How can you be safer from “big risk?” What kinds of big risks do we face in business? A book entitled “Safe Landings” written by Captain Brad Bartholomew got me thinking about that. Transcript How can you be safer from big risks? I was inspired to do this nugget by reading this book by a…

Did you see the Challenge Day I announced yesterday? It starts today and is quite simple: Implement one idea, small or large, today. Do that for seven days. Write down what you did and let me know. I will raffle off three prizes as an additional incentive for you to participate – although you will…

Today is the third day of our challenge, and yes, it is not too late for you to begin participating. It occurred to me that fundamentally, the formula to create success is much simpler than we often make it out to be. I’m Curious Which idea will you decide to act on today? Transcript Hello,…

You might think that rock climbers are more successful in business, “That’s an odd question”. Sure, I agree. But even if you’re not a rock climber, please don’t go away because there is a point worth sharing here. Transcript I have an odd question for you. Are rock climbers more successful in business than other…

How can we have DIFFICULT conversations without risking our friendship? This topic came up in a conversation with a couple of dear friends. I shared with them that when I grew up in Germany, it was not uncommon to have heated debates about politics (and soccer) over a beer or two. No matter how hard they…

This morning, I went through an online course entitled “Become A Speed Reading Machine: Read 300 Books This Year.” The course does contain some advice about speed reading, but it is more about how to pick wisely what to read and to look for actionable ideas that help you make your life better. It is…

There is much talk about the power of habits – the right ones, of course! How can you form a new habit more easily?  Transcript How can you form a new habit more easily? I have the good fortune to be part of an exciting team right now, putting together a program on how you…

Often we set the bar high for ourselves. As high achievers, we set the bar high, way high a lot of times. Here is a counterintuitive way to become more successful. Transcript Would you like to know a counterintuitive way to be more successful? Often we set the bar high for ourselves. I suspect you…

“I’m not Elon Musk. I’m not a brilliant person.” I have been hearing that a lot over the time that I’ve been talking about Brilliance Mining and Brilliance Extraction to see how brilliant you really are. That is the start of the conversation – but that is not where it ends.  Transcript . How can…

Attention span is the amount of time someone can pay attention to a task – or a message – without being distracted. How short is our attention span nowadays, and how can we still be persuasive with our ideas and visions? Why Is Attention Span Relevant To You? Five Things You Need To Know About…

What are the enormous advantage humans have compared to the smartest machines? Or are we kidding ourselves? Are we going to get eventually cast aside by those very machines we have created with artificial intelligence? Transcript There’s some debate about that. There’s no doubt that some of the jobs people have held historically, even recently,…

How to unplug and go on a vacation for two or three weeks without repercussions? The answer to this question indicates how dependent your business or organization is on you. Transcript Can you go on vacation for two or three weeks without repercussions? Great question. If you’re in Europe and watching this, you might respond…

I think it’s fair to say that all of us enjoy some tasks way less than others. How can you enjoy tasks you normally dread or even increase your joy or at least make yourself okay with things you need to do but normally dread? Transcript Hi, Dr. Stephie here. I think it’s fair to…

When we set goals, we often tend to set an overwhelming number of goals. It occurred to me that the four ”Cornerstones of Success” I recently spoke about can be a great guide for goal setting. It focuses the mind on making sure each of the cornerstones is covered and it can reduce goal-setting overwhelm.…

How can you get more value out of seminars or anything you learned by reading a book or even having a conversation? Transcript Greetings, Dr. Stephie here. How can you get the most out of attending a seminar or anything that you learned by reading a book or even having a conversation? I think the…

I always keep thinking about things. It hit me that there are four cornerstones of success. These four cornerstones are the things I think we get out of out of being in business or pursuing a mission outside of business. Transcript Dr. Stephie here. You know me by now. I always keep thinking about things.…

Do you have ideas brewing in your head you’re working on shaping and bringing the life? Here’s a nugget on how to speak your new vision, shape it and bring it to life much faster than most people do. Transcript Do you have a new vision? Are some ideas brewing in your head you’re working on…

Would you like to keep more of your brilliance, meaning more of your expertise, your experience, and even your wisdom? Here’s a simple hack. Transcript Would you like to keep more of your brilliance, meaning more of your expertise, your experience, and even your wisdom? Here’s a simple hack. Whenever you do training or have…

How can you get your team on board with the idea that everyone in the company must adhere to the same conventions? These conventions ensure that the product is consistent, scalable, and maintainable – but how can you get your team to see it that way? Transcript Let’s assume you are a technical expert who…

It occurred to me that there are at least 10 things every top-notch CEO or business owner must know and do. Transcript Greetings. It occurred to me that there are at least 10 things every top-notch CEO or business owner must know and do. Let’s go through them real quick.  I often wonder if so…

What are two hidden traps in teaching? Common traps you can fall into when you are working to teach a process you are very familiar with to someone else. Transcript In this video, I want to talk to you about the hidden traps you can fall into when you teach a process that you know…

Do you believe that systems limit or unlock your freedom? Transcript Do you believe that systems limit or unlock your freedom? Great question.  At first glance, you might say the system tells me what to do. Steps 1, 2, 3, and 4, … I have this track laid out before me that I need to…

Doing more of your tasks in batches is important. Your freedom and success depend on it. Today’s nugget is entitled, “The batching is beautiful.”  What do I mean by that?  In my book, I wrote about batching tasks, “101 quick tips for high-talent companies.” It is tip number #79, “Batch your tasks and save heaps…

How can you make sure that you continue to love your business or company as it continues to grow? Transcript How can you make sure that you continue to love your company as it grows? From my experience working with many business owners and entrepreneurs over the years, I can tell you that that is…

This morning I’m thinking about how we can energize our lives and businesses. It appears to be related to simplifying and sometimes having the courage to ask for help. Your pile of work may get too high, and it may start to weigh down on you. Maybe you have put just too many things on…

Sometimes you do something that makes a real difference in your business and life. One of those things for me was/is to participate in the Sandler Foundations sales training with the capable and charismatic trainer, Tiffany Koettel. As I’ve said before, scientists (and most other professions) don’t get training in sales as part of their professional…

Have you ever asked yourself, “How can I create more money and more impact with the brilliance that’s in my brain?” Today is a really proud day for me because all five of my entrepreneurs in my second Brilliance Mining Cohort graduated today. I’m so proud and in awe of what they have created in…

This video Brilliance Nugget (with transcript) is about a business vehicle I’m quite passionate about, namely, employee-ownership. I “warned” you from the beginning of my Brilliance Nugget writing journey (which I started 194 days ago) that the nuggets would be short, (hopefully) fun and useful, and … imperfect. After recording this video, I realized I…

You are brilliant! As one of the innovative entrepreneurs, your business has the potential to make a real difference and shake up the status quo. You are working your buttocks off to make it happen. Can you relate? I can. I’ve been there, done that. In fact, I’m still doing it! Some businesses can make…

Nobody’s energy is high every single day. Sometimes you need to take a mental bubble bath. Other times, it is time to step on the gas pedal. Here is what is happening now – and I think there are a couple of valuable points in this for you. For me, speaking is pure energy. Put…

In yesterday’s nugget, I talked about straightforward ways for living well. In today’s nugget, as promised, I’m launching a new challenge that combines two pieces: focusing on gratitude and doing one thing you are telling yourself you “should” do. As I discussed recently, let’s drop the “should.” You might want to take a quick peek…

Universities train students to become specialized experts and not to cross the chasm. It turns out that they instructed us to become like “high-prized horses with blinders on.” By that, I mean they taught a lot about our field. Yet, we got little to nothing that would help us use our expertise in an entrepreneurial setting.  In…

Have you ever heard that about employee-owned companies? I love the concept of employee ownership, and I want to share why. Also, I want to show you a couple of brief videos we made (via Brilliance Mining) about becoming employee-owned. What Is Employee-Ownership? I first learned about employee ownership and “ESOPs” (see below) in 2013. It…

Do you ever feel like being an entrepreneur is like riding on a unicycle or tandem? Whoa! There was a bump! Man, I almost fell off! I started my own business in 2005. I felt like my entrepreneurial blood was boiling over. For eight years, I had worked at a high-tech company as a senior scientist, principal investigator,…

Today is the last day of the first mini-challenge – writing Brilliance Nuggets for 7 days, we began on Monday (don’t worry – there will be more!) And yes: It is not too late to write yours for today. I will announce the winner of the first-ever Brilliance Mining T-shirt tomorrow. If you didn’t send…

This week some of you have participated in the daily mini-Brilliance Nugget writing challenge. These challenges are good for us. Thank you for writing and sharing! One more day to go! Reflecting on my life so far, I have taken on many challenges along the way. Going the “easy way” often seemed boring to me.…

First off, your mini-Brilliance Nuggets touch me! In the 7-day challenge, we began yesterday (you can still join in!), you have the choice to send your nugget to me – or choose not to. What you write might be private. We are playing this challenge via your word of honor. When you say you wrote…

Today I’m kicking off a simple challenge: Write down one or two sentences (or bullets) of something that comes to your mind. It can be anything. Do that for seven days, starting today.  Please let me know if you are in (if you haven’t done that already). Just for fun, I will raffle off a one-of-a-kind…

It is time for a simple 7-Day challenge. It starts on Monday. It is simple: Write one to two sentences, or even one to two bullets each day for seven days. We could call it a mini-nugget. Or perhaps it is a micro-nugget. Either way is great! There are a lot of “rules” (not really): …

It is impossible to improve and grow without reflection. Two questions come to mind: Meet the “Stay, Stop, Start Exercise.” I invite you to do this exercise today in just 5-10 minutes. Here is how simple it is: Ask yourself three questions: I invite you to limit yourself to no more than three items per…

This inspiring story is about how thoughts become things. Maybe not overnight, but eventually. It is also an illustration of how a well-prepared mind can take advantage of external changes. How Ingrid Transformed Her Business During The Pandemic My dear friend Ingrid is an exceptional fitness trainer. She has a Master’s degree in exercise science.…

A dear friend of mine recently shared a cool nugget with me. I want to pass it on to you on how to get good where you need more success. because it strikes me as very helpful! The nugget is this: Just about anyone is good in some area and far less good in another.…

Recently, I was catching up with a friend I hadn’t seen in at least three years. He had seen a Brilliance Nugget on LinkedIn and we got into contact again. It was great to connect again and thought of saying the right words to the right people! The friend is working as a consultant with…

Nowadays, we face more rapid change than any other generation before. Leaders in every aspect of our society are working hard to keep up with this pace of change. The value of an expert is shifting a lot today. Company leaders. Leaders of non-profits. Leaders of schools and their districts. Parents and teachers. Consider that…

Recently, a couple we are friends with was visiting us and staying with us for a few days. We had a wonderful time catching up and touring the area. Both of them are very business savvy and involved in powerful business missions. Truly, becoming successful depends on how clear is your message about you do.…

Imagine yourself being invited to be on TV to talk about the mission of your business or non-profit. How would the TV moderator introduce you? Which questions would you want the moderator to ask you? What would you say? Can you imagine your TV interview with confidence? It was once again my dear friend Robert…

Let me explain to you what I meant by “Happy Dollar Half-Hour.” Let’s face it: Not all the things we need to do are equally fun for us. You may not particularly enjoy paying your bills or handling financials. You may hate tidying up your workspace. You may drag your feet on creating contracts. These…

This story is not about bragging. It is about pushing hard and feeling of not going fast enough on accomplishing your mission, yet being a kind “boss” to yourself – at least once in a while. I had been pushing hard. Establishing a new brand for my company was a major effort. What was the…

Undertaking major shifts like a powerful exercise in your company rarely is easy. For example, you might be working on shifting from being a custom services company to becoming a product company. I am sure you realize: That is a big shift. There are other shifts that pose their own set of challenges: rapid growth,…

A friend recently invited me to help launch LeanIn circles in our area. The mission is to empower women in their careers. During the conversation, she mentioned that Forbes accepts nominations for their “Next 1000” list. On Forbes website, it says: “Take Your Shot. This first-of-its-kind initiative will spotlight bold and inspiring entrepreneurs on their…

Our Rotary Club is awesome. We do good for other people. We also get together to have social fun. Sometimes, we let our credentials speak for us. Take our “Literary Society.” Yes, we talk about the book we read that month. But we also talk about a lot of other things. Most of all it…

When did my entrepreneurial journey begin and my big leap happened? Neither of my parents was an entrepreneur. They both worked as teachers in Germany. One might say my entrepreneurial journey began when I decided to earn money as a high school student tutoring others in math and Latin. I even started to write a…