From May 3rd through May 6th, Patrick Connor and I led a select group of highly seasoned senior executives on our first ExecuCross Bike Trip. Our group journeyed along the Great Allegheny Passage Trail, a 150-mile system of biking and hiking trails connectng to the C&O Canal Towpath in Cumberland, MD. We started our adventure outside Pittsburgh, PA, eventually ending our odyssey in Paw Paw, WV, covering a distance of over 122 miles. (The Great Allegheny Passage Trail is still a work in progress, but it will connect Cumberland to Pittsburgh, PA when it's completed.)

Our outfit forged on, undaunted, through four days of grueling yet exhilarating physical activity, torrential rains, and mud flooding the creeks and rivers. Not only was a rip-roaring good time had by all, but each of us came away from our first ExecuCross tour with plenty of progressive ideas on leadership in a challenging environment. It was a great opportunity for braving the elements and breaking away from the office, instead of the usual safe, comfortable, unchallenging office or classroom setting with a PowerPoint presentation, or hitting the golf course and the bar at the country club afterwards. Instead, we put leadership to a more palpable endurance test, challenging ourselves physically and emotionally, learning to survive and thrive while challenging our minds as well as our bodies. With everyone going through tough times these days in business and pretty much every other aspect of life, our group emerged from our adventure feeling inspired, motivated, brimming with fresh ideas on how to do a better job of developing, coaching, mentoring, managing, and motivating their people to be much more effective and proactive.

I recently came across this excellent piece by James Chartrand of Men With Pens. It struck me that Chartrand's suggestions for bloggers would work equally well for communicating effectively with clients. I hope you'll find it as enjoyable and useful as I did.

The Winnie the Pooh Guide to Blogging 

Sometimes, expert advice comes from where you least expect it. Winnie the Pooh himself will tell you he is a “bear of little brain,” but he also has an uncommon, clear-eyed wisdom.

You may have heard of The Tao of Pooh. But what about The Blog of Pooh?

Given that the happiness and feelings of his friends are Pooh’s chief concern (other than "hunny," that is), he'd likely build a strong community as a blogger. Here are six social media lessons we can all learn from the lovable bear who’s stuffed with fluff.

Lesson 1: “You can’t stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.”

Pooh rarely sat around. In most stories, he was heading out to visit his Good Friend Piglet or perhaps have a little spot of Something with Rabbit. He went to Owl to get advice and to Christopher Robin to get help.