Ocean Palmer

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One Giant Hammer

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A tidal change takes six hours, the moon shoving seawater far ashore before changing its mind and pulling it back out. During my final semester of college I invested hundreds of hours studying waves from atop the weathered and warped floorboards of an old wooden pier that extended from Jacksonville Beach into the sea. Day […]

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Barriers to Performance

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Shelves are stuffed with quote books that recite page after page of clichés like, “Success is what happens when opportunity meets preparation.” In some cases that’s true. In others it isn’t, since success has one million fathers and two million variations. Failure, of course, is a lonesome leper no one wants to claim. Having bounced […]

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The 5-Minute Shortcut

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If I were to judge America’s most worrisome cities by the radio shows I’ve done, I’d pick New York and Seattle. Worriers are everywhere, so maybe it’s just that the radio jocks in those markets live in thinner career eggshells than constituents elsewhere. I have a good handle on the interlocking elements of an interesting […]

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When to Hang On, When to Let Go

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The world would be a happier, healthier place if someone devised a way we could off-load all of life’s baggage into a giant rocket that blasts into outer space, never to return. Think of the possibility! Ridding the planet of everyone’s excess baggage, and along with it the billions upon billions of idle hours we […]

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The Barrel

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Way back in 1991, Buffalo Bills placekicker Scott Norwood sailed a late field goal attempt wide right in the Super Bowl and the New York Giants defeated his Bills 20-19. In that year’s World Series, the Minnesota Twins outlasted the Atlanta Braves in what has been called the greatest series ever: Five of the seven […]

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Eric Clapton and the 3-Headed Man

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If you haven’t read Eric Clapton’s autobiography, treat yourself to a copy from the bookstore or library. His life covers a great arc: from a snake-eyed childhood and odds-against upbringing to drunken, drug-addled guitar hero to a sober genius inspiring and helping thousands who desperately need it. Much of the noise between our ears stems […]

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Why Xerox Sold Superbly

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I am a product of Xerox’s sales talent development machine, lucky enough to learn from the best during the height of the company’s greatest success. Xerox and IBM were among the true elite during discussions about America’s most admired sales forces. Here are five secrets how Xerox built such a strong, self-sustaining sales culture. 1.   […]

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Why Change is a Stinkbug

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Stinkbugs are small, crawly insects with kinky, segmented antennae and thick, shield-shaped wing covers. Many are agricultural pests that suck plant juices that damage crops. They resist most pesticides and multiply like calculators. When disturbed, they turn from anonymous bugs into miniature skunks by emitting a smelly, pungent spray juice with a rancid, rotten scent. […]

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