July 2007 Archives

Five Bad Habits to Lose on the Road to Success

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My good friend and colleague, Jimmy Vuccolo, makes it a point every Tuesday to forward his ITLP reading item to me - I save them in an "itlp_literature" mailbox - and though they're all great, I really liked this one - it hit a good nerve with me today - and I think it's too good to not share with others. Just my opinion, but I think it should be shared. From my perspective, it has everything to do with stopping and thinking - and thus helping to create and foster better work teams, relationships, and environments. Enjoy, and thanks Jimmy!

In Five Bad Habits to Lose on the Road to Success, John Baldoni highlights several bad
habits -- from Marshall Goldsmith's newest book What Got You Here
Won't Get You There -- that leaders need to abandon:

1. Stop winning too much. We all want it our way, but sometimes it
does not add value to the task, it devalues the team or individual
who "loses," and may have a total cost that exceeds any benefit.

2. Stop starting with No, But, or However. Goldsmith suggests
that these words are subtle clues that say "I'm right, and you're
wrong." Stop qualifying.

3. Stop withholding information. Withholding information is a very
fast way to get people to NOT trust you. Payback for this self-
serving behavior is being left out in the future.

4. Stop clinging to the past. The past is gone. Learn from it and
move on.

5. Stop failing to express gratitude. Learn to say thank you. It's
simple. It's decent. And, it does not cost you anything!

What does Exit 25 mean?

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Exit 25 represents the Rte. 80 exit number in NJ for my hometown of Budd Lake, NJ (Mt. Olive, for some). Recently, I joined the Exit 98 population (well, kind of) - Exit 98 off the Garden State Parkway - Pt. Pleasant, NJ, that is. My parents began to migrate there about six years ago - but my heart will always belong to Exit 25. And by the way, I really do hate when people ask, "what exit are you from?" when I tell them I'm from NJ. ;-) More to come later.