There’s a lot to be said for clarity and simplicity. When top executives make short, clear statements about their defined customers, core strengths, desired future, and action plans, they prevent employee confusion and anxiety. They generate confidence throughout all levels of the organization and replace uncertainty with resilience and creativity. In fact, the quality of [...]
Most CEOs I meet run their organizations atop a false assumption that creates a powerful yet almost invisible drag on their performance. Do you have the same false assumption that they do? The assumption is that your communication of strategy, tactics, goals, and behaviors through the organization actually works the way you intend. Yes, you’re [...]
Are you a Genius or a Genius Maker? How about your senior team – are they Geniuses or Genius Makers? If you’re the smartest person in the room you’re a genius. If you surround yourself with the smartest people in the room and continually strive to help them get even smarter, you’re a genius maker. [...]
Are you a Genius or a Genius Maker? How about your management team – are they Geniuses or Genius Makers? If you’re the smartest person in the room you’re a Genius. If you surround yourself with the smartest people in the room, you’re a Genius Maker. These terms and concepts come from the book ”Multipliers – [...]
A new McGill Institute for Health and Social Policy study published by the Harvard Business Review reports that no matter what the size of your business – SURPRISE! – the way you treat employees at the lowest rungs of the company ladder can have a positive impact on your bottom line. This finding seems to be [...]
I was recently interviewed by marketing guru & serial entrepreneur Eric Keiles for his podcast show. During the 30 minute interview, we discuss: 1. The root causes of the “Growth Trap” that severely restrict profitable growth 2. How to eliminate Sales Ghosts permanently from your organization 3. How to dramatically improve the effectiveness of your [...]
As a leader, you need to understand why you and the people you work with resist change and cling to the status quo. There are five major reasons why people resist change. The first is FEAR. Fear is internal; it’s in our head, however it is the great crippler of human potential. Fear can be [...]
As we approach the end of of Q1 2010 it’s time once again to look at the scoreboard to see how your sales team is tracking toward your revenue goal. How are they doing? And how are you doing holding them accountable to deliver? Here are some thoughts about improving accountability from Dave Kurlan, thought [...]
As 2010 looms with continued economic uncertainty in full bloom, it is imperative – now more than ever – to proactively address weaknesses in your selling team. The most serious weak areas, however, are difficult to spot. In fact, they are virtually invisible because they stem from how your salespeople think as opposed to what they do. Here are 5 (invisible) reasons why your salespeople will underperform in 2010.
This is Tom Peters’ latest video message and it highlights the importance of “out-reading” your competition. In case you’re wondering who Tom Peters is, publications including Fortune, the Economist, the New Yorker and the Los Angeles Times have said Tom is the “uber-guru” of management and inventor of the enormous “management guru industry,” that “in no [...]
I met Stony earlier this month on a flight from Newark to Houston. He was on his way home to Mobile, Alabama. I was on my way to deliver a keynote presentation to the Texas General Counsel Forum in San Antonio. Stony was working in the New York area for 9 days replacing all of [...]
In late August our summer vacation took us to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. If that’s a part of our country you’ve never visited, I suggest that you add it to your destination list – the beaches are beautiful, the environment is quiet and clean, and there is an incredible amount of history to [...]
In today’s mile-a-minute, e-connected, global, frenetic, here-today-gone-tomorrow world of commerce, it is no surprise that many of us don’t take enough time to select and focus on our most important business objectives. Whether you employ 4 or 400, crystal clear focus combined with a steady cadence of accountability will dramatically improve your competitive positioning and [...]
One of the keys to developing leverage in business is to ensure that revenue is generated as evenly as possible across your selling team. Yet many business owners find their sales results to be lopsided – either generating the lion’s share themselves or having one or two star performers amid a field of mediocrity. Although [...]
In today’s mile-a-minute, e-connected, global, frenetic, here-today-gone-tomorrow world of commerce, it is no surprise that many of us don’t take enough time to think – and I mean really think, in a deep and focused way – about our business. We’ve become reactionary experts, essentially sucker-punched by our clients, by our competitors, by 24×7 connectedness, and by the pundits who espouse turn-on-a-dime flexibility as the panacea for 21st century business success.
In a recent article entitled “Economic Downturn Gives Owners Time to Work on Value Drivers,” my good friend Eric Donner, Managing Member of Regal Wealth Advisors reviews how important value drivers are to maximize a business’ selling price. He goes on to point out that it is the work of the owner – not employees [...]
To understand why we resist change, it is useful to acknowledge that humans are creatures of habit, and that habits are learned behaviors with predictable outcomes. By creating change, we force those involved – including ourselves – to confront the unknown and “unlearn” things that we previously accepted as producing desirable results. Even if the [...]
(This is part two of a two-part post on Leadership. Please see last week’s post for part one) Ask yourself how you’re doing and what you should be doing differently—and be sure to answer truthfully. As simple as this may sound, many people are shocked by their answers to basic management and leadership questions. Last [...]
Leaders are remembered for their best and worst judgment calls, especially when the stakes are high, information is limited and the correct call is far from obvious. In the face of ambiguity, uncertainty and conflicting demands, the quality of a leader’s judgment and decision making determines the entire organization’s fate. That’s why leadership [...]
“Our deeds follow us, and what we have been makes us what we are.” – John Dykes Although accountability has various definitions, it is typically used to describe personal responsibility for getting something done. Accountability is an essential element of focused accomplishment and, therefore, of the business world. Successful organizations build systems that encourage accountability [...]
