Matt Paknis Leadership Development

Greetings! It was a good year, and let's hope 2008 brings greater treasures. With this in mind, I'd very much appreciate your help with four inquires. Job satisfaction and performance is directly linked to one's relationship with his or her boss. As a result, my clients want strong working relationships. I offer them one on one coaching programs, team development sessions, seminars, retreats, and very well received Practice of Management Certificate of Completion programs. The certificates are granted to successful graduates by either my corporate clients or to my clients through accredited universities. Below please find the related inquiries. 1. I want to expand all my services in 2008, and in particular, the certificate programs. If you know people at organizations wanting to identify, select, and develop their management and leadership talent, I'd greatly appreciate your contacting me in private. 2. The proven tools, theories, and cases my clients use to influence t...

From the Lowest Depths there is a Path to the Loftiest Heights Given: It was the last night on the trails and everyone was looking forward to ice cream at base camp the next day. Fourteen days of hiking fifteen to twenty miles per day with forty pound packs on our backs, and eating rationed, dehydrated food, leaned our bodies. It also helped me get in shape for my sophomore high school football season. Our goal was to merge with another New Jersey group and greet the sunrise atop the Tooth of Time, a jagged outcropping of rock; its silhouette branded the Philmont Reservation on belt buckles, shirts, and coats. It was a fitting end to an eventful fourteen days where we tested our endurance, courage, and communication skills to help our unit remain together and safe. I was also relieved. My boots started coming apart about half way through the trip. It looked like they would finish the trail. We woke at midnight and started hiking, to insure seeing the sunrise on the Tooth’s pea...

Happy Holidays! The Given: As I approached my Providence property last week, I saw a familiar site. Our neighbor, Donald, was working in the front of his house. This time, he was shoveling snow, clearing the foot dumped on Southern New England Thursday. A few months back, he was cutting full Cedar Trees, Rhododendrons, Mountain Laurel, and Boxwoods; landscaping to make his home more open to prospective buyers. The Doubt: Donald will be 98 in February. I try to visit him every week, to get a dose of his positive human potential. This week, he was baking chocolate chip cookies. Every time I visit, his daily paper is ruffled. He rifles through the information and reflects on the good and bad in the world. Donald is a positive deviant. He bucks the negative trends and maladies facing this nation’s aging population. Average male life expectancy in the United States 75.2 years. He maintains his own home and lives independently. He’s in excellent physical, mental, emotional, spi...

A Thriving Team Story – Goetz Custom Boats Happy Holidays! The previous two blogs highlighted personal (Bernie’s) resiliency factors and positive interpersonal (Coach Monica’s) influencing skills. Discussing organizational success factors seems to follow naturally, so this month’s article is about team Goetz. Eric Goetz and I met while he attended the Brown University Practice of Management Certificate Program I helped develop and teach. It ran between 1994 and 2006. After he completed the fifty hour long program, Eric became a guest speaker and now visits and presents his company’s case to universities where I guest lecture. I also sit on Eric’s advisory board. So, please enjoy the following. You are encouraged to share your thoughts and recommendations. They will be forwarded to Eric. Following the case are tools and theories we used, in part, to help Eric. These are included to benefit you. If I can help you apply them to your organization, please let me know. Also, if y...

Note: Ted Monica of Madison, NJ, the Madison High School Football Coach from 1955 to 1980, was honored on September 14, 2007 in ceremonies to name the football stadium at the high school the "Ted Monica Stadium at Twombley Field". The following letter was published in my hometown paper, The Madison Eagle, on September 13. Please excuse some redundancy from a previous blog. Coach embodied many the characteristics of a great motivator. These theories follow the article.    Coaching and Motivating Others Coach Monica was a Lombardi disciple. In fact, he helped the Green Bay Packers on draft day for years. He and his football program were highly organized. He was very tough and gruff on the exterior, but we responded to his honesty and underlying goodness. For me, he represented the ultimate definition of a coach, or teacher. He was smart, a real expert in his field and very sharp and perceptive. Coach had a very strong presence and voice, and great eye contact. Hi...

During the past sixteen years, I've consulted with a broad spectrum of clients from individual contributors to senior executives, and from executive boards to hockey teams. The tools and applications my clients find most helpful are being compiled and published in a book to help people who influence: Manage Themselves, Coach Others, and Lead Their Teams. The next few blogs are planned to highlight some of these beneficial practices. Managing Oneself: Individuals are refreshed and productive after a good vacation, or energizing event. Life Balance allows people to maintain perspective and important relationships. Below please find life balance wheel components. Please note, these components are not used with my corporate clients because they are protected classes. Other than the career component, they can't be considered when hiring or promoting a person. However, I share this tool with my individual clients, so they can privately isolate areas interfering with their capacit...