By Peter Jeff
The Leadership Mints Guy

Here’s an idea to influence others. Reading time: 3:32

Iceland isn’t. Iceland isn’t a land of ice.
And Greenland isn’t. Greenland isn’t a land of green.

In fact, it’s the other way around: Iceland is green and Greenland is ice.

Iceland is a country filled with large green forests, hot springs and geysers. So why did the Vikings name this verdant country Iceland?

And Greenland is more like a frozen tundra — a huge floating ice cube in the Arctic. So why did the Vikings name this arctic country Greenland?

The Vikings were playing The Name Game. They used names to influence how others reacted to newly discovered lands.

The Vikings Name Game helped them keep the warm geysers of Iceland to themselves and divert others to Greenland. So they played The Name Game to deceive, manipulate and exploit with names. Hardly the stuff of leaders.

But Playing The Name Game -with integrity and credibility-is the stuff of effective leadership. Continue reading “Playing the Name Game” →