You can view budgeting as a way to invest in trust – you’re empowering teams,communicating openly, and building in accountability. Some organizations need practice on this one, so here are a few ways to tell if your budgeting is falling short:

1) Too much smoke, too many mirrors: High-trust organizations craft budgets that reflect their priorities about spending time, money and energy. Without a budget that embodies values, what you say is just advertising. That can erode trust. A business...

The face of business has lost something over the years. As the world became more corporate, the big picture took over and much of the personal touch was lost. This effect can be seen beyond business and even into our personal lives. I call this “The Front Porch Theory.” The front porch has disappeared from many houses and thus so has the interaction with our neighbors. People have substituted this direct relationship with TV and the internet. I believe the basic longing for the one-on-one...

"You canÂ’'t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever.”

What a very blunt, real, big-picture, if somewhat humanistic, perspective! Way too often we spend time focused on the rearview mirror instead of dreaming about what is ahead. Whether fear, lack of confidence, or resistance to change restrains us, we must...

For big, long-established brands, advertorials aren’t necessary because people already know and trust the brand. They’ve already established a presence in their industry and they’ve got a sizeable following.

For the rest of us, advertorials help establish that coveted industry authority.

We should clearly define what we’re talking about here, first. We all know what advertisements are. They are commercials that tout your brand, how great it is, what deals you have going on, how you’re...