Work Happy: What Great Bosses Know

That's important here, for sure, because public radio is built on ideas. But every good organization wants to capture and cultivate good proposals, plans, thoughts, suggestions. It works best when leaders understand how to cultivate great ideas. How to make it easy and effective to pitch, catch and coach them.

Some of our best ideas come when we’re taking a break from concentration. At least, that’s what recent research says. Since the concept for this column coalesced while I was sweating my way through a Zumba class, I’m prepared to believe it.

I’d been doing a lot of reading about the cultivation of ideas — especially the leader’s role in brainstorming, creativity and innovation. I collected insights and advice from all sorts of experts to use in my teaching. I wanted to craft a column, too, but kept debating with myself about the framing.

Not surprisingly, my breakthrough came when I stopped fretting and shifted my focus to enjoying some music and keeping pace with the class leader.

And here's a link to the full column and all ten tips.

This website has a newer, cleaner look. Hope you like it. I'm in great debt to this little fellow for the updated style and format:

Future online marketing genius at work - 1994.

Welcome to the Aarhus studios and offices of DR - Danish Broadcasting.

On a Friday morning in April, I spent the day there to teach about leadership and success. To say I was welcomed would be an understatement.  Take a look at the front door! That poster, announcing my morning talk to the full staff, was not only there, but everywhere around the building.

I had been asked to talk to DR employees about a successful, creative and competitive workplace, with both the joys and the demands it places on people. In fact, the talk was titled "Surviving Success."  The shot below is from the back of the gathering.  I'm that tiny spot in the front right corner.

Fortunately, English is a second (or third or fourth!) language for many Danes, because my Danish is quite limited.  It's so limited, I told the group, that I knew only a few Danish words: "tusen takk" -- which means "thank you very much" and "velkommen," which is "welcome."  But for this day, I had learned a new and very powerful Danish word.  Here it is:

Arbejdsglæde

The DR staff applauded my attempt to pronounce the word.  (Sounds like "ah-BITES-glay-the")  Later that day, I applauded their managers for their focus on leadership, during our daylong workshop.