Blog Post

By Mark Samuel – Business organizations are riddled with silos. A silo is when functional teams or departments don’t communicate or work with each other, and act as solo entities within … Read more

By Mark Samuel – Business teams are always looking to be better together, to be more productive, to get along better, and to achieve successful business results. One of our favorite … Read more

By Mark Samuel – What are team agreements? Team agreements are agreements that are co-created by the members of a team about how to behave, communicate, and work together on a … Read more

By Mark Samuel & Stacia Topping – Agile has proven to be such a valuable process and tool for technology companies that organizations in other industries have adopted it with success, … Read more

By Mark Samuel – What is a business team? A business team is any team that works together for a common goal, typically for a business organization or company. Business teams … Read more

By Mark Samuel – In the field of organizational consulting, there are certain principles about achieving high performance that are considered common knowledge. I received my master’s degree in organizational development, … Read more

By Mark Samuel – If you want to transform your business, you must be willing to risk the unknown. The year 2020 was filled with unexpected and unprecedented challenges that most … Read more

What is Adrenaline Addiction? Adrenaline is a central component of an animal’s flight or fight response that kicks in when danger is sensed. Adrenaline causes one’s heart rate and blood pressure … Read more

Offensive Vs. Defensive are terms that we’re familiar with when talking about football, video games, or other sports. However, these strategies are also applicable to the workplace–but not in the ways … Read more

Self accountability is a key marker to a successful organization. To create an environment of responsibility, trust, and innovation, leadership and employees must all learn to develop self accountability. We’ll define … Read more

6 Behaviors That Help Develop Personal Accountability One of the leading concerns among senior executives is accountability from managers, leaders, and employees. Blame doesn’t solve problems and only creates a negative culture within … Read more

By Mark Samuel – We’ve all experienced team relationship breakdowns, especially at work in our teams and organizations. We try to address those team relationship breakdowns by implementing teamwork and trust-building … Read more

By Mark Samuel – The myths of accountability are deeply ingrained in our business paradigms. Accountability is one of the most misunderstood terms in organizational development and a concept that I … Read more

By Mark Samuel – Did you know that departmental silos are the biggest obstacle to high performance, increased profitability, value-driven culture, and overall success? In my consulting practice, I’ve seen that bringing functional leaders together … Read more

By Mark Samuel – When trust in the workplace breaks down between individuals or teams, relationships suffer — poor communication, hiding, defensive posturing, blame and other forms of aggressive and passive-aggressive … Read more

By Mark Samuel – Creating virtual trainings, and especially translating in-person trainings to virtual trainings takes skill and an understanding of the inherent differences between sitting in a room with people … Read more

By Mark Samuel – The viral pandemic of 2020 has become the Great Game Changer, not only for the decade, but most likely for the century. There has been so much … Read more

By Mark Samuel – Many people, including myself, thought we would only be working remotely for 3 to 5 months as a result of the pandemic. So much for our opinions, … Read more

By Mark Samuel – The word “priority” can often be a point of confusion for leaders and employees at all levels within an organization. Some of the common comments I hear … Read more

By Mark Samuel – Leaders often talk about making breakthrough changes within their organizations with the intention to transform business results or significantly pivot performance. They can make the case, inspire … Read more

By Mark Samuel – I felt like I was banging my head against a wall the last two years. We’ve implemented team building programs, Agile processes, and competency-based training, but while … Read more

By Mark Samuel – So far we’ve explored two of the most common traps that even seasoned content designers and facilitators can make when they turn to offering virtual events: #1 … Read more

By Mark Samuel – In Part 1, we shared one of the most common mistakes made by seasoned content creators and trainers—to underestimate the differences between live and virtual events. We … Read more

By Mark Samuel – Those of us who are experienced in delivering in-person training workshops with a high degree of success are finding the move to a virtual learning environment much … Read more

By Mark Samuel –  Business is always shaped by external drivers: those circumstances beyond our control that we must respond to if we want to succeed. Economic conditions, customer demands, government … Read more

By Mark Samuel –  It’s been less than a month since many local governments loosened restrictions, and some companies are already making significant mistakes in how they are approaching reentry. The … Read more

By Mark Samuel –  This is part 4 in a 4-part series to help organizations navigate re-entry after the initial impact of COVID-19.  If you’re just joining the conversation, don’t miss … Read more

By Mark Samuel –  This is part 3 in a 4-part series to help organizations navigate re-entry after the initial impact of COVID-19.  If you’re just joining the conversation, don’t miss … Read more

By Mark Samuel –  This is part 2 in a 4-part series to help organizations navigate re-entry after the initial impact of COVID-19.  If you’re just joining the conversation, don’t miss … Read more

By Mark Samuel –  This is part 1 in a 4-part series to help organizations navigate re-entry after the initial impact of COVID-19. A Roadmap for Re-Entry Organizations everywhere are eagerly … Read more

By Mark Samuel and Sarah Samuel –  The conversation around goals is a familiar one to all of us. You can read up endlessly on tips and tricks for creating realistic … Read more

By Mark Samuel –  Louis Carter, Founder and CEO of the Best Practice Institute published a business book roundup of 33 of the best leadership books. And as the article states, … Read more

By Mark Samuel and Sarah Samuel –  The recent pandemic has created a lot of uncertainty in every area of our lives as our finances, personal health, and immediate futures are … Read more

By Mark Samuel –  Business in the coronavirus environment continues with people working from home, being laid-off or furloughed, or finding creative ways of  collaborating with others while keeping social distance … Read more

By Mark Samuel and Nate Johnson What do Blockbuster, the San Francisco 49ers, and me in the 9th grade have in common? We all played not to lose; we played safe. … Read more

By Mark Samuel and David Rodgers The first month of the new year is in the bag. It’s an exciting time with new goals, new challenges, and a fresh start. The … Read more

By Mark Samuel People solve problems in order to achieve success in their business, create a more satisfying relationship or grow to their next level of excellence. However, have you noticed … Read more

By Mark Samuel There is a major misunderstanding about burnout that suggests it stems from over-work, change, and driving toward higher levels of business results year after year. However, we have … Read more

By Mark Samuel A few years back, a client of mine implemented a Performance Management System to assist managers in coaching their direct reports. The company spent nearly one year customizing … Read more

By Mark Samuel It’s when we are sick and tired of being stuck that we are the most motivated to make a change. This could be getting more organized, losing weight, … Read more

by Mark Samuel In the middle of a recent coaching session, a CEO complained: “I shared our new vision and mindset change in an All-Hands Meeting. People were inspired, asked questions … Read more

by Mark Samuel I recently talked to a frustrated senior leader who said… “I’ve communicated the new picture, why we need it, and how urgent it is to our success. In … Read more

by Mark Samuel So you’ve created your Picture of Success – a new vision that’ll take your company to new heights. You’re excited and you can’t wait to get started sharing … Read more

by Mark Samuel In a recent meeting of global company executives, I was asked about the difference between traditional change management and a B STATE approach for getting breakthrough results. They … Read more

by Mark Samuel When your team just isn’t stepping up to produce the results you desperately need, months can be wasted in assessment to determine the cause and how to change … Read more