I’ve led workshops for teams at large organizations and small, for-profit businesses and non-profits, and higher education, and there has been a common thread—people don’t want to put numbers to goals. That’s ludicrous. How can you NOT have a number? It’s like having a business and saying, “We want to be profitable.” Okay, how much revenue, how much profit, by … Read More
At some point during my education, I remember seeing a film in school about trained responses. A psychologist trained monkeys to hit a lever and they would get a food pellet. It was a one-to-one action. Hit the lever once, get a pellet. Then they changed the response stimulus to require hitting the lever three, five, 10, or more times … Read More
At The Right Five and The Pathfinder Company, we know that it’s a balancing act between showing confidence and having practical humility. This is especially true when talking to bosses, funders, or potential clients. Like an attorney, you often have to put your best face forward. That doesn’t mean ignoring challenges or problems with products—or your own skill set—it just … Read More
How many relationships have hinged on this question? Can addicts stop using, mean people become nice, a conservative a liberal or vice versa, an atheist a believer, an extrovert an introvert, a couch potato athletic, a follower a leader, a bad negotiator a good one? Can people become a Pathfinder? Neuroscience and Psychology, along with a lot of anecdotes, say … Read More
Business leaders need to understand their team’s personality, drivers, and skills to optimize team dynamics, enhance communication, and foster a productive work environment. Personality and skills assessments can serve as valuable tools for business leaders to gain insights into their own and their team members’ unique traits and characteristics. When considering a personality assessment, it’s essential to differentiate between those … Read More
Existing companies and B2B tech startups have a similar problem. How to know that the person you are tapping to expand the business, lead a team into a new market, and otherwise help blaze new trails has the right set of deep skills to be successful? A recent survey by a trade group for universities in the United States shows … Read More
If one thing the COVID pandemic taught the knowledge worker, they didn’t need to be in their office to do their job—no matter what their bosses said. Some employers and employees are now engaged in a battle to see who will win the power struggle to determine if, when, and how often people will have to gather in person. Can … Read More
To crib from the Bard, Beware the Black Swan. In the West, people were convinced that swans were only, and could only be, white. In 1697 black swans were first seen by Europeans in Western Australia. Minds blown. For modern use, the term “Black Swan” was popularized by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. It’s a framework to help us understand our own … Read More
