I can live for two months on a good compliment – Mark Twain A story is told how one day the great Italian artist Michelangelo happened to overhear a group of people admiring his Pieta, a statue of Christ on His mother’s kneeafter His death on the cross. One man attributed the work to another…
DetailsThen all the reindeer loved him as they shouted out with glee, Rudolph the Red-nosed reindeer, you’ll go down in history!– Robert L. May For many years, the story goes; Montgomery Ward department store in Chicago purchased and gave away coloring books as a promotional during the Christmas season. In 1939, company executives wanted to…
DetailsI want to give him a big hug. It’s an absolute wonderful accomplishment. – Yankees great Yogi Berra In case you missed it, Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees reached a milestone this past weekend by becoming only the 28th player in Major League Baseball to have 3,000 hits. He is the first player…
DetailsSuccess is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome – Booker T. Washington In a recent Sports Illustrated story honoring Pat Summit and Mike Krzyzewski as Sportswoman and Sportsman of the Year, a fascinating story of hope and encouragement…
DetailsAlways bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other. – Abraham Lincoln In Readers Digest, a story is told about Mercedes Ruehl seeing her first Broadway show when she was in grade school. Her family was in New York visiting relatives and driving through Times Square. On the…
DetailsA recent HBR blog podcast interviewed the CEO of Amazon who, in a major study reported in the Harvard Business Review’s Jan/Feb issue, was ranked #2 of global CEO’s. The late Steve Jobs was #1. Jeff Bezos is an intriguing guy. He permits interviews sparingly and is somewhat of a contrarian around some commonly held…
DetailsThat which is compensated, is motivated. Nothing more, nothing less. Between my speaking and consulting, I have many opportunities to compare comp plans and the resulting corporate cultures they create. If you want to have a strong customer service culture, for example, you’ll need to aim all compensation plans at achieving it. If you want…
DetailsYou’re the same today as you will be in five years except for two things: the people you meet and the books you read. – Charlie “Tremendous” Jones About 350 years ago, as the story is told, a shipload of travelers landed on the northeast coast of America. The first year they established a town…
DetailsPeople with a strong business and entrepreneurial sense are always praising the merits of focusing. They focus on their strategic priorities. They focus on the numbers, benchmarking wherever it makes sense. They focus on the company’s core values, unique selling proposition, and so on. They do so because it is the best way to optimize…
DetailsBoarding the plane at 6:30 p.m., exhausted after standing for eight hours delivering a training session to government managers in Washington D.C., I was looking forward to a peaceful flight. One of the few benefits for those of us who have to fly to work is that every once in while we get bumped to…
DetailsThings Are Looking Up »
By Sarah Michel, CSP on Mar 7, 2010 in eZine | 2 Comments
When you’re lying flat on your back, all you can do is look up. That is the position I find myself in right now as I’m recovering from a foot surgery to correct a major deformity that has kept me from wearing almost 90% of the fashionable shoes in my closet. I have […]
Recently I spent two days teaching front-line managers in an installation service company how to have effective conversations around job performance. The training included an approach that was new to the managers and thus involved for them a new way of thinking. Instead of telling, they were to do a lot more asking of questions…
DetailsThey’re either disengaged or under engaged in their work but they very much intend to stay with their current employer for a long time. This is what a new study by Modern Survey revealed. For government workers, 80% were less than engaged but 60% plan to stay. Not like the private sector, you say? Well,…
DetailsPrice Price is never the real issue for prospects. The real issue is that they may not believe you are worth the price. The reality is that many times your product and service isn’t worth the price. Not because it doesn’t justify itself, but because your prospect doesn’t value it. So instead of constantly fighting…
DetailsFor leaders of all types, here’s an assignment: Hand out some praise today. Think about how long a weekend can be for someone who feels under appreciated or over worked. It’s emotional stew time, and you aren’t around to defend yourself. When Monday rolls around, your team members are not refreshed. They are back to…
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