Life is too short to be little. – Benjamin Disraeli The late Fred Rogers, speaking at his acceptance speech into the Television Hall of Fame, gave a speech that I believe typifies what leadership is truly about. Rogers says, “Fame is a four-letter word: and like tape or zoom or face or pain or love,…
DetailsOne of the best books written on teams and teamwork is The Wisdom of Teams by Jon Katzenbach and Douglas Smith. They make the distinction between a “team” and what they call a “working group.” The latter is the most common form in workplaces today: a VP with a group of managers, each in charge…
DetailsI get some great ideas from my clients. In a recent coaching conversation my client and I were strategizing about how to fire up an employee in his 60’s with about two years left before retirement who was slacking off.. I suggested he challenge the individual to make the choice to make his last two…
DetailsThe trend these days is clearly for managers to take on more of a coaching role. But they still need to be the manager! These are two different roles. As a manager, you have stewardship for results in your area of operation. You ensure that your people are performing at an acceptable level and are…
DetailsIt was bound to happen. Despite the Internet implosion in 2000, the online user population continues to grow not just in the U.S., but globally. Once it reached a critical mass, the natural evolution of this growing population was for its members to break into “communities” with common backgrounds, interests, and/or needs. Welcome to web…
DetailsNot every salesperson has a natural gift to quickly bond and develop rapport with prospects. Many try to succeed by ingratiating themselves with frequent contact, entertaining prospects, being responsive, reliable and helpful. However, what if you don’t have the luxury of the preceding and you are faced with a reluctant and guarded prospect who resists…
DetailsSo much is changing in our economic and business environment these years, is it any wonder that the nature of leadership is changing too? We’re not talking a new fad, here, folks. Fads come and they go. Leadership—as it is progressively practiced today—is here to stay! If you manage, supervise, direct or formally influence other…
DetailsTwenty years ago, likely, you were desperate for more time. Managing it was the key to success. Time was the scarce resource of the uber successful and the harried executive. Today, we have more time than ever, aided by myriad tools and software solutions. We can move mountains in days, aided by digital devices and…
DetailsConsider the following two versions of feedback given by a boss, in response to an employee leaving errors in an important report for the Board: “I’ve gone over your report and found you didn’t include the sidebar paragraph that explains Figure 6 on page 18. Please add it in right away and get the revised…
DetailsIf you are one of those type “A” personalities that always has a dozen projects on the go, your spouse is on your case to reprioritize in favor of your family, here are some ways to “ease the load” and regain control:
Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit. – Proverbs 18:21 A story is told about Casey Stengel, a longtime major league baseball manager who had such a unique way with words that it became known as “Stengelese.” He once said, “I’ve always heard…
DetailsTo persuade, motivate and influence you need to use the right words in your presentation and your presentation materials. To maximize your impact, try adding these words the next time you have a presentation.
Much has been made of the post game spat between two football a few weeks back. Jim Schwartz felt disrespected because Jim Harbaugh shook his hand with too much force after the game. I am from Michigan and I hate the 49ers, so it would be my natural inclination to side with Coach Schwartz –…
DetailsMuch of my business advice involves the following: Show up! If we can focus our attention on the others we are meeting with, much more can be accomplished. That’s why I like to turn my smart phone to non-vibrate silent when I’m having meetings. I don’t want to know about the outside world, because it…
DetailsDo you care if your employees are happy? Does it matter to you if they like what they’re doing? Are you the least concerned that they would rather be working for someone else? Your answers to these questions reveal more than you know. They explain why your employees are or are not productive.1 Did you get that? To look…
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