Love vs. Fear

Love vs. Fear

Many years ago, a mentor of mine taught me an important lesson; always work to make the complex as simple as possible.  I’ll spare you painful story leading to the lesson.  Regardless, I never forgot the sage advice gifted to me so long ago.

Life in our complex world can be anything but simple.  Running a business is consistently fraught with balancing seemingly incompatible choices.  Yet, as executives, we are continually called to make difficult decisions.

How then can life’s grand complexities ...

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13
APR
0

Leadership Development, Performance Management, Strategy Execution

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Becoming the Best

Becoming the Best

One of the grandest challenges every executive to front-line manager faces is optimizing human potential.  In today’s fast paced, every changing business environment, fueling exceptional performance requires well-honed skills and a never-ending commitment to providing positive energy to those we lead.

How then can impact leaders influence other’s performance?  Before offering a simple yet not simplistic solution, here are a few “old school” approaches to flush down the toilet.

Expecting Respect – Respect has always and will forever be earned.  Peer-to-peer or ...

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31
OCT
0

Leadership Development, Performance Management, Strategy Execution

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Spit It Out

Spit It Out

The “flavor of the month” will NOT transform your business or your team. Spit out the “pill” no matter how many sensational claims are being made.

If you would like to radically improve your business here are the three levels of mastery required.   Be forewarned, the concepts are easy to understand yet require discipline and time to execute.

  • Mastery of the Marketplace – An intimate understanding of your customers/clients, competitors and potential changes that may impact revenue and profits
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    18
    MAR
    0

Leadership Development, Performance Management, Strategy Execution

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Six Strategy Secrets

Six Strategy Secrets

Building a company without a strategy is like building a custom-built house without a blueprint. Your “carpenters” (employees) can pound nails all day long but the owner / CEO will likely not like the finished product. Worse, if the executive team is not aligned, is it any wonder desired results fail to materialize?

Here are six startling statistics specific to strategy execution.

1.  87% of Strategy Plans Don’t Work – According to a leading global management-consulting firm; the large majority of companies ...

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15
FEB
0

Leadership Development, Performance Management, Strategy Execution

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Start Strong

Start Strong

The best way to ensure the year finishes strong is to start strong.

The best way to start strong is to sync with your key customers.

One of the biggest mistakes business-to-business sales executives make is to assume they fully understand what their customer’s top priorities are.  The world is changing so fast with so many disruptive competitive entrants, NEVER assume last year’s priorities will carry forward.

Structuring your first customer call of the year is simple.  Find out your buyer’s previous year’s top three ...

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18
JAN
0

Performance Management, Selling, Strategy Execution

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What is Wisdom?

What is Wisdom?

Noun

  • The quality of having experience, knowledge and good judgment, the quality of being wise
  • The soundness of an action or decision with regard to the application of experience, knowledge and good judgment

Have we finally reached the stage of human evolution where we can rise beyond animalistic tendencies of kill or be killed?   By looking around the world today, many would quickly conclude the answer is no.  I know different.

There are many, many incredibly gifted and passionate people “waking up” to ...

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3
NOV
0

Executive Coaching, Leadership Development, Performance Management, Strategy Execution

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Get Naked

Get Naked

It’s that time of year again. Time to figuratively strip down and take an honest look in the mirror.   If everything in your business is “perfect” you and your company are an anomaly.

If your business can benefit from making a few tweaks or wholesale changes, the first step to set the stage for a successful 2017 strategic plan is to SWOTT IT! No, I’m not talking about preventing the Zika Virus, West Nile or any other insect carrying disease. I’m ...

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30
AUG
0

Performance Management, Selling, Strategy Execution

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Katrina is Coming

Katrina is Coming

Be prepared. Be very, very prepared.

Andy Grove, the founder and past CEO of Intel passed away on March 21. Grove was arguably one of the brightest; most forward thinking executives of our time. A classic quote from his well-read book Only the Paranoid Survive states “success breeds complacency. Complacency breeds failure. Only the paranoid survive.”

Interestingly, Intel, one of the tech icons has steamily lost its way. The company has begun the process to layoff 12,000 employees over the next year. ...

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20
MAY
0

Leadership Development, Performance Management, Strategy Execution

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