values: The Power Of ActiveRain: An Idea Comes To Life - 01/19/07 05:29 AM
I'm thrilled with the response so far. Thank you!
So many of you responded favorably to the notion that the ActiveRain cyber-community is uniquely suited to becoming a resource for helping real estate agents impact the cyle of poverty in their local communities, places they can see and touch. (If you are just now stumbling on this idea, some background reading may help you. Please read "The Poverty Gap Is Growing: What Can We Do?" and "Harnessing The Power Of The ActiveRain Community: An Idea.")
The idea was and is a simple one. I'd like to state it now as an actionable … (50 comments)

values: "I Promise" :: Those Are Some Strong Words - 12/26/06 04:15 AM
Reading Randy Prothero's post, Is There A Skunk In Your Office, which I was lead to by TLW's comment on The Interactive Business Meeting, I kept thinking about the way my wife and I are raising our children. This all starts at home.
I wish I could say the following was my idea, but it was my wife's idea.
My wife came to me when our second son was very young and said, "I don't like the idea of bad words. I think it makes it too easy for us not to take responsibility. Words aren't good or bad, it's how … (73 comments)

values: The Stress Test: Our True Values Are Illuminated By Crisis. - 12/12/06 02:16 PM
One of the reasons I go out of my way to fly JetBlue is the DirecTV channels they provide at every seat. I rarely, if ever, watch the History Channel at home. But for some mysterious reason I am drawn to it on an airplane like my five year old is drawn to Krypto The Super Dog on the Cartoon Network. I become transfixed by it. Once I start, I can't stop watching. Except to write this post.I am fresh off of writing two posts detailing my previous company's corporate values. So my mind is preoccupied with the topic right now. … (32 comments)

values: Your Values Are Your True Brand: Part 2 - 12/09/06 05:38 PM
Yesterday, I talked about the first four values that came from the mentoring and values consulting process. Today I'm sharing values 5-9. As a reminder, the most important thing learned in this process is that I don't have to try to live my values. I always live my values. Everyone does. What we don't do is admit to ourselves what they really are. For most of us, what we call our values is really just a statement of best intentions.
Our real values are played out each day whether we like it or not. The POWER comes from discarding the misconception … (54 comments)

values: Your Values Are Your True Brand: Part 1 - 12/09/06 01:26 AM
Yesterday I wrote about the importance of choosing a mentor who shared your core values and several people commented on their ongoing quest to define their own core values. It's an important quest, because our values are our true brand. This is true for companies as well as individuals. My quest took many years and I thought it might be helpful to share the outcome. So, I went into my archives and pulled out the documents that were part of the corporate transformation that resulted from the personal mentoring.
One of the most powerful aspects of the mentoring process for me was … (62 comments)

values: You’re Not As Smart As You Think You Are, Trust Me - 12/07/06 04:03 PM
And You Are Not Going To Get Any Smarter By Yourself.
There are few realizations as important as this one in our lives - that we need someone else’s help. Recognizing this fact is often the difference between stagnancy and growth, mediocrity and excellence, failure and success. We all have blind spots and weaknesses that aren’t addressable by opening another book or taking another class. Some weaknesses can only be addressed by someone who has spent enough time with us to know the patterns of behavior that need to be addressed and changed before we can grow any further. It takes a … (65 comments)