Liberals: get your stories straight, part 1: individual ability and responsibility.

I'll start with a liberal inconsistency relevant to sustainability, not that they monopolize them or are the most egregious, but I have to start somewhere. Mention anything related to my environmental footprint or personal action to many liberals and I'd better prepare for them to lecture me on how BP publicized the concept to deflect blame from them to individuals, or some similar reason why their or my actions don't matter. I think they partly want to show off how smart they are knowing about BP's nefarious plots, or think they are, but mostly I think they want to rationalize…

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Asking for help is leading.

Do you avoid asking for help because you feel like it might present you as not knowing something you should, or lower in status than the person you ask for help? I would. I felt like it made me look ignorant and lesser. But asking someone for help is an act of leadership. It leads them to help you. I'm not saying this is a deep realization, but I think it helps motivate seeking help. It helps me, anyway.

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Why you shouldn’t live sustainably (not really): Coming clean about my shameful sponge

Every time I look at my floor sponge I think, "it's beyond the end of its life. Time to get rid of it." Below are pictures of the front and back. It's in tatters. But look at the third picture. It still cleans the floor. Why get rid of something that works? I've cleaned my floor every fifth day without fail for about five years, maybe more. I do it before my weight lifting routine to warm me up and start the process. It's more than a routine, almost a ritual. I used to mop, but my apartment isn't even…

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Pandemic Fatigue? How to Achieve Pandemic Thriving

I posted on handling what people call pandemic fatigue to Thrive Global today: Pandemic Fatigue? How to Achieve Pandemic Thriving. Here's the text of the article: When I learned I would be locked down indefinitely, knowing we were all heading into unknown territory, I looked for role models. Who had handled such a situation successfully? Nelson Mandela had been locked down for twenty-seven years, most of that time on a cold island, breaking rocks, with a bucket for a toilet. He negotiated with presidents of the nation that locked him up and emerged to get their jobs. I could see…

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Lower Manhattan Off the Hook

I was here when Obama replaced George W. Bush. People were dancing in the street. This time is bigger. Lower Manhattan hasn't been this happy for years. Friends and colleagues from around the world are emailing congratulations. For me personally, since I love my sustainability work, I look forward to losing the government pushing to sell public lands to fossil fuel interests, disregarding pollution, and such---not having to swim upstream as much. America has some of the most beautiful natural land in the world and a long history of stewardship, however little nearly everyone today has strayed from it. For…

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355: I balance values the same as anyone

People constantly suggest they have to balance different values as if I didn't. It came up in a recent conversation so I shared about it today. An element I factor in is how my pollution affects others---not just what I know about or wish I contributed, but what I actually contribute. Yet people think I factor in nothing else. It's weird to learn people see you as one-dimensional. If they felt others viewed them as they see me, they'd be insulted.

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Hear me on the Ask Women podcast

Would you expect me on a podcast called Ask Women Podcast: What Women Want? With an episode title "How To Be A Leader With Women | The BJ Technique"? Yes, 'BJ' meaning what you think. Here are the notes about the hosts, Marni Kinrys and Kristen Carney: What do a female comic and a professional wing girl have in common? The realistically raw and hilarious perspectives on what women ACTUALLY want in a man. Prepare to be offended and awed as Marni Kinrys & Kristen Carney take you through the uncensored and often ridiculous mind of a woman to help…

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The environmental revolution begins here, with the Noetic podcast with Jared Angaza

I met Jared Angaza appearing on each other's podcast a couple years ago. We became great friends at first only online. I met him in person for the first time in San Diego in November after I attended the Summit in Los Angeles. We "broke bread" together by cooking a couple loads of my famous no-packaging vegetable stew for his family and a few of his family groups---about twenty people. Yesterday he posted our conversation on environmental leadership. We summarized my strategy and vision that my podcast and TEDx talk are the start of. Here's the conversation: two guys who…

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“Punch A Nazi”? You couldn’t help them more.

There's a phrase out there "Punch a Nazi." Here's a video of someone acting on it. What effect do you think it has on people who agree with the guy being punched? Or people attracted by his message? I submit that punching the guy overall advanced his cause. When I search "Punch a Nazi," the top results ask the ethics and morality of doing it. Talk about ethics, morality, and judgment are guaranteed to generate clicks. Don't you want to click these headlines? The 'punch a Nazi' meme: what are the ethics of punching Nazis? Yes, It is always OK…

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Handling Trigger Warnings, Microaggressions, Safe Spaces, and Other Outrages

Handling Trigger Warnings, Microaggressions, Safe Spaces, and Other Outrages Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff's new book, The Coddling of the American Mind, takes on offense and outrage with calm resolve and effective insight Jonathan Haidt's latest book, released today, The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure, coauthored by Greg Lukianoff, takes on one of the issues of our time—public discourse, especially in higher education—expanding on their widely discussed Atlantic article of the same name. Whether leading a small team, a company, a nation, a family, or oneself, research…

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How to beat Trump

Seeing as he faces no competition yet, it's not too early to figure out how to win in the next election. I already wrote in How to get votes for Donald Trump my simple rule that if you follow it, you’ll create votes for Trump: Every time you call someone sexist, racist, xenophobic, privileged, islamophobic, mansplaining, manspreading, narcissistic, or the like, you create a new vote for Trump. including the note for those who think, “But that person is sexist!” or racist or whatever, that I’m not commenting on your rightness or wrongnesss. I’m commenting on why people vote. Our…

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Leonard Kim’s Grow Your Influence Tree on Voice of America: “How to Lead People Without Relying on Authority”

I've wanted to meet top influencer Leonard Kim for years, having seen his online presence everywhere. I appeared on his Voice of America show today, speaking on leading people without relying on authority. He led the interview to get to the heart of my practice. I enjoyed the conversation and got to share what counts. Listen to the conversation. Listen to the conversation.

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I predict Donald Trump will have a Richard III moment

A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse! I predict that Donald Trump will, as president, find himself without allies, under attack, and bewildered, lashing out, realizing he's run out of anything to offer anyone. This will come after he's surrounded by sycophants, maybe family, abandoned by anyone who could get anything from him. Without having supported anyone who would help him for reasons other than what he offers and with no way to advance or to offer in a transaction, no one will help him out of empathy or compassion. I hope the others will act in the…

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Bill Clinton on Nelson Mandela, for His 100th Birthday

My Inc. story today, "Bill Clinton on Nelson Mandela, for His 100th Birthday," begins Bill Clinton on Nelson Mandela, for His 100th Birthday The father of his nation was born 100 years ago today. Bill Clinton's anecdote reveals the change he created in the world. Nelson Mandela was born on this day in 1918. Few people become the father of a nation. He was imprisoned for 27 years beginning at age 45. Where most people would give up, he persevered. Eventually he negotiated from prison with the presidents of his country. He later got their job. Think about that the…

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Video: What a leadership course can deliver, part 3

Here is an interview with a student who took my online leadership course, Isabeaux, an undergraduate at NYU who hadn't taken an experiential course before, which initially threw her, before she came to find it led to more growth than she'd ever seen, despite going to an elite university. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fxo-msa9dGQ Reach your potential in business and life. My courses don't take time from the rest of life. You work with people in your life that you care about on projects that you care about without distracting from the rest of your work and life. Learn more about the course and…

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My Inc. post: Trump: Why Voters Love Him and What You Can Learn From Him (Even If You Hate Him)

My Inc. post today, "Trump: Why Voters Love Him and What You Can Learn From Him (Even If You Hate Him)," begins Trump: Why Voters Love Him and What You Can Learn From Him (Even If You Hate Him) Love him or hate him, he's effective at something and you can learn what works from his technique. An example confusing people trying to understand Donald Trump: the picture above shows him speaking on Pearl Harbor Day, yet he "dodged Vietnam War through medical deferment, not high draft number as he claimed." He's belligerent and hawkish yet has a "history as dove." Still he…

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Why people fear failure. It’s not what you think.

I hear people talk about how much people fear failure, but also that you have to learn to handle failure. They talk about it like it's abstract---just not achieving a goal you want to. Like if you want to start a business and you end up not making money. Or you want to achieve some other goal and don't. We don't like not achieving goals, but we don't fear such abstraction. Humans have no inborn fear of not making money that we wanted to. We fear how not achieving our goals makes us feel. We've been made fun of, laughed…

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Learn Feedforward with me in London, Monday March 14!

Want to learn and practice one of the most effective leadership techniques? Then join me for a workshop, Monday, March 14th at 6:30pm. Click here to register! I look forward to seeing you there. From the announcement: Feedforward by Professor Joshua Spodek Interesting Talks is incredibly excited to welcome Joshua Spodek. Joshua is professor at New York University and is visiting London. We are lucky enough to have him speak at our group. This will set out FAST! We are truly honoured to have a speaker of this stature visit our group. Feedforward by Professor Joshua Spodek  What if you could…

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Video: The Worst Problem in the World

I've shown this representation of what I call The Worst Problem in the World at many seminars. I wrote about it about five years ago. Now you can see the video. Watch all the way through to see some solutions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUycXlo4OX8 Take my course if you want to get beyond it and resolve it in your life, mainly by doing the exercises in it to develop compassion and empathy.

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Introducing the most effective leadership course available anywhere

If you read this blog, you know I care about leadership and how to improve yours---in business, personal, family, and every other part of your life. I presume you do too. As much as you've learned from the blog, you can learn more from doing. If you want to improve because you're moving up the corporate ladder, just finished school, starting your own projects, or any other reason that you have to lead people and teams, developing leadership skills from practice will improve you most effectively. Anyone can improve their ability to lead, and the most effective improvement comes from…

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Why people like Donald Trump

One of the exercises my leadership students like most is the Authentic Voice exercise. I've written about it at least four times here, including examples from great masters of speaking in their authentic voice, like Muhammad Ali and Robin Williams. Communications skills exercises, part 10: Your Authentic Voice Your authentic voice The great masters of speaking with authentic voices Communications skills exercises, part 10b: another example of voicing your self-talk Most students in my full course are scared of the exercise before doing it but emerge transformed after a week of practicing it. They find it easier and more natural…

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Op/Ed Friday: Almost nobody is acting for equality, which is why we aren’t getting it

If you don't act for equality, it doesn't matter how much you want it, you aren't going to get it. Almost nobody is acting for equality so we aren't getting it. Many people think they are acting to create equality, but their behavior is counterproductive to equality, despite their intent. Why do I say people aren't acting for equality? What are people doing if they aren't acting for equality? Many people belong to groups that they feel are disadvantaged. They feel they don't have the same opportunities. Or that social structures are holding them back. I should say we because…

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Learn and practice Marshall Goldsmith’s Feedforward, December 1 in Manhattan

Want to learn and practice one of the most effective leadership techniques? Then join me for a workshop, Tuesday, December 1st at 6:30pm in midtown, and get a copy of the #1 bestselling leadership book included! This is an encore workshop from attendee enthusiasm at the last one. From the announcement from the Columbia Business School Alumni Club (everyone is welcome): The Workshop Committee of the Columbia Business School Alumni Club invites you to a workshop on Marshall Goldsmith’s FEEDFORWARD hosted by Joshua Spodek, PhD MBA ’06 including a copy of his #1 New York Times and Wall Street Journal…

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Everyone is positive (from their perspective)

I heard yet another person saying "I don't have time for negative people. I'm a positive person. I can't let them bring me down." Oh, how perfect they sound! High and mighty! He blithely and ironically didn't notice the negative start to what he said, "I don't have time for..." Sometimes they'll outright say so-and-so is a negative person. People who talk about others being negative are judging others by their values---the opposite of compassion, empathy, and understanding. To make themselves look better at others' expense, no less. People may disagree with you and negate your beliefs, but that doesn't…

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What about Tiger Woods? Why was he pilloried?

After writing about bad boys, success, and discipline yesterday, you might ask, "What about Tiger Woods? Why was he pilloried? He is full of discipline. Why didn't society accept of him something many successful athletes do?" I'm no expert on public relations, but I see two main issues. First, the lesser issue. He doesn't have a bad boy reputation. His is clean cut and respectful, or looks that way to me. Charles Barkley throwing a guy through a bar window fits within his image as a physical player. By the time he did it, he had already done many similar…

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