easy to complain and criticize—to sit in the stands, drink beer, eat hot dogs, and curse at (I mean cheer for) players. You don’t have to take any hits, or worry about the cost of your mistakes, but you also neve...
Apr 21, 2016•6 min
Love is a strong word that many reserve for close friends and family. But what results can love offer in a leadership context? What does love at the office even mean?How To Let Love Inspire Your Leadership: A Raw Conversation between Anese Cavanaugh and Misti Burmeister These are the questions that drove this unique conversation between two women who have worked with hundreds of leaders in corporations throughout the globe. Listen in. Here’s to Your Greatness, Misti Burmeister...
Apr 14, 2016•56 min
MGosh, Anese Cavanaugh is amazing. She’s authentic, passionate, and deeply committed to helping you show up, powerfully. Whether you’re seeking to strengthen your leadership presence, increase your energy, or improve confidence throughout your team, listen to this interview! Top innovators and executives in companies like IDEO, Zingerman’s, Cooper, Joie de Vivre, Fitbit, and others have engaged with Anese to strengthen team health, maximize leadership impact, and optimize company culture. In add...
Apr 10, 2016•38 min
In a society that treasures independence, we struggle with the notion that we should ever need help. “If I ask you, then I owe you,” ripples through our minds as we sit inside the safety of our home, wishing for freedom and complaining about our circumstances. Besides, even if we did ask, we risk the possibility that you might say “No,” leaving us open to feelings of rejection. It’s hard to ask for help, and it’s even difficult to offer it at times. It’s frustrating to deal with the people who r...
Apr 07, 2016•4 min
Why most people never decide to go for greatness Saying you’ll start that certification someday isn’t the same as deciding to get the certification. Without a decision, talk cheapens you. It provides entirely too much room for letting yourself off the hook. It’s easy to say you’re going to read a book a month, write for an hour every day, take on a new project, or finish your degree. Decision puts you on the hook, and leaves you vulnerable. You could fail. Actually, that’s not true. You cannot f...
Mar 31, 2016•5 min
Dr. Hans Finzel is the author of nine books, including his bestseller The Top Ten Mistakes Leaders Make (David C Cook) and his newest release The Power of Passion in Leadership . His books have been published in over twenty foreign languages. Hans is a mentor, speaker and trusted authority in the field of leadership. He is host of “The Leadership Answer Man” Podcast. Hans has trained leaders internationally on five continents. He and Donna founded HDLeaders in 2012 where he serves as President. ...
Mar 27, 2016•37 min
“What’s the point of focusing on getting women into leadership roles?” Yvette asked in a conversation off line, prior to this interview. Knowing her generous, supportive nature, I was taken aback by her question. Doesn’t she know how important it is to see people like us in leadership positions? Having spent several years focused in the area of diversity, through my work with generational differences, I had to find out why a woman, who is a senior producer in an all male dominated industry (vide...
Mar 24, 2016•21 min
“How did they do that?” we ask ourselves as we watch the Olympian finish the race, the teenager sell a multi-million dollar business, or the juggler throw sharp knives into the air, while balancing himself on a unicycle. How does anyone do anything of significance? (Significance defined: important to you .) “Misti,” my accountant said, “I’ve been trying to train for a 5K for years, but I can’t seem to stay with the training. Any suggestions?” Whether you decide to get an MBA, change industries, ...
Mar 17, 2016•6 min
Recently, I took my car in to get new brakes and rotors. After learning it would take two hours, I grabbed my computer and walked to a local coffee shop to work. Six hours later, as they were putting the last tire back on my car, a lug nut broke, and they had to call the parts shop down the street. Realizing it was going to be at least a couple more hours, the manager encouraged me to get a rental car from a block away. When I came back the next day to get my car, George, another shop manager wh...
Mar 10, 2016•5 min
