“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting a different result.” –attributed to Albert Einstein Do you have stuff at your job that...
Can Leaders Have More Impact on Employee Mental Health Than Therapists or Doctors?
by Parker Houston | Jul 17, 2025 | Boost Your Organizational Health
Many years ago, I had a terrible work experience I will never forget. I was halfway through my doctoral program, working on my dissertation, trying to pay the bills, living...
Fly or Die? The Counterintuitive Truth About Power
by Parker Houston | Jul 10, 2025 | Personal Leadership
Herds of buffalo are extremely loyal followers of one leader. They do what the leader does, they go where the leader goes. If the leader isn’t there, they stand around not...
Enantiodromia: When Extremes Become Their Opposite
by Parker Houston | Jul 3, 2025 | Personal Leadership
“Old Heraclitus, who was indeed a very great sage, discovered the most marvelous of all psychological laws: the regulative function of opposites. He called it...
Thin Places
by Parker Houston | Jun 26, 2025 | Personal Leadership
“Keep close to nature’s heart…and break clear away, once in a while, climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.” –John Muir Last week my family...
Never Train It, Never Get It
by Parker Houston | Jun 19, 2025 | Optimal Performance, The Science of Mindset
I was recently mountain biking with several friends when my friend Kelly said something profound. One of my friends was asking him how he is able to remain standing (as...
Take the K.S.L. Challenge
by Parker Houston | Jun 12, 2025 | Personal Leadership
“We buy things we don’t need, with money we don’t have, to impress people we don’t like.” –Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club One of my good buddies drove his car longer than...
Leaders Need To Ask Their Teams These 12 Questions
by Parker Houston | Jun 5, 2025 | Top Teams Made Simple
What do the most talented employees want from their workplace? If you knew the answer to this question, you could attract the most talented players to your company, and...
The Single Most Important Word For Productivity
by Parker Houston | May 29, 2025 | Productivity Best Practices
“It is the super-achievers, and only the super-achievers, who have learned to say No.” –Peter Drucker The word “NO” might be the most important word when it comes to...
In an Over-Committed Culture, Margin Is Your Secret Weapon
by Parker Houston | May 22, 2025 | Self Leadership
“Overload is the disease of our time. Margin is the cure.” –Richard Swenson, M.D. Probably my favorite thing in the world to do is backpacking. For me, there is nothing...
Five Leadership Books Everyone Should Read (and a Few More)
by Parker Houston | May 15, 2025 | Personal Leadership
A while back, one of my mentors told gave me some important life advice, “you have to read what you want to become.” Life is short, and the books we choose to read with our...
The Superpower of Effective Delegation
by Parker Houston | May 8, 2025 | Productivity Best Practices
The Big Idea: Delegation is a superpower that helps great leaders get more done faster. Few leaders do it effectively. Today’s article will provide some best practices to...
Mudita: The Antidote To Envy
by Parker Houston | May 1, 2025 | Personal Leadership
“It is in the character of very few, to honor without envy, a friend who has prospered.” –Aeschylus There is a famous story about the Buddha which teaches an essential life...
Good Thinking Begins With a Growth Mindset
by Parker Houston | Apr 24, 2025 | Personal Leadership, The Science of Mindset
“Failure is the opportunity to begin again, only this time more wisely.” –Henry Ford Regarding core principles of personal leadership, few things are more important than...
The Parable of the Lost Son—Wisdom for Every Parent
by Parker Houston | Apr 17, 2025 | Family Leadership
I recently stumbled across a beautiful song At the Table (YouTube link) by artist Josh Garrels, based on the parable of the lost son (also called the prodigal son). The song...
When Helping Hurts
by Parker Houston | Apr 10, 2025 | Family Leadership, Personal Leadership
“Give a person a fish and they eat for a day. Teach a person to fish and they eat for a lifetime.” –Lao Tzu A few years ago, I was getting my daughter ready for pre-school...
Want to Create the Best Possible Team? Do These Two Things
by Parker Houston | Apr 3, 2025 | Boost Your Organizational Health, Top Teams Made Simple
“Teams are the fundamental unit of the organization. If a company wants to outstrip its competitors, it needs to influence not only how people work, but how they work...
Show Me Your Friends and I’ll Show You Your Future
by Parker Houston | Mar 27, 2025 | How People Change
Every so often, you hear a quote that changes your whole perspective. This one did that for me several years ago: “You are the average of the top 5 people you spend the...
14 Behaviors That Increase Trust
by Parker Houston | Mar 20, 2025 | Top Teams Made Simple
“All things being equal, people work with people they like and trust. All things not being equal, people still work with people they like and trust.” –John Maxwell There is...
Solve Your Problems By Subtraction
by Parker Houston | Mar 13, 2025 | Personal Leadership, Self Leadership
The Big Idea: According to research, the human brain tries to solve most of life’s problems through adding solutions, instead of removing things that might easily fix the...
What Leaders Can Learn from Volunteer Organizations
by Parker Houston | Mar 6, 2025 | Boost Your Organizational Health
“All things being equal, people work with people they like and trust. All things not being equal, people still work with people they like and trust.” –John Maxwell Several...
Unjack Yourself—Eliminate Chronic Busyness To Improve Your Health, Your Relationships, and Your Thinking
by Parker Houston | Feb 27, 2025 | Mind and Body, Optimal Performance
“Who can make muddy waters clear? Let it be only still, and it will gradually clear itself.” –Lao Tzu, The Tao Te Ching Lao Tzu penned these words more than 2500 years ago,...
People Who Use More Emojis May Have Higher Emotional Intelligence
by Parker Houston | Feb 20, 2025 | Personal Leadership
“The single biggest problem in human communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” –George Bernard Shaw Thanks to my colleague Dr. Kari Glenn for sharing this...
How Do You Define Success?
by Parker Houston | Feb 13, 2025 | Personal Leadership, The Science of Happiness
What is your definition of a “successful” life? It’s a question worth thinking about—and continually trying to answer. We are constantly bombarded with false—and...
Post-Traumatic Growth—8 Personal Practices for Navigating Crisis
by Parker Houston | Feb 6, 2025 | The Science of Mindset
Most of you have probably heard of PTSD or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, but you may not have heard of Post-Traumatic Growth. Many people who experience a traumatic event...
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