“Let’s just try to get our shit done this week.” The words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them. Wow! I had done so well recently. Positive attitude. Positive words. Positive motivation. The past few weeks had been all about giving people a target to hit and encouraging them to map their strategies and set their pace to reach goals. The result? Yeah. Not spectacular but I probably wouldn’t have said anything if their attitudes had been contrite. Half of the team w

Put people first, connect customer expectations to product and service design, give employees the right tools, show everyone in the organization how deeply they affect the mission, and empower your team to innovate and lead. These are the building blocks for an innovative and successful company. ~ Amy Beall What does it mean to ‘lead from the front’? Leading from the front means you model the behavior you want to see in those around you. It doesn’t necessarily mean your team 

I am working on an in-depth series of blogs dedicated to how people deal with career changes, significant job moves, and other personal rebranding. Leave a comment below with a brief summary of your story if you want to share your experience. Please start your comment with the word “PRIVATE” if you don’t want your comment published. At times, our stories are too powerful to share with the world at large and I want to respect your right to privacy. You will have final say on s

Erica sent me a text today with the scariest words for any business. We have an auditor here. Erica’s company strives to comply with all federal, state, and local regulations and they work hard to instill strong ethical behaviors and accountability in their employees. They have all their ducks in line which is the best strategy for passing an audit. But employees remain nervous because there is always the ‘what if’ fear. “What if I missed something?” “What if I don’t fully an

I may not be a die-hard sports fan but, like most people, I love a great battle.  Today is difficult for me because not only am I amped up for the fight tonight but I also need to carve out some time for the Kentucky Derby.  This could be the first year since 1978 that we see a Triple Crown winner and I don’t want to miss seeing each race. The Mayweather v. Pacquiao fight shines the spotlight on how each fighter performs best at differing levels of arousal.  Mayweather is pum

I work for a great organization.  Sometimes they get a bad rap but, overall, they are pretty good at what they do.  They also value continuing education and leadership training.  I am a part of one of their leadership training classes that lasts approximately 9 months.  You can look at it from two perspectives: (1) Wow!  Amy must be pretty awesome to get picked for such an illustrious leadership class that lasts 9 months. (2) Wow!  Amy must be pretty awful to be assigned to a

I spent a little time today reading through the pros and cons of higher education.  Some of the websites and blogs are purely opinions thrown up as fact while other dialog is heavily peppered with research.  Check out ProCon.org for one example of intellectual discussions of the value of higher education. I have heard it so many times. “Why do I need a Bachelor’s degree? It’s just a piece of paper.”  While I agree that I don’t use all of my education to the fullest extent, a