Nan Russell

Beyond Your Tasks

Ever hear the story of the two masons working side by side at a building site? They're doing the same work under pretty much the same conditions. One day a stranger comes along, approaches one of the men and asks, "What are you doing?" "I don't know a... Read >

Career Stock Rising

All requests are not equal; all customers or clients are not equal; all to-do-list tasks are not equal; all work responsibilities are not equal. You can do fifty things today and get little, if any, return on your personal investment for having done them.... Read >

Thought Conformity

As I turned on the national news, two "experts" were debating one of the societal issues that divide this country. For minutes their ping-ponged comments volleyed about a controversial book and a soon-to-be-released movie. Then, the commenter asked bot... Read >

Impressions

Even now, months after it happened, it surprises me when I think about it. No phone call. No heads up. No discussion. As I opened the email from a business associate, checking my messages from an airport lounge, I expected a routine update. Instead, I rea... Read >

What Basics?

The cyclical and now ubiquitously appearing phrase, back to basics, ignites supporters. The reasonableness of returning to previously successful principles, ethics, systems, accountability, approaches, or you-name-it, appears a tantalizing remedy for our ... Read >

The Art of Change

From the iron age to nearly the industrial age, blacksmiths prospered. Villagers needed plows, shovels, iron tires for wagons, nails and tools to build their homes, all of which the blacksmiths forged. They needed their horses and oxen shod and their tool... Read >

Workplace Ladder Fuel

Maybe you received the email offering cash in exchange for testing the Microsoft/AOL email tracking system. Or you heard that theaters were using subliminal advertising to increase sales of popcorn and soft drinks. Maybe it was the "buy one, get one fre... Read >

Building Performance Trust

You can have outstanding ideas, yet never leverage them into winning at working results. That's because the secret behind those ideas lies in performance. Yours. Getting the okay to pursue your idea is directly related to the level of confidence other ... Read >

Too Many Maybes

Workplace decision-making often reminds me of a "Peanuts" comic strip I saw where Lucy and Charlie Brown were discussing their New Year's resolutions. "I'm going to be a changed person next year," Charlie tells Lucy. "That's a laugh," Lucy replies. "You'l... Read >

Two-sided Answers

The room was lovely, the bed inviting, the architecture interesting, and the philosophy appealing. That was my impression as we checked into a newly minted green-hotel in a resort town where we were eager to spend time relaxing. But when we checked out... Read >

Big Hat No Cattle

I did exactly what the magazine wanted me to do. I bought it solely for an article featured on the cover. But when I got it home and started searching for the piece I wanted to read, I couldn't find it. The headline drew me in, but hidden behind other fea... Read >

Choosing a Path

Reading in the airport while waiting for a flight to Houston, a housekeeper was tidying around me when approached by another facilities employee. After a few minutes of easily overheard chit-chat, she received coaching from her now apparent supervisor. ... Read >

It Takes Time

The story goes that after one of Ludwig van Beethoven's performances, several people were offering him their congratulations, when one woman commented, "I wish God had bestowed me with such genius." "It isn't genius, madam, nor is it magic." Beethoven rep... Read >

Leveraging Your Future

A friend's hairstylist saw her bookings drop as the economy fell, ultimately losing her job at a salon. But when my friend asked her if she'd be willing to make a house-call to style her ailing mother's hair, the stylist saw an opportunity. Ultimately, sh... Read >

Progress Trumps Perfection

In the late 17th century, Lord Chesterfield, an English writer and politician, wrote to his son, "Whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well." Three hundred years later, we still heed this advise from the fourth Earl of Chesterfield. Yet doing it ... Read >