RedPropeller Speaker’s Blog

A company I’ve done work for provides a great example of this principle. This company’s employees are the people who close real estate transactions, the people who compile the mile-high stacks of documents that have to be signed by buyers and sellers at the closing table. Several years ago, when [...]

W.S Merwin served as U.S. poet laureate during 2010-2011. In his inaugural reading, he read 25 poems, and talked poetically about the one trait he believes sets humans apart from other forms of life – imagination. Not reason, or language, or any other traits commonly offered to describe present human [...]

Have you ever noticed the cadence with which Americans great each other and connect? It is remarkable that we all have this rigid habit of asking every new person we meet the same questions in the same order: “What is your name?” quickly followed by, “Where are you from?” and [...]

For the past three decades, I’ve been crisscrossing the country, speaking to large and small businesses and organizations on ethics and values. The vast majority of my audiences agree that embracing ethical behavior just makes good business sense. In fact, I can hardly think of more than one person who has [...]

When the competition launches a new product, how do you react? Chances are, you act quickly and decisively to address the changing factors and conditions. In short, you use agility to change directions and head the competition off at the pass. But what if you could skip that pivot altogether? [...]

Isaac Newton understood the value of focus. He credited his many successes and discoveries as “owing more to patient attention than to any other talent.” How focused are you? How much time do you waste each day on low-priority or ineffective activities? Imagine what you could accomplish if you stayed [...]

Most people are more adept at tackling big challenges earlier in the day than later. Peak energy and alertness for most people is at 8 a.m. Also, fewer interruptions are likely earlier in the day. This is not to say you can’t be effective handling large tasks later in the [...]

A young man of about 5 was in the office the other day having his teeth cleaned. He had seemed really happy when I came in, so I casually asked him how his day was. He broke into a huge smile and declared, “Super Awesome!” We all laughed and agreed [...]

Events have come a long way in recent years, evolving into newer, more dynamic arrangements than ever before. Technology is paving the way for a new kind of event, where it’s more widely acceptable to be head-down on your device instead of making eye contact with the speaker. Tech is [...]

The single most disruptive influence on business, as well as society, will be artificial intelligence (A.I.), which includes technology such as machine learning and cognitive computing to name just two. In other words, there is more than one type of A.I. and each represents a new way of doing both [...]

One of the most powerful ways to take control of your time is to practice “completions.” Completions, simply put, are a method of segmenting your responsibilities into complete units so that you recognize when you finish a task or project. Completions give you a sense of closure and provide a [...]

Marilyn Tam, Ph.D. is a Speaker, Author, Consultant, Board Certified Executive/Corporate Coach, CEO of Marilyn Tam & Co. and Founder and Executive Director of Us Foundation. She was formerly the CEO of Aveda Corp., President of Reebok Apparel and Retail Group; Vice President of Nike Inc. and also a successful [...]