Rick Smith

Management, in the short term, is easier than Leadership. Management is about control.  It is reaching your arms way out and grabbing onto as much as you can, and controlling it.  Leadership is about inspiring a whole bunch of things that are out of your control. Management is about power. Leadership is about ...

I recently had two separate conversations. During the first, an old friend was telling me about his exciting new pursuit into social entrepreneurship.  He was very enthusiastic, but was having trouble articulating exactly what he was planning to do.  I would let him finish, and then ask questions, trying sincerely to ...

I love this little test of whether you are an introvert or an extrovert: When you go to a party and are around other people, do you gain energy or do you lose it? Extroverts gain it. They're magnetic. They suck up energy from those around them. Meanwhile, introverts lose ...

It is one of the most important and elusive questions of our time; How can I ensure that my idea catches on, and spreads? It turns out that all ideas are not created equal. Just as some species share traits that make them more likely to spread through evolution—enjoyable ...

Let’s face it, for the vast majority of people, work right now sucks. Budgets for the year have been all but spent (or cut). Bonus’s this year will be crappy if they come at all, and forget about that big raise. Morale is low, people are frustrated ...

Whether you are an author, musician or even a part time blogger, building your audience requires that you engage in self-promotion.  There are a few noteworthy individuals who seem to revel in this activity.  But for the rest of us, this can be painfully awkward.  A few years back, I ...