Contributed by Steve Herz, a talent agent for broadcast journalists. His new book is Don’t Take Yes For an Answer: Using Authority, Warmth, and Energy to Get Exceptional Results was released in June 2020 (Harper Business).1. What do you mean when you say we shouldn’t take “yes” for an answer?In the book, I lay out my argument that three factors over the past 30 years have created an artificial sense of excellence and created an echo chamber of “yes” for many of us—the participation trophy, grade inflation and the lack of firings by businesses, in lieu of euphemisms like downsizings and reorgs.So the person on the wrong end doesn’t even know they could have done something better. And without that signaling, we get stuck in what I call the vortex of mediocrity. 22147

Contributed by Shawn Johal, business growth coach, leadership speaker and co-founder of DALS Lighting, Inc. He is also an active member of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization Montreal chapter. “What is the difference between an obstacle and an opportunity? Our attitude toward it. Every opportunity has a difficulty, and every difficulty has an opportunity.” – J. Sidlow BaxterThere is a Chinese proverb that has guided my thought process for many years. The story goes as follows:An old man raised horses for a living. One day, one of his prized horses ran away. Hearing of his misfortune, a neighbor came to comfort him. The old man replied “May be good, may be bad, who knows.” A week later, his horse returned—with another beautiful horse. This time, the neighbor returned to congratulate the old man on his great fortune. Again, the old man replied “May be good, may be bad, who knows.” The next day, his son went out for a ride on the new horse. The wild horse threw the boy, breaking his leg in the process. The neighbor came by once again, this time to give his sympathy. And yet again, the old man replied “May be good, may be bad, who knows.” Weeks later, the Emperor’s army arrived at the village to recruit all of the young men to fight in the war. The old man’s son could not go off to war, and was spared from a certain death.It’s a great story, with so many lessons. Like the old man, we are all on a path with many different twists and turns. It’s how we handle each situation that will determine our levels of joy and satisfaction in life.Negative things will happen: It is part of the human experience. Are we able to accept, learn and grow? If we follow the old man’s lead, the choice is entirely our own to make. 22134

Richard Marchbanks is the president of Gateway Exhibits, a turnkey trade show solutions provider. He is also a member of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) in St. Louis, Missouri. We recently talked to Marchbanks about adapting to the challenges of the global coronavirus pandemic and making the most of his EO membership.  When COVID-19 struck and it became clear that major changes were coming to the trade show industry, what steps did you take?We sat down as a leadership team to discuss what we had in unused or dead assets, and what opportunities we could seize with fewer employees.How did you identify a new business model?We realized that our sister company’s solvent supplier could formulate sanitizer. So, we reached out, got terms and within four days we had nine pallets delivered. We used our marketing expertise to get the word out and we sold out in a month!  22113

The following article is an abridged version of “Digital Leadership: Leading Virtual Teams From Your Home,” an e-book written by Erik Kruger. Kruger is the founder of an international learning and development firm called Modern Breed.On 30 June 2020 at 9 am (EST), Kruger will join panelists Nadim Habib and John Sanei and moderator Winnie Hart in a candid discussion about the future of leadership. This event is open to the public and requires registration. Can you lead a virtual team, an organization, a revolution or people from your home?Yes, you can.But it won’t be easy.COVID-19 forced many leaders and their teams to work remotely.Thankfully, there are some easy steps to setting up your team while working from home. For example, installing a video conference application or collaboration platform such as Microsoft Teams can help you start communicating more effectively immediately.But—and this is important—remote work does not a remote team make.Virtual leadership requires some nuanced touches. To really help our teams to rise to the top and bring the best out in each other we need to adopt new ways of thinking and being.If you are hoping that all this change due to the coronavirus will blow over and things will get back to normal soon, you might want to rethink your perspective. 22072