Research by TowersWatson has revealed that to generate a climate where your employees contribute a consistently high percentage of their capacity you need more that just “engagement.” You must add into the mix enablement (a better term for what used to be called empowerment), and employee well-being. Here, very briefly, is what constitutes each element…
DetailsIt seems to be a “no brainer” that better mid level managers and supervisors will, by the way they lead their people, yield better results. Yet this relationship has been very little researched, formally and academically. A study published in August, however, does shed some light on this. It is available through the (U.S.) National…
DetailsI love data. I’m naturally drawn to articles that feature statistics, which is probably why I tend to quote them often. With that in mind, I found this encouraging stat the other day: A recent poll of about 100 corporate HR practitioners and leaders reveals that nearly all (98 percent) anticipate maintaining current levels or…
DetailsYour attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude. – Zig Ziglar In Valladolid, Spain, where Christopher Columbus died in 1506, stands a monument commemorating the renowned discoverer. Perhaps the most interesting feature of the monument is a statue of a lion destroying one of the Latin words that had been part of Spain’s…
DetailsPositive self-talk expands your power; negative self-talk restricts it. Your personal power dramatically shapes your professional, personal, and social destinies, all with multiplying impact. Take the situation of entering a large ballroom full of unfamiliar faces. Immediately, if fearful thoughts take hold, you can talk yourself right out of a positive experience and the potential…
DetailsYou only get one chance to make a good first impression and what you wear has a lot to do with the impression you create. In this day and age of excessive casualness, it’s easy to cross the line and lose a sale, all because of what you’re wearing. Here’s an example. The salesperson was…
DetailsWherever you look, news about the economy is bad. Layoffs abound. Pfizer, a pharmaceutical giant, recently announced 8,000 job cuts. Home Depot, the biggest home improvement retailer in the U.S., said it will eliminate 7,000 jobs. Even the State of California is letting 20,000 go. The economy lost 2.6 million jobs last year, the most…
DetailsWe’ve all had them — the prospect that isn’t going to buy from you no matter what. It might be because he doesn’t need or want whatever it is you’re selling or perhaps you’ve rubbed him the wrong way and he simply doesn’t want to buy from you. The only problem is, he won’t tell…
DetailsOne of the hiring traps many companies fall into is letting HR hire salespeople. I apologize if this blog annoys HR practitioners but the simple truth is that most (not all) HR people are unqualified to hire salespeople. What they are extremely good at is managing the hiring process and understanding the legal aspects of…
DetailsYou’re probably sitting there thinking, “Why would I want to be my own worst enemy?” And the answer, of course, is that you certainly don’t want to be. But it happens, and it could happen to you. I’ve seen salespeople with the potential to be top performers fall short because they either didn’t know what…
DetailsIf you lose readership of your email, your influence wanes at work. If you misuse it enough, you’ll turn partners into detractors. If you mismanage it as a resource, you’ll force everyone to do more work and they’ll despise you for it. To quote TechStars grad and Vanilla founder Mark Sullivan, “Don’t suck at email.”…
DetailsYou plan to drive your car from Boston to Denver. It’s a long trip so, before departing, you take your vehicle into your local service center for a tune-up. You have them check your tires and battery, top up the oil and brake fluid and take it for a spin on the highway listening for…
DetailsThe real test of a man is not when he plays the role that he wants for himself but when he plays the role destiny has for him. – V´aclav Havel For movie buffs, it is one of the most memorable scenes in movie lore. James Callahan, the lead character in Dirty Harry portrayed by Clint Eastwood,…
DetailsA colleague of mine, Gwen Kinsey, led a crisp, interactive presentation at a recent leadership breakfast event. The topic was about how mission statements engage (or not) your employees. Gwen’s session drove home a point for me and I’d like to share it here. She put us in small groups and handed out two mission…
DetailsA boss of mine early on in my career had a tough, almost bulldog, style. He was a pragmatic, no nonsense guy. He didn’t have a wide vocabulary and didn’t spend a lot of time talking about concepts. He was super loyal to the company and even more so to the branch of which he…
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