9 Ways to Impress and Influence Your Boss

Many times we forget that bosses are also human. They are affected by the same emotions, concerns and challenges that we all have. By understanding them and realizing they are people too, we can use the same skills to communicate that we use with co-workers, employees, customers or family members. To get along with your…

Details

Embracing a ‘More Beyond’ Attitude

Your 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…

Details

Is Hierarchical Thinking Inhibiting Performance?

Companies like to think of themselves as having up-to-date thinking. They assume they are of the 21st century ilk because they’ve flattened their hierarchies, removed unnecessary levels of management, and empowered their employees. The truth is that many of them are just as traditional as they’ve always been. They still think about how to manage their…

Details

Too Many Managers Avoid Problem Performers

A recent survey of over 2000 U.S. employers done for CareerBuilder found that 27 % of bosses had an employee they would like to see leave the organization. This is not surprising but what struck me was the proportion of managers who could see themselves adopting a strategy that avoids the problem entirely or borders…

Details

Five Ways to Lift Your Leader

Leadership is practiced not so much in words as in attitudes and in actions. – Harold S. Geneen   In his book the 360° Leader, John Maxwell shares a story about President Harry S. Truman speaking at the National War College. In the speech, Truman said, “You know, it’s easy for the Monday morning quarterback…

Details

What Brings Your Team Back on Monday?

On Monday mornings I am dedicated to the proposition that all men are created jerks. -H. Allen Smith   In The 360° Leader, John Maxwell shares a humorous story about a turkey chatting with a bull. “I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree,” sighed the turkey, “but I…

Details

45 Ways to Instantly Improve Your Presentation Skills

Every time you deliver a presentation whether it is at a staff meeting, a sales call to persuade clients, a briefing or a formal presentation at a  conference, everything you do and say is being judged. People will makeup their minds about your competence, intelligence, and overall abilities by how well you come across.  Here…

Details

When to Send a Top Producer to the Competition

Have you ever heard the phrase, “horizontal turnover”? This is where the jerk stays and the team around him or her leaves.  This happens more than you think, especially in a sales driven culture where top producers are god-like Rock Stars to management. How can it happen?  Easy: They get hired, and once in, their…

Details

Four Things To Ask Your Professional Speaker To Deliver

If you are a meeting planner, event manager or charged with organizing your company’s annual conference, you likely hire speakers to give keynotes.  Their fees can range from a few thousand to six figures, mostly depending on their celebrity or business profile. Since the last recession, speakers have had to fight for every piece of…

Details

Don’t Forget the "Why" in Your Mission Statement

A 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…

Details

Why Everyone Should Invite Google+ To the Party

For the last few years, business owners and fellow bloggers have asked me whether Google+ is “a good investment of my time.”  Up until last year, unless you were in the technology, social or dating services business, I’d say, “not very good.” Why?  Although they have 100 million plus users, the demographic is: Most likely…

Details