Don't Believe Everything You Think
We choose our feelings based on the stories we tell ourselves. Then our feelings lead to actions that produce results. If we don't like our results we can challenge our own thinking, because what we think is what launches us on our path to action that produces our results.
By Rodger Dean Duncan

The Value of a Good Apology
The best thing, of course, is to behave in a way that makes apologies unnecessary. But we’re all human, and when an apology is necessary, a good one can go far toward making things right again.
By Rodger Dean Duncan

Dialogue: The Key to Human Connection
The hallmark of successful organizations (and people) is not that they don't have difficult challenges. Success comes through our capacity to address challenges openly, honestly, "safely," and without equivocation.
By Rodger Dean Duncan

Silence is Not Always Golden
Good relationships are built on things like trust, caring, and follow-through. And the glue that holds it all together is dialogue. Real dialogue occurs when people feel safe in expressing their views without fear of being judged or ridiculed. Two competing monologues do not make for good dialogue.
By Rodger Dean Duncan

Getting Results – When Results are Hard to Get
People talk themselves into believing, for a wide range of imaginative reasons, that they are simply unable to accomplish the task at hand. It's never their fault, of course, because (they genuinely believe) they are controlled by circumstances.
By Rodger Dean Duncan

Leadership for Saints: A Practical Guide for Christlike Service
Meridian Will Serialize a Ground-breaking Book
Meridian interviewed the book’s co-authors.

Leadership for Saints
by Rodger Dean Duncan and Ed J. Pinegar

Striking Responsive Chords: Interview with Rodger Dean Duncan

Why Employee Satisfaction is the Wrong Metric
Employee satisfaction is important, but is there a gauge in determining employee performance?
By Rodger Dean Duncan

Plugging the Brain Drain
What’s the price tag on the loss of an employee? Research shows that replacing a key person (defined here as someone whose departure would disrupt work flow, delay projects, etc.) costs between 70% and 200% of the person’s compensation.
by Rodger Dean Duncan

The Essence of Our Christianity
Remarks at the Historic Liberty Jail during the Christmas Lighting
Christmas Season, 2002
by Rodger Dean Duncan

What’s This Stuff About Charisma?
Yes, charisma: that mysterious power of personality that enables some politicians, entertainers, business leaders, marketers and others to gain the loyalty of vast numbers of people.
by Rodger Dean Duncan

The Price of Achievement
Doing the right things in the right way to get the result we want.
by Rodger Dean Duncan

How Positive Thinking Can Produce Negative Results
Most people like to be complimented. They appreciate being appreciated. They enjoy encouragement. As the old saying goes, it’s easier to attract bees with honey than with vinegar.Trouble is, an overdose of positive thinking can produce negative results.
by Rodger Dean Duncan

Working Within the Walls of Our Hearts
It’s in the sanctuary of the home that we establish relationships of trust and caring with our families. It’s in the refuge of the home that we most often have a chance to teach and model gospel principles. The home is a laboratory in which we experiment upon the word of God.
by Rodger Dean Duncan

Facing Fear: The Promise of the Atonement
After the atrocities of September 11, many faces of character, courage and hope came into public focus. Two of those faces belong to Todd and Lisa Beamer, a young New Jersey couple whose Christian faith has given strength to millions.
by Rodger Dean Duncan

What's the Mark of a Consecrated Person?
To get a taste of that day's thinking, I asked ten prominent people a single question: "What's the mark of an education person."
by Rodger Dean Duncan

Building Your Leadership Legacy
Great leaders in the Church work hard to build strong loyalty—not loyalty to them, but loyalty to the Savior and to the cause of righteousness. After all, bringing people to Christ is their primary purpose.
by Rodger Dean Duncan

The Myth of Limited Consequence
One of the most striking themes in today’s headlines is the false notion that personal choices have only personal effect. This wrong-headed view can prove dangerous even if we operate with the best of intentions.
by Rodger Dean Duncan

Leading from the Inside Out
One of my favorite cartoons shows a business executive telling another: “What we need here is a good long-term quick fix.” Sadly, the cartoon reflects the mentality of many people in the world today.
by Rodger Dean Duncan

Draw Your Own Map
Seasoned hikers wouldn't dream of heading off into the wilderness without a map and a compass. But some people do it every day. The mistake can be very costly.
by Rodger Dean Duncan

Feedback: The Breakfast of Champions
Top performers are not only good at accepting feedback, they deliberately seek feedback. And they know that feedback is helpful only when it highlights vulnerabilities as well as strengths.
by Rodger Dean Duncan

The Challenges of Communicating Change
Change" can be a time of uncertainty for many employees, and it presents a great chance to build trust. Try these ideas for credible communication.
by Rodger Dean Duncan

Motivation That Matters
"Motivating" employees to repeat the behaviors you want requires strategy and skill. How well do you understand reinforcement that really connects?
by Rodger Dean Duncan

The Power of Smart Questions
When we get stuck in a particular pattern of thinking, it’s often because we keep asking ourselves the same questions. Change the question and you’re more likely to come up with a more practical answer.
by Rodger Dean Duncan

Be a Gardener, Not a Mechanic
A first tendency of many business people is to fix things. After all, we're paid to solve problems, so the metaphor of the mechanic seems natural. Unfortunately, some leaders then try to fix people.
by Rodger Dean Duncan

Leadership by Walking Around
Leadership is not about the title on your business card. True leadership is about the way you connect with real people doing real work.
by Rodger Dean Duncan

How’s Your Emotional Intelligence?
Leadership – or lack of it – is at the core of most everything good or bad in our world. Yes, of course there’s the issue of individual agency and the right to choose one’s own behavior. But an individual’s choices are closely linked to the kind of leadership to which he’s been exposed.
by Rodger Dean Duncan