Cynthia D’Amour on Leadership and Life

   Do you trust me?
My answer?

No.
I like you lots.
And it’s still no.

Got a promotion today for a conference.

The focus is something I might be interested in.
The registration fee about $1,000.
Probably $2,000 with travel.

I go to the site for details and find only program titles.

Some are sort of snappy, but…
No speakers identified.
No learning objectives.

How am I [...]

Filed under: Magic Meetings | 2 Comments »

   Inbox treasures.
The second and third email bugged me.

Same basic content.
Same call to action.
Same lack of interest from me.

Here’s the third email “John” sent me.
I hope you’ll forgive the intrusion, but I wanted to confirm you’d received my previous message. My company, XYZ, helps other companies turn paper documents into digital data to lower costs [...]

Filed under: Savvy Leadership | 2 Comments »

   It’s all about me.
Yesterday we grabbed lunch with a friend.

Decided to try a new restaurant.
Just opened.
No reviews yet.

The place was pretty empty.

We were greeted by the manager.
He offered a booth up front.
Told him we wanted a table.

He took us to the table in front of the kitchen window.

It wasn’t one of those fun, watch-the-kitchen [...]

Filed under: Getting More Members Involved | No Comments »

At Disneyland.

I spent this week speaking at Disneyland.

Came in a day early.
As a snow precaution.
And to check out the park - my first time.

Disneyland is a pretty neat place.

A wealth of history.
Fascinating service.
And fun rides.

Also a ton of lines.

Long lines.
That may take more than an hour.
For an ride that may take less than five [...]

Filed under: Board challenges | No Comments »

Is alive and well.
Yesterday I flew from Detroit to LA.

Five hours cooped up.
With two big talkers in front of me.
They talked nonstop.

Usually I can ignore those folks.

However forgot my ear plugs.
So was forced to listen.
And listen and listen.

I learned many things…

Their boss is an idiot.
John is stealing from the company.
Their call center needs to [...]

Filed under: Savvy Leadership | No Comments »

   We did it our way.
Commercial pressure says Valentine’s Day needs to be special.

Roses.
Jewelry.
Good wine and more.

James and I are not big into doing what we are supposed to do.

Instead we planned dinner and a movie.
Then shifted to lunch and a movie.
Then ran out of time.

Buzzed by Taco Bell for a quick bite before the [...]

Filed under: Getting More Members Involved, Keeping members | No Comments »

   What do you think?
I’m still not sure how to be…

Ticked off?
Laughing my head off?
Sick to my stomach?

On Tuesday afternoon, I got the munchies.

We have a “Cynthia space” in our cupboard.
I keep healthy snacks there.
That won’t give me a sugar crash.

I noticed some new cookies.

James had gone shopping while I was gone.
They looked good.
And were in [...]

Filed under: Board challenges, Savvy Leadership | 3 Comments »

   1 + 1 = 3?
It’s been a snowy kind of week.

DC is getting blasted with a second major storm.
Government has shut down again.
Folks still digging out from round one.

Ann Arbor got about 8 inches of snow last night.

Schools all closed.
By 7:30 AM the snow plows were on our streets.
We just have the driveway to [...]

Filed under: Getting More Members Involved | 3 Comments »