"Effective leaders know that without disciplined management systems and leading edge technologies, outstanding service is nothing but a dream. But they act on a belief system that management systems and technology exist to serve people."

- from Jim Clemmer's article, "A Customer Culture is Built on a Service Ethic"

"Leadership and communications are inseparable. Our ability to energize, inspire, and arouse people to ever higher levels of performance is directly related to our ability to communicate. Strong leaders are strong communicators."

- from Jim Clemmer's article, "Communication Strategies, Systems, and Skills"

"People want a personal touch. They want to feel the passion, energy, and human side of their leaders before they can partner with them."

- from Jim Clemmer's article, "Communication Strategies, Systems, and Skills"

"The best information and communication systems, strategies, and technology can actually make things worse if we don't have strong communication skills. With today's technologies, a much bigger audience can conclude much faster that we don't have our act together."

- from Jim Clemmer's article, "Communication Strategies, Systems, and Skills"

"High energy environments brim with passion and deep commitment. Humor and fun is often a key part of this. The Laughter Index is high and few people suffer from 'jest lag'."

- from Jim Clemmer's article, "Creating High Energy Environments"

"Most centralists don't set out to deceive anybody. In their heads they know that high degrees of involvement, participation, and autonomy are key elements in high organization performance. But in their hearts, they still crave orderliness, predictability, and control."

- from Jim Clemmer's article, "Decentralized Organization Structures Empower and Energize"

"With little knowledge and scanty information people won't — in fact they can't — take responsibility. Since information is power, the only way of empowering or sharing power is by sharing information."

- from Jim Clemmer's article, "Education and Communication Build Commitment"

"The environment of most organizations is too poisonous for innovation and organizational learning to flourish. A mistake is generally a CLM — career-limiting move. Making a mistake in front of many managers is like cutting yourself in front of Dracula. So people become defensive. They cover up problems, setbacks, and missed goals. When people in closed, mistake-averse organizations encounter problems, they immediately go to work on fixing. . . the blame. Everyone becomes so busy denying mistakes that they can't possibly learn from them."

- from Jim Clemmer's article, "Innovation Needs a Culture of Trust and Openness"

"Pessimists fall into the trap of the three Ps when faced with negative change or setback. They make the issue Permanent, Pervasive and Personal. They avoid wearing clean underwear because it will only tempt car accidents."

- from Jim Clemmer's article, "Leaders Inspire Their Teams With Optimism"

"Strong leaders know that we're constantly faced by great opportunities brilliantly disguised as unsolvable problems. Too often we wait for someone to open the door when the handle is actually on the inside."

- from Jim Clemmer's article, "Leaders Inspire Their Teams With Optimism"

"A University of Michigan study of 70 work teams found that within two hours people in meetings ended up sharing good or bad moods."

- from Jim Clemmer's article, "Leaders Inspire Their Teams With Optimism"

"Motivation is an inside job. A manager alone can't motivate or revitalize people, just as a gardener can't grow plants without the right soil or weather. But a manager can create the conditions for self-motivation."

- from Jim Clemmer's article, "Morale Problem? Look in the Mirror"

"The search for the motivational Holy Grail is a classic case of treating symptoms rather than root causes. Managers searching for the reasons for plummeting morale and low motivation levels need to take a look in the mirror."

- from Jim Clemmer's article, "Morale Problem? Look in the Mirror"

"Take training in public speaking. Find safe environments and forums to practice and get coaching on your presentation skills. Increasingly, your speaking and presentation abilities (verbal communication skills) will determine just how effective a leader you will become."

- from Jim Clemmer's article, "Personal Education and Communication Pathways and Pitfalls"

"Reflection, learning, communication, and openness go together. The more transparent your organization, team, and personal decision making, the more everyone else will learn and be directed to think more deeply about what they do and how it fits within the bigger picture."

- from Jim Clemmer's article, "Review, Assess, Celebrate, and Refocus: Personal Pathways and Pitfalls"

"Make sure there's a good balance between rewarding and recognizing both current performance and improvements. People who do well today but aren't improving won't help your team or organization get better. Anyone who's not continually improving will become a liability."

- from Jim Clemmer's article, "Reward and Recognition Pathways and Pitfalls"

"'A chronic record of mediocre performance may indicate, among other possibilities, that there is something wrong with the job itself or with an organizational structure that holds employees responsible for things that they are powerless to control. Turning the workplace into a game show ('Tell our employees about the fabulous prizes we have for them if their productivity improves. . .') does exactly nothing to solve these underlying problems and bring about meaningful change.' — Alfie Kohn, Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A's, Praise, and other Bribes"

- from Jim Clemmer's article, "Reward and Recognition Reinforce Paternalism or Partnerships"

"Years ago I worked in a company with a powerful and emotionally intelligent CEO. A favorite motto of his was, "if you love what you're doing, you never have to work again." The wisdom of those words had strong and lasting effect on me."

- from Jim Clemmer's article, "Stop Working and Start Living"

"Highly energized cultures are charged with hopefulness and optimism. It's the dynamic power that mobilizes individuals and teams to make the improbable possible. It's the mark of a leader."

- from Jim Clemmer's article, "The Dynamic Power of Hope"

"The desire for doing meaningful work, being part of a winning team, and making a difference in our jobs has been on a steady increase throughout the western world. If I feel that "people don't want to work anymore" I need to take a deep look in my management mirror. Maybe they just don't want to work with me!"