We make commitments to others and ourselves all the time. The question is: Do we keep them? When we fail to keep a promise, it communicates to the other person that we don’t value him or her. We have elected to place something else ahead…

You’re here because you want to get tips, tricks and insights on how to amp up your productivity or discover how you can “hack” your life. The things you’re looking for can vary from business needs to lifestyle changes, from software recommendations to quick and easy

So, what are your thoughts on honesty? Do you fib? Often? Do you have honesty rules? If so, where did those rules come from? Experience? Parents? Church? Your inner voice? Do you think that sometimes dishonesty is the right thing? The best option in some situations? Could there be…

Several years ago when I was working in New York, a colleague asked me to take over his position on a cross-functional committee.  I definitely hesitated, as I was near the beginning of my career and was working crazy hours and churning out work product like there was no tomorrow so that I could prove…

Put up Your Hand if You Ever Lie. If your hand went up, then we now know you’re a liar. If it didn’t go up then we know you’re an even bigger liar. When asked the question “are you a liar?” nearly 97% of people answer “no”. When the remaining 3% (self-confessed liars) are subjected to questions…

Honesty, we say, is the best policy. And yet, it’s hardly news to anyone that in much of our lives, dishonesty rules. Salespeople lie about the benefits of one product over another, or about how useful those “extended service plans” really are. Partners lie about whether they liked dinner, or about what they did last…

It happens every semester. Some student, thinking themselves very clever indeed, Googles up a WIkipedia entry, some obscure facts page from some obscure website, an essay from one of the plagiarism sites, or, one time, even one of my own papers, and hands it in as his or her own…

Photo by Marloes Most people are unexceptional at following up: it sounds obvious, but it shouldn’t be this way, because followup (I spell it as a single word) is key to combining smaller achievements into bigger ones. Actively following up on conversation is also a trait of people who’re successful, focused, and relentless about living…

Trust is an essential component in almost all dealings between human beings, other than outright hostile ones like wars and terrorism. It is certainly vital for the proper running of any organization, as well as for almost all the components of trade and commerce. Lack of trust between trading partners undermines the proper functioning of…

I’ve been thinking a lot this week about why people do things, and what they have in mind when they ask others to act in a particular way. It’s common to find that what people say is the reasoning behind their actions or requests isn’t the real motivation for either. I may do or say…

As my regular readers know by now, one of the things I write and speak on most is value alignment. Nearly all companies will proudly tell you about the value statements they have, and nearly everyone will agree that businesses should be values centered in their mission. However, nearly all have to work much harder…

Office politics cannot be avoided, however many people regard them with distaste and try to avoid getting involved. But there is a way to make them civilized.

Lying your way out of trouble often causes far greater harm. Integrity is worth more than you may think.