Entries by gmader

Why is it so hard to do the right thing?

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Many years ago when I was still living in Israel, the government launched a national campaign to reduce the outrageously high rate of casualties on the highways. The campaign slogan was: “On the road be wise, not right.” That slogan stayed with me over the years. I found it to be such a powerful and relevant principle for living. In my work I coach leaders and teams. I have seen that even when people genuinely want to work together in a more authentic, courageous and effective way, it is often hard for them to do so. In most cases, people know what works and the right thing to do. However, it is still often hard […]

The Risk of Circumstantial Decisions

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I was chatting with a good friend who is in a major career junction in his life. My friend is a fairly senior leader in one of the service functions in his company. He had been doing the same type of job for the last 15 years. Over these years, he advanced, he was promoted and grew the scope of his responsibilities. However, he remained in the same function serving similar business and sales units for all these years. He was mentally tired of doing the same thing for so long. He felt he needed a change. He just wasn’t sure what the change should be. His dilemma was – to look yet again for […]

Why is Leadership so important NOW?

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In today’s market environment, thriving and struggling businesses alike seem to be experiencing increasing challenges in competitive, economic and market conditions. In these times when the business opportunities and challenges are bountiful and the tangible material and physical resources such as budgets, expenses, resources and travel are scarce, most leaders I speak to seem to feel a growing need to unleash and promote the intangible assets. They seek to boost the mental and leadership energy, creativity, ownership and resourcefulness of individuals and the team as a whole. Leaders often talk about the fact that in today’s environment “the only constant is change.” In this environment, any team weaknesses or dysfunctionalities that could have been avoided […]

Courage is magical!

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I believe courage is the single most critical ingredient for achieving great things. It is the key to achieving our dreams and aspirations. Yes, knowledge, experience, credentials, skills and a good plan or strategy are important too. However, I have seen more people fail to achieve their dreams and aspirations because they gave up along the way than people who went all-out all the way and fell short. Courage comes in many forms, expressions and styles. Sometimes, standing for what we believe and fully expressing ourselves with a loud and assertive voice is an act of courage. But, sometimes, remaining thoughtful and calm in the face of turmoil, or being vulnerable, or listening to other’s […]

Why is straight talk so difficult?

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I was coaching two entrepreneurs who were partners in a services business. They were very good at what they did and their partnership made them a lot of money and afforded them great market brand and reputation. However, they had very different personalities and they had an acrimonious relationship for a long time. Even though their teams had to work closely together, somehow the two managed to navigate the business conversations and activities while staying clear of the need to directly deal with each other on a personal level. They continued to avoid dealing with their personal conflicts, lack of trust and overall contentious relationship, even though it negatively affected the people under them, as […]

Even senior executives need to build their team

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True Story: I was coaching a senior executive – fictional name: George – who is the head of a big division in a global technology company and he was expressing his frustration about the fact that his direct reports, who are also senior executives, were not gelling together as a team the way he needed them to and the way he expected and hoped they would. George’s organization went through significant changes in the last year because he was asked to take on an expanded mandate of running one of the key growth areas of the company. As a result, he ended up with a brand new team that was larger than what he had […]

What are you resigned about?

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Have you become apathetic about something you care about? This may seem like a strange question. After all, it assumes that you are resigned about something that is important to you. However, I believe most of us are resigned about something that is important to us a good chunk of the time. If we have strong self-awareness, commitment and discipline we may be able to pull ourselves out of apathy every time we fall into it. But, I think resignation is unavoidable for human beings. I am not suggesting that all of us are apathetic all the time. But, it is the nature of people to dream and aspire, but when things don’t go as […]

What is the source of your personal energy? Part 1

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People often ask me how I maintain such a high level of energy in my life all the time. The questions that often follow are “what are you on?” or “is it something in your drink?” Well, I do take vitamins and I do love to drink a lot of water and green tea. However, I am quite sure they are not the source of my high energy. High energy comes naturally to me, partly because of my personality, but mostly because of a few practices and ways of being that I have adopted, internalized and integrated into my life. They are: Maintaining a physical lifestyle that supports wellbeing and high energy. Having a positive, […]

Are you taking enough time off?

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I took a vacation last week. It was March break in Toronto. Our youngest daughter travelled to our family overseas for the break so my wife and I took advantage of our ‘empty nesters’ status and took off to a resort on one of the Caribbean islands. I love what I do and I am a passionate type-A, hyperactive workaholic. So, for me to have a successful vacation I need to go to a place where I can leave all devices, my wallet and my watch behind and just focus on resting, slowing down, rejuvenating and having fun. Nothing fits the bill better for me than an all-inclusive resort on a sandy beach in a […]

Are you willing to be empowered?

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There is a great quote by Marianne Williamson: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that frightens us most.” Are you willing to be empowered? This may seem like an odd question to ask. Who wouldn’t want to be Great? Perhaps it’s not as straightforward as it seems. It is my life’s purpose and focus to ignite, energize and empower people. In fact, it’s my job, and most of it takes place in the workplace. In my work I get so many opportunities to empower people; remind them of who they are and how great and […]

How to regain your motivation

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I was coaching someone the other day who is generally a highly committed and passionate person. He is also someone who has historically dedicated himself to big commitments and self-improvement. I was coaching him because somewhere along the way he got stuck and deteriorated into a state of resignation and suffering. When I asked him to share what had happened he said, “I have lost my motivation.” Over the years, I have supported so many committed people who have experienced this same sensation of feeling stuck. I have also struggled through it myself. So, I want to dedicate this blog to the question: “how do you find your motivation when you have lost it?” Part […]

4 Steps to ensure mergers and/or acquisitions fulfill their purpose

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I often work with organizations and teams that are going through, or have gone through, internal or external merger or acquisition. Unfortunately, it is a known fact that most mergers or acquisitions fail to fulfill their desired or anticipated potential. I read a statistic, which stated that the archives of the Wall Street Journal show that upwards of 80 percent of mergers and acquisitions fail to fulfill the strategic goals that justified the merger and/or acquisition within the expected timeframe. In many cases, the resulting organizations are less effective and less successful than the original two by themselves. My personal experience and observation have led me to believe that this failure is due to the […]