by Larry Dressler | Nov 10, 2021 | In My Tool Bag
When it comes to organizational change, sometimes it’s hard to know how to begin. How do you assess if people are ready? How do you identify potential resistance? How can you motivate people to commit to a new direction? How might you engage them in shaping the...
by Larry Dressler | Oct 29, 2021 | On My Mind
You may be impressed to know that in my senior year I was my high school’s #1 tennis player. You will be decidedly less impressed to learn that our team was the bottom ranked in the league – every year I played. It’s safe to say we were the “underdogs”. My school,...
by Larry Dressler | Oct 13, 2021 | In My Tool Bag
I received a number of appreciative emails about my recent blog (on the ways we can calm unproductive anxiety about the future) and was inspired to share a tool that might prove useful when you find yourself in a downward spiral of unproductive worry. The tool was...
by Larry Dressler | Sep 23, 2021 | On My Mind
The future has never felt more uncertain. How much time do you waste on excessive and unproductive worrying? I define “unproductive worry” as the downward spiral in which we take stock of the unknowns and convert them into worse case scenarios. We then fixate on those...
by Larry Dressler | Sep 9, 2021 | On My Mind
When I revisit the past I often feel disappointed – in myself and in others. I fixate on ways I didn’t measure up to expectations or how I felt let down by those I trusted. The past, or more precisely stated – our relationship with the past – can provide a mountain of...
by Larry Dressler | Aug 26, 2021 | On My Mind
I work a lot with teams that are trying to make something better – their organizations, their communities, their countries. Inevitably, early in any change process, there’s often a person at the back of the room who raises his or her hand and asks a question that’s...
by Larry Dressler | Aug 13, 2021 | On My Mind
I recently spent the afternoon at Denver’s Museum of Contemporary Art. One of the exhibitions featured a 10-foot high poster created by Rick Griffith of @MATTERdesign entitled: “An Introductory Ethic for Designers.” As I looked up at the massive manifesto and reviewed...
by Larry Dressler | Jun 30, 2021 | On My Mind
Think for a moment about a relationship at work that you really value. How would you describe this relationship? Now, think of a relationship where you feel less trust and connection. What makes these two relationships so different? According to relationship...
by Larry Dressler | Jun 25, 2021 | On My Mind
Chickens? Wisdom? Give me a chance to explain. When I’m working with leaders I often find myself coming back to three words of advice inspired by author Greg McKeowen – “protect the asset.” He wrote: The best asset we have for making a contribution to the world is...
by Larry Dressler | Jun 15, 2021 | From My Bookshelf
The old saying, “seeing is believing” doesn’t really describe how we operate as humans. If you’ve spent any time with me in a workshop, you’ve probably heard me tell a favorite story that challenges this conventional wisdom. There’s this elderly couple. The wife Ethel...
