Why Millennials On Your Team Quit Their Jobs and How to Stop It
During a professional development training around employee engagement, a woman came up to me during a break. In a very quiet voice, said that she wanted to share with the group why she loves her job, but felt embarrassed to do so in front of everyone because she thought it was silly. So I asked […]
The Three D’s of Creating Team Alignment
I was coaching a business owner about how frustrated he was with his team. He said that in a recent meeting, the team had a conversation around a new project to work on. At the end of the meeting there was a vote and everyone unanimously agreed to make the new project happen. But then […]
Using the Consistency Principle to Nudge Someone into Participating
Leading up to the national elections last year, I received a series of text messages on my phone. Most of the texts were informational regarding polling locations and deadlines. One text, that came the day prior to election day, caught my eye because it asked me if I was planning to vote tomorrow and asked […]
Keep Yourself and Your Team on Track with a Prioritization Funnel
Through a casual conversation with one of my employees, he asked if he should still continue to update a financial document every day. In confusion, I asked him what document he was talking about. He then sent me a link and I found myself looking at a document that was at least 10 months old […]
When it comes to making or breaking habits, it’s all about friction
In the middle of 2016, I took up running as a sport. I quickly realized that I not only had a natural talent for it, but I also enjoyed running. But that doesn’t mean that when it’s 32 degrees out that I naturally put on my shoes and make a morning run happen. Nope, I’m […]
Bu-Bye 2017 Hu-Low 2018: An Inside Look at the Future of Swift Kick
After 96 programs, 230,000 miles, and countless hugs given, the Swift Kick team is calling it a wrap on 2017. In 2004, I started Swift Kick with the goal of making it a world-class leadership training company. Nothing about the past 13 years has been smooth sailing. But 2017 was our best year ever – […]
At Least I Was Heard: 4 Steps to Using Active Listening During Difficult Conversations
I really didn’t know if they were going to hug each other or punch each other. A couple months ago, I was asked to help mediate a difficult conversation between two team leaders. The two had tried to resolve their differences on their own, but it was clear it was time for a mediator to […]
How Many Hugs Can You Get in One Minute? – 7 Steps to Breaking a World Record
Last Monday, Jason Ritter (the son of the late Josh Ritter) went on The View to promote his show while also trying to break a Guinness World Record for most number of hugs by one person in one minute. He got 86 hugs. The prior record of 79 hugs was set on March 5th 2016 […]
Are You the Player, the Coach, or the Owner of Your Team?
My day started off by prepping for an upcoming monthly financial team meeting. Then I went into one-on-one meetings with my direct reports. Lastly, I finished my day by speaking at a leadership conference. To effectively perform each of these activities, I needed a different set of skills and mindset. As the leader of a team […]
The Vision for Swift Kick 2.0
George Bernard Shaw once said, “Progress is impossible without change.” At Swift Kick, we have some big, audacious goals around helping leaders better lead their teams and engage their members. After 14 years of training leaders, we knew a few things needed to change to help us reach our bigger vision. As we look ahead […]