There is an UK TV programme called Come Dine With Me.  Over the course of a week 4 people who have never met before cook a meal for each other and the guests score each meal with  £1000 up for grabs for the person with the highest score.  As with all “reality” shows the group of people are picked for entertainment value as well as their ability to cook. Often the “entertainment” comes where there is  some disagreement amongst the participants.

Once, in the introductions one participant said that they were a very “honest” person and that meant that they would have to tell the host if they were not enjoying dinner.

Now it is clear that they are playing a game and they may not be like that in real life but what if they are? Can you think of circumstances where you would tell your host that you were not enjoying their hospitality with the justification for doing that being that you are an “honest” person. Does a guest have an obligation to accept what is offered by the host graciously and if there really is a need to mention something that did not work for you might there be a sensitive and helpful way of ...

Why doesn’t everyone take their ideas to market?

Friday evening I sat in a conference room among students at Misericordia University attending the 8th Annual Entrepreneurship Institute. Prof. Jeff Babin, Wharton School, Univ. of Pennsylvania said, “If you ask yourself if you should start a business the answer is no, you are not ready yet”. Entrepreneurs have a compelling burning desire to do what they do and their business happens as a result of the innovation, relationships, energy and vision they have and can’t help.

The fact is the most recent published research from Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2008 National Entrepreneurial Assessment for the United States of America reported 8.7% of adults 18-99 years of age were entrepreneurs. Certainly since the study was published, the economic downturn is said to have spurred increased entrepreneurship. But, if less than 1 in 10 owns a business, where does that leave the rest of us?

It leaves us to find what I call our inner entrepreneur.

Does everyone have an inner entrepreneur? How do we know?  Though I personally know many people without one iota of entrepreneurial spirit, many people have ...

Who do you trust?

Probably those who you determine are reliable. So, those who don't keep their promises quickly lose the trust of their friends and colleagues.

Before you commit to a new project or obligation, be sure you can fulfill it. If you really aren't certain, then say so. It's better to simply disappoint someone now than show up empty-handed on the day of your big promise. If, despite your best effort, you think you'll miss a deadline or milestone, then contact the other person and explain what has happened. We've all been in similar situations and again: disappointment is a lot different than "I can' trust you."

1. Before you agree to a new obligation, check that you have enough time--then keep your promise. 

2. Say "no" to demands that may stretch you past your capacity. This means being honest with yourself, about yourself, first.

3. Be honest and realistic about the scope of work and related deadlines.

4. Quickly alert people when you know there will be a delay.

5. Meet deadlines and create trust.

Speaking of reliablity: How about a reliable source for those of you who are ...

Mike Monteiro illustrates the shift in computer use from domination by geeks to domination by a much greater number of people who do not consider themselves geeks, and are more inclined to buy a product they can understand than one they can tinker with:

As many others have noted, the release of the iPad might be the cannonball into the consumer device pool the iPhone dipped its toes in. It’s also been referred to as a thing that sits between that iPhone and your laptop. I see it as more of a fork in the road. It’s the thing many people will get INSTEAD of a laptop.

Commenter Koen van Hees noted the high degree of civility in the comments on Mike’s article:

What the? A blog that writes about the most hyped product of all times, an Apple product at that, and all the comments are intelligent and nicely worded.

It’s good to see civilized discourse in the comments. Vitriolic commenting has gotten out of hand, especially in technology-related discussions. Earlier this week, tech website Engadget disabled comments to stem a rising tide of overly negative, attacking, and off-topic comments.

I love to watch Caesar Millan’s “The Dog Whisperer” program on TV. I am a dog lover and currently share an office and home with Edgar the Leadership Pug, who is wise beyond his pug-ness about how to lead his human pack. My husband and I have learned a thing or two from Edgar and Caesar’s show in order to take pack leadership back into our hands, where it belongs.

Caesar’s skill is not only the work he does with the dogs. His true gifts are in teaching the dog’s owners that well behaved canines are really about the owner’s willingness and ability to step up to being a (pack) leader. The lessons he teaches are insightful for any leader.

Note: I don’t intend this post to compare leaders and employees to dogs, but rather to emphasize that the lessons of leadership can be learned in a variety of ways. If you are a dog lover (and maybe even if you aren’t) you can learn a lot from Caesar.

Some of the leadership lessons Caesar teaches us humans:

In order to lead your dog well, you must understand how they want to be treated: Caesar shows that the best trained dogs are treated as – well, a dog would want to be treated if they were part of a pack. As an organizational leader, it ...