Michael Lee Stallard's Page

John Robert Wooden, the legendary basketball coach, died yesterday. He was 99 years old. This morning I read Wooden's obituaries in The New York Times and the Associated Press and felt they missed important aspects of his story that reflect the essence of the man and his legacy.



I profiled Wooden as a role model who we can all learn from in my book Fired Up or Burned Out. Wooden's… Continue

Summer is an excellent time to be intentional about strengthening the relationships in your life, including your relationships at work. Take a few minutes to write down the names of individuals you want to develop stronger relationships with. It may be your spouse, child, parent or friend. At work, think about the people you need to have good relationships with to do your work well (I call these "Critical Connections") and consider the present state of that relationship. The time to strengthen r… Continue

On Wednesday I'll be leading a panel at The Conference Board's Customer Experience Management Conference. One of my panel participants is Vince Burks, a Senior Vice President at Amica Mutual Insurance Company. With Vince's permission, here is an piece he wrote about what I describe in my work as the "Chain of Connection" that runs from the CEO to Customers. It is necessary to maximize strategic alignment, employee engagement and achieve sustainable superior performance in every organization, esp… Continue