INDUSTRY INSIGHTS YOUR PEERS ARE READING
Like a lot of Americans, I spent a lot of last week transfixed by the coverage of Pope Francis’ trip to the United States. I’m not Catholic, but found myself moved by his words and images several times. The pictures were what really got me. MORE
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I took the picture that accompanies this post from atop a trash can at the corner of Ocean Avenue and Montana Avenue in Santa Monica on Saturday. Thousands of people rallied there at the end of one of 800 March for Our Lives events that were held around the world that day for students, their families and friends to speak out against gun violence. MORE
Last Friday night was movie night for our family and I got to pick. The fact that I chose the new Disney/Pixar movie, Inside Out, instead of Jurassic World probably tells you all you need to know about me. MORE
This is the time of the year when I’m doing a lot of reading and coaching around the results of the Next Level 360 feedback instrument. The 360 provides a picture on how leaders are doing around three vital leadership imperatives: managing yourself, leveraging your team and engaging your colleagues. As I’ve written here before , I completely believe that managing yourself effectively is the foundational imperative. MORE
As I wrote here a few months ago, the biggest development opportunity for many of the rising leaders I work with as an executive coach is to play a bigger game. MORE
In fifteen years of coaching high potential and senior leaders, I’ve conducted thousands of hours of colleague feedback interviews. One of the themes that I hear a lot from senior executives talking about high potential leaders is that the client needs to play a bigger game. MORE
There’s a hero myth that can build up around leaders. The great leaders stand alone, indomitable in the face of adversity, accomplishing their goals in the face of all obstacles. The last thing they need is help from anyone else. Their strength, wisdom and resolve brought them to this point and will, of course, carry them forward. There at least two problems with myths. One is that they’re not true. MORE
In case you haven’t been paying attention, it turns out that Pope Francis is one of the most popular people in the world. A recent Pew Research Center survey found that he has a 90% favorability rating among U.S. Catholics and a 70% favorability rating among all Americans. MORE
Whenever we run a 360 or self-assessment based on The Next Level model of leadership presence, one of the lowest rated behaviors is usually “Gives others his/her full presence and attention during meetings and conversations.” MORE
What do you notice about your thought process when you’re about to start something that’s difficult or intimidating? Is your inner monologue helpful or hurtful? Here’s a hint – your self-talk is highly predictive of the result you’re going to get. There’s a simple mental shift you can make that almost guarantees a better result when you have to do something you’re not totally excited about or find a little bit scary. MORE
When I asked communications expert, Dr. Nick Morgan , for his one best piece of advice for anyone who wants to be a more effective virtual communicator, his answer was quick, simple and powerful, “Don’t assume the worst.” Here’s the back story on why Nick offered that advice and how you can apply it for positive outcomes. MORE
A few months ago, I was in conversation with a group of senior director and vice president level leaders in a client company. I asked them, “Before you were promoted to senior director or VP, what did you used to say about the people who had those titles?” What I heard in response was pretty telling: They don’t get it. They don’t understand what’s really going on. They’re arrogant. They’re presumptuous. They think they’re better than us. MORE
Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to speak over the course of several programs in the U.K. with a couple of hundred executives from around the world. During those sessions I was struck by the commonalities of what helps high capacity people lead and live at their best. MORE
You can consider this post an update of one I wrote back in the summer of 2009 about how middle managers can feel like the meat in the sandwich. I’ve used that analogy for years with my clients in middle and upper middle management. It really applies to any leader who is not working in the C-suite equivalent of their organization. When you’re the meat in the sandwich, you’re adding a lot of nutritional value while getting squeezed from the pressure of the slices of bread above and below you. MORE
Surely you’ve noticed that most conference calls, video conferences, e-mail threads and virtually any other form of virtual communications pretty much stink. Why is that and what can we do about it? Dr. Nick Morgan has the answers. In this recorded interview with Nick , I asked him to share some of the fascinating research he gathered and conducted for his new book, Can You Hear Me? How to Connect with People in a Virtual World. MORE
Every so often I hear a phrase so well turned that I say to myself, “I wish I had thought of that.” That happened a few months ago when I was talking with a top executive of a Fortune 500 company to get his feedback on a colleague who was one of my executive coaching clients. This exec loved my client and compared him quite favorably to his predecessor who, the exec said, regularly “inspired his team to underperformance.”. MORE
If you’ve ever had to make a trip to the emergency room (hopefully not) or watched a medical drama on TV (probably so), you’ve seen a team of doctors, nurses and other team members doing triage. Triage is the process of assessing which patients need immediate treatment or attention and which can wait until after the more urgent cases are addressed. MORE
A lot of thinking is really just reacting. On any given day, there’s so much coming at us that we just react or reflexively respond to the input. That’s not all bad. A lot of stuff gets done that way. But who’s stuff is getting done – yours or someone else’s? To get your own most important stuff done, you have to create space to think. How, when and where do you do it? I’ve been asking my clients a version of that question for years – where or when do you get your best ideas? MORE
The title of this post is the core of a few of my favorite questions. The one I want to focus on today is, in my experience, foundational to effective self-management: What are the top five words that describe me (you) when I’m (you’re) living and leading at my (your) best? MORE
Since writing the first edition of The Next Level in 2006, I’ve coached, spoken with, and observed thousands of leaders in action. Many of them have been good leaders. Some have been great leaders. The great ones have one big thing in common. They don’t just lead at their best; they live at their best. They understand that to lead others effectively, they first have to lead themselves effectively. Great leaders practice and exhibit strong personal leadership. MORE
In some organizations, this is the time of year where individual performance from the previous year is summarized and communicated in annual reviews. Which, by the way, is an abysmal practice that does nothing to develop people and has at least an 80% chance of causing them to feel disengaged.). One of the reasons annual performance reviews suck so much is that they too often deal in data points, not trends. MORE
This post is adapted from the forthcoming third edition of my book, The Next Level: What Insiders Know About Executive Success. Available in October, you can pre-order it here. Research shows that moving to the executive level is among the toughest transitions of any career. MORE
In my work as a coach and speaker to corporate leaders, I hear a lot of stories about how many balls people are trying to juggle at once. There are at least three big factors driving these stories. First, most leaders in most organizations are expected to continuously do more with less. Second is the ability to do practically anything from your smartphone that you could do at your desk. MORE
The title of this post is a question I was asked yesterday during an interview for the book summary service Get Abstract. Audio excerpts from the interview will be available in a few months.) MORE
Think about the last time you made a big purchase like a car, a major appliance or a mattress. With the possible exception of the car, there’s a pretty good chance you bought the product online after reading a lot of customer reviews. Why was that the case? Of course, one reason is that Amazon and other online retailers make it really easy to buy things online. Another likely reason is that you would do anything to avoid an aggressive sales pitch at the dealership or the store. MORE
In 2017, it can be difficult to find examples of great leadership. Today, though, I want to offer two of them. The first is of neighbors, volunteers, first responders, law enforcement, the National Guard and the U.S. Coast Guard pulling together to rescue each other in the greater Houston area. MORE
Last week I flew from Los Angeles to Baltimore and back and, like just about every other American who flies, was so grateful for the professionalism of the TSA agents and air traffic controllers whose job it is to keep travelers safe and alive. And, of course, last week they were in their fifth week of doing their vital jobs without pay because of the government shutdown. MORE
Delivering his monologue after the midterm elections last week, David Letterman was talking about President Obama’s low approval ratings and landed a great line: “Take a look at this: gas under $3 a gallon – under $3 a gallon. Unemployment under 6%, whoever thought? MORE
Being happy is a fundamental life goal for most people. But is it possible that by setting the bar at “being happy,” that we’re aiming too low? In her new book, Beyond Happy: Women, Work, and Well-Being, Beth Cabrera makes a compelling case for striving for more. MORE
If you pay any attention at all to sports, you’ve probably noticed that the Golden State Warriors are a really good basketball team. So good, in fact, that four of their five starters are playing in the NBA All-Star Game next month. With Steph Curry and Kevin Durant leading the team and (my idol) Steve Kerr coaching, Golden State is so good that it’s been reported that other teams in the league are suffering from Warriors Derangement Syndrome. MORE
One of the things I’m doing with my blog posts this year is to try to provide you with simple, practical and immediately applicable insights you can apply to be a better leader. MORE
So, welcome to the first work day of 2019. By the time you read this, we may be into the third or fourth day or beyond, but as I write this, it’s January 2. And, by writing this, I am following through on one of the habits I set out for myself in my annual planning period between Thanksgiving and the end of the year. The particular habit I’m talking about is to write at least 500 words a day Monday through Friday in 2019. Why am I setting that up as a habit for myself? MORE
Lately, I’ve been working with a company that’s about to make a big leap. They have a potentially world-changing product and are on the cusp of scaling up in a big way. It’s very exciting stuff. Everyone from the CEO on down is super busy. There is a lot of work to do both internally and externally. With all the demands, time and attention is a scarcer resource than money. That’s true for many of the leaders I work with. MORE
When I wrote The Next Level , I included a case study about Amy, a fictional high performer who had recently been promoted to the executive ranks. She was fictional, but as they say about some TV dramas, her situation was “ripped from the headlines.” (Her Her story has resonated with readers and clients so much that I’ve left it in the upcoming 3 rd edition of The Next Level.) The challenges Amy was facing as a new executive were ones that I see all the time as an executive coach. MORE
Happy new year everyone! Here’s hoping that 2018 is everything you want it to be. To give you some fuel for the journey, here are five quick posts about how to set yourself up for success this year. These posts cover strategies and tactics that have worked for both my clients and me so I’m confident they’ll work for you too. MORE
My first job out of graduate school was as a first year associate in a Wall Street investment bank whose last of the 10 corporate values they printed in their annual report was, “Have fun!” Sadly, I did not. Decades later, it remains the worst place I ever worked or have seen other people working in in 20 years of leadership development work. MORE
When was the last time you were bored? I’m willing to bet that you can’t remember. If I’m right, it’s because, in 2017, no one ever has to be bored. That smartphone super computer you carry around in your pocket guarantees it. Don’t know what to do next? There’s always an Instagram feed to look at, a text to answer, an email to delete, a podcast to listen to, a cat video to watch, a news headline to click on or a Minecraft challenge to beat. MORE
One of the mentors I feel very fortunate to have had in my life was the late Richard Neustadt , a founding professor of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and author of the classic book Presidential Power. When I was a student at the Kennedy School in the mid-80’s, I had Dr. Neustadt for a couple of classes, got to work with him on some special projects and was part of a group of students he’d occasionally have over to his house to teach us about the subtleties of scotch whiskey. MORE
Yesterday morning, before delivering a workshop on how to lead and live at your best , I had the privilege of sitting in as a roomful of high-potential managers shared what they’ve learned so far during their company’s multi-month leadership development program. There were a lot of good observations but the one that really landed with me was from a participant who said he’s become a lot more aware of the difference between solutions and outcomes. MORE
If you’ve spent any time thinking about your retirement account or other investments you may have, you’re probably familiar with the concept of asset diversification. The idea is to not over-invest in one particular company or class of investments but to balance your portfolio across different types of assets. As a simple example, it makes sense for many people to invest in both stocks and bonds since when one of the two is up the other is often down. MORE
One of the biggest shifts that most rising leaders have to make is the shift from being the go-to person to someone who builds teams of go-to people. MORE
Earlier this year, I was talking with an executive coaching client about everything that was going on at once in his business life. MORE
One of the things I love about leading our Next Level Leadership® group coaching program is hearing leaders’ stories about how they’re following through on their most important development opportunities. As I’ve written here before, when they’re mapping out how to follow through, I always encourage them to look for repeatable actions that are relatively easy to do and likely to make a difference. MORE
Next Level Blog
MARCH 6, 2019
My first job out of graduate school was as a first year associate in a Wall Street investment bank whose last of the 10 corporate values they printed in their annual report was, “Have fun!” Sadly, I did not. Decades later, it remains the worst place I ever worked or have seen other people working in in 20 years of leadership development work.
Next Level Blog
MARCH 20, 2019
The title of this post is the core of a few of my favorite questions. The one I want to focus on today is, in my experience, foundational to effective self-management: What are the top five words that describe me (you) when I’m (you’re) living and leading at my (your) best?
Next Level Blog
FEBRUARY 19, 2019
One of the things I’m doing with my blog posts this year is to try to provide you with simple, practical and immediately applicable insights you can apply to be a better leader.
Next Level Blog
FEBRUARY 13, 2019
Every so often I hear a phrase so well turned that I say to myself, “I wish I had thought of that.” That happened a few months ago when I was talking with a top executive of a Fortune 500 company to get his feedback on a colleague who was one of my executive coaching clients. This exec loved my client and compared him quite favorably to his predecessor who, the exec said, regularly “inspired his team to underperformance.”.
Next Level Blog
MARCH 12, 2019
A few months ago, I was in conversation with a group of senior director and vice president level leaders in a client company. I asked them, “Before you were promoted to senior director or VP, what did you used to say about the people who had those titles?” What I heard in response was pretty telling: They don’t get it. They don’t understand what’s really going on. They’re arrogant. They’re presumptuous. They think they’re better than us.
Next Level Blog
FEBRUARY 8, 2019
When I asked communications expert, Dr. Nick Morgan , for his one best piece of advice for anyone who wants to be a more effective virtual communicator, his answer was quick, simple and powerful, “Don’t assume the worst.” Here’s the back story on why Nick offered that advice and how you can apply it for positive outcomes.
Next Level Blog
JULY 11, 2018
This post is adapted from the forthcoming third edition of my book, The Next Level: What Insiders Know About Executive Success. Available in October, you can pre-order it here. Research shows that moving to the executive level is among the toughest transitions of any career.
Next Level Blog
JANUARY 11, 2019
If you’ve ever had to make a trip to the emergency room (hopefully not) or watched a medical drama on TV (probably so), you’ve seen a team of doctors, nurses and other team members doing triage. Triage is the process of assessing which patients need immediate treatment or attention and which can wait until after the more urgent cases are addressed.
Next Level Blog
JANUARY 22, 2019
One of the mentors I feel very fortunate to have had in my life was the late Richard Neustadt , a founding professor of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and author of the classic book Presidential Power. When I was a student at the Kennedy School in the mid-80’s, I had Dr. Neustadt for a couple of classes, got to work with him on some special projects and was part of a group of students he’d occasionally have over to his house to teach us about the subtleties of scotch whiskey.
Next Level Blog
MARCH 13, 2018
Think about the last time you made a big purchase like a car, a major appliance or a mattress. With the possible exception of the car, there’s a pretty good chance you bought the product online after reading a lot of customer reviews. Why was that the case? Of course, one reason is that Amazon and other online retailers make it really easy to buy things online. Another likely reason is that you would do anything to avoid an aggressive sales pitch at the dealership or the store.
Next Level Blog
MARCH 6, 2018
Earlier this year, I was talking with an executive coaching client about everything that was going on at once in his business life.
Next Level Blog
OCTOBER 2, 2018
There’s a hero myth that can build up around leaders. The great leaders stand alone, indomitable in the face of adversity, accomplishing their goals in the face of all obstacles. The last thing they need is help from anyone else. Their strength, wisdom and resolve brought them to this point and will, of course, carry them forward. There at least two problems with myths. One is that they’re not true.
Next Level Blog
FEBRUARY 13, 2018
What do you notice about your thought process when you’re about to start something that’s difficult or intimidating? Is your inner monologue helpful or hurtful? Here’s a hint – your self-talk is highly predictive of the result you’re going to get. There’s a simple mental shift you can make that almost guarantees a better result when you have to do something you’re not totally excited about or find a little bit scary.
Next Level Blog
AUGUST 30, 2017
In 2017, it can be difficult to find examples of great leadership. Today, though, I want to offer two of them. The first is of neighbors, volunteers, first responders, law enforcement, the National Guard and the U.S. Coast Guard pulling together to rescue each other in the greater Houston area.
Next Level Blog
JANUARY 28, 2019
Last week I flew from Los Angeles to Baltimore and back and, like just about every other American who flies, was so grateful for the professionalism of the TSA agents and air traffic controllers whose job it is to keep travelers safe and alive. And, of course, last week they were in their fifth week of doing their vital jobs without pay because of the government shutdown.
Next Level Blog
OCTOBER 4, 2017
In my work as a coach and speaker to corporate leaders, I hear a lot of stories about how many balls people are trying to juggle at once. There are at least three big factors driving these stories. First, most leaders in most organizations are expected to continuously do more with less. Second is the ability to do practically anything from your smartphone that you could do at your desk.
Next Level Blog
MARCH 26, 2018
I took the picture that accompanies this post from atop a trash can at the corner of Ocean Avenue and Montana Avenue in Santa Monica on Saturday. Thousands of people rallied there at the end of one of 800 March for Our Lives events that were held around the world that day for students, their families and friends to speak out against gun violence.
Next Level Blog
MAY 15, 2018
One of the things I love about leading our Next Level Leadership® group coaching program is hearing leaders’ stories about how they’re following through on their most important development opportunities. As I’ve written here before, when they’re mapping out how to follow through, I always encourage them to look for repeatable actions that are relatively easy to do and likely to make a difference.
Next Level Blog
FEBRUARY 6, 2018
In some organizations, this is the time of year where individual performance from the previous year is summarized and communicated in annual reviews. Which, by the way, is an abysmal practice that does nothing to develop people and has at least an 80% chance of causing them to feel disengaged.). One of the reasons annual performance reviews suck so much is that they too often deal in data points, not trends.
Next Level Blog
JANUARY 3, 2019
So, welcome to the first work day of 2019. By the time you read this, we may be into the third or fourth day or beyond, but as I write this, it’s January 2. And, by writing this, I am following through on one of the habits I set out for myself in my annual planning period between Thanksgiving and the end of the year. The particular habit I’m talking about is to write at least 500 words a day Monday through Friday in 2019. Why am I setting that up as a habit for myself?
Next Level Blog
AUGUST 20, 2018
When I wrote The Next Level , I included a case study about Amy, a fictional high performer who had recently been promoted to the executive ranks. She was fictional, but as they say about some TV dramas, her situation was “ripped from the headlines.” (Her Her story has resonated with readers and clients so much that I’ve left it in the upcoming 3 rd edition of The Next Level.) The challenges Amy was facing as a new executive were ones that I see all the time as an executive coach.
Next Level Blog
OCTOBER 10, 2017
A lot of thinking is really just reacting. On any given day, there’s so much coming at us that we just react or reflexively respond to the input. That’s not all bad. A lot of stuff gets done that way. But who’s stuff is getting done – yours or someone else’s? To get your own most important stuff done, you have to create space to think. How, when and where do you do it? I’ve been asking my clients a version of that question for years – where or when do you get your best ideas?
Next Level Blog
MAY 18, 2015
In case you haven’t been paying attention, it turns out that Pope Francis is one of the most popular people in the world. A recent Pew Research Center survey found that he has a 90% favorability rating among U.S. Catholics and a 70% favorability rating among all Americans.
Next Level Blog
AUGUST 24, 2015
Being happy is a fundamental life goal for most people. But is it possible that by setting the bar at “being happy,” that we’re aiming too low? In her new book, Beyond Happy: Women, Work, and Well-Being, Beth Cabrera makes a compelling case for striving for more.
Next Level Blog
SEPTEMBER 28, 2015
Like a lot of Americans, I spent a lot of last week transfixed by the coverage of Pope Francis’ trip to the United States. I’m not Catholic, but found myself moved by his words and images several times. The pictures were what really got me.
Next Level Blog
JUNE 27, 2017
Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to speak over the course of several programs in the U.K. with a couple of hundred executives from around the world. During those sessions I was struck by the commonalities of what helps high capacity people lead and live at their best.
Next Level Blog
JUNE 18, 2018
You can consider this post an update of one I wrote back in the summer of 2009 about how middle managers can feel like the meat in the sandwich. I’ve used that analogy for years with my clients in middle and upper middle management. It really applies to any leader who is not working in the C-suite equivalent of their organization. When you’re the meat in the sandwich, you’re adding a lot of nutritional value while getting squeezed from the pressure of the slices of bread above and below you.
Next Level Blog
SEPTEMBER 28, 2017
Yesterday morning, before delivering a workshop on how to lead and live at your best , I had the privilege of sitting in as a roomful of high-potential managers shared what they’ve learned so far during their company’s multi-month leadership development program. There were a lot of good observations but the one that really landed with me was from a participant who said he’s become a lot more aware of the difference between solutions and outcomes.
Next Level Blog
JUNE 8, 2015
So, it’s not every day when you can say that one of your lifelong best friends just won a Tony award. Today is actually the second time I’ve gotten to do that. The fact that today is actually National Best Friends Day makes it even more fun.
Next Level Blog
NOVEMBER 13, 2014
Delivering his monologue after the midterm elections last week, David Letterman was talking about President Obama’s low approval ratings and landed a great line: “Take a look at this: gas under $3 a gallon – under $3 a gallon. Unemployment under 6%, whoever thought?
Next Level Blog
OCTOBER 26, 2017
Lately, I’ve been working with a company that’s about to make a big leap. They have a potentially world-changing product and are on the cusp of scaling up in a big way. It’s very exciting stuff. Everyone from the CEO on down is super busy. There is a lot of work to do both internally and externally. With all the demands, time and attention is a scarcer resource than money. That’s true for many of the leaders I work with.
Next Level Blog
JANUARY 2, 2018
Happy new year everyone! Here’s hoping that 2018 is everything you want it to be. To give you some fuel for the journey, here are five quick posts about how to set yourself up for success this year. These posts cover strategies and tactics that have worked for both my clients and me so I’m confident they’ll work for you too.
Next Level Blog
APRIL 9, 2018
If you’ve spent any time thinking about your retirement account or other investments you may have, you’re probably familiar with the concept of asset diversification. The idea is to not over-invest in one particular company or class of investments but to balance your portfolio across different types of assets. As a simple example, it makes sense for many people to invest in both stocks and bonds since when one of the two is up the other is often down.
Next Level Blog
JUNE 22, 2015
Last Friday night was movie night for our family and I got to pick. The fact that I chose the new Disney/Pixar movie, Inside Out, instead of Jurassic World probably tells you all you need to know about me.
Next Level Blog
AUGUST 3, 2015
Whenever we run a 360 or self-assessment based on The Next Level model of leadership presence, one of the lowest rated behaviors is usually “Gives others his/her full presence and attention during meetings and conversations.”
Next Level Blog
NOVEMBER 14, 2017
When was the last time you were bored? I’m willing to bet that you can’t remember. If I’m right, it’s because, in 2017, no one ever has to be bored. That smartphone super computer you carry around in your pocket guarantees it. Don’t know what to do next? There’s always an Instagram feed to look at, a text to answer, an email to delete, a podcast to listen to, a cat video to watch, a news headline to click on or a Minecraft challenge to beat.
Next Level Blog
JANUARY 30, 2018
If you pay any attention at all to sports, you’ve probably noticed that the Golden State Warriors are a really good basketball team. So good, in fact, that four of their five starters are playing in the NBA All-Star Game next month. With Steph Curry and Kevin Durant leading the team and (my idol) Steve Kerr coaching, Golden State is so good that it’s been reported that other teams in the league are suffering from Warriors Derangement Syndrome.
Next Level Blog
DECEMBER 12, 2018
Surely you’ve noticed that most conference calls, video conferences, e-mail threads and virtually any other form of virtual communications pretty much stink. Why is that and what can we do about it? Dr. Nick Morgan has the answers. In this recorded interview with Nick , I asked him to share some of the fascinating research he gathered and conducted for his new book, Can You Hear Me? How to Connect with People in a Virtual World.
Next Level Blog
AUGUST 28, 2014
One of the biggest shifts that most rising leaders have to make is the shift from being the go-to person to someone who builds teams of go-to people.
Next Level Blog
JANUARY 15, 2015
In fifteen years of coaching high potential and senior leaders, I’ve conducted thousands of hours of colleague feedback interviews. One of the themes that I hear a lot from senior executives talking about high potential leaders is that the client needs to play a bigger game.
Next Level Blog
APRIL 23, 2015
The title of this post is a question I was asked yesterday during an interview for the book summary service Get Abstract. Audio excerpts from the interview will be available in a few months.)
Next Level Blog
JANUARY 19, 2017
Since writing the first edition of The Next Level in 2006, I’ve coached, spoken with, and observed thousands of leaders in action. Many of them have been good leaders. Some have been great leaders. The great ones have one big thing in common. They don’t just lead at their best; they live at their best. They understand that to lead others effectively, they first have to lead themselves effectively. Great leaders practice and exhibit strong personal leadership.
Next Level Blog
MARCH 19, 2015
As I wrote here a few months ago, the biggest development opportunity for many of the rising leaders I work with as an executive coach is to play a bigger game.
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