You are the leader, it is your problem, no one else's, right? Leadership involves calculating return on investment. Sometimes that means you take the 2nd best solution to a problem, not the first. Why would you do that? Stop being the Chief Problem Solver in your organization. Let the team come up …
Communication
If you knew then …
You are in the middle of it all. Making decisions, statements, and public announcements. You are not sure you are doing the right thing, but you are doing what leaders have to do every day. Make tough decisions. There are critics that will be Monday morning quarterbacking you, but you are steadfast, …
The “Wimpy Syndrome”
This is probably one of the most overused negotiation tactics by buyers and purchasing professionals in history. I call it the Wimpy Syndrome. You all remember “Popeye the Sailor man” and his friend Wimpy. Wimpy always wanted the immediate satisfaction of a hamburger today, with the promise of …
Tip: Hard Work is Irrelevant
If you could design the best compensation plan, would it be based on hard work, or output? I once heard a story about a locksmith. During his apprenticeship, he would take hours to work on a project. His customers would come and see him pour his heart and soul into his work. Quite a few would …
If I Had More Time …
If we had more time to do anything, what do you do with that time? What a great question to ponder. However pondering and pontificating are the opposite ends of the spectrum that I am pointing at. Lincoln’s greatest speech given was his Gettysburg address. It was a total of 272 words. Lincoln …
Trying to remember? Or Trying not to forget?
I can’t forget to pick up my dry cleaning before 3:00pm. I can’t forget to make my dentist appointment. I can’t forget to back up my hard drive. How many times have you asked yourself one of these questions? And for each of these how many times were you successful in remembering, or not …
Clear Communication…
In a recent golf outing, I was playing some of the best golf I’ve played for quite some time. I was playing with 3 younger guys, that were actually impressed on how well I was hitting the ball in the middle of every green and putting lights out. They had played with me before, so they knew this was …
Leadership and Trust
This is the 2nd Article in a Series on Leadership that I have been asked to write. In the first article of this series, we discussed that building trust as a leader is extremely important. Without trust, who will follow you. Let us assume for a moment that you have built that trust. That you have …
This is a “baloney” sandwich!
You just received an email from your boss. "I would like to see you after lunch today, to discuss your performance". For many of you, you won't be too worried about this, but for others you begin to set the stage in your mind. You can see yourself walking into the office, sitting down, and …
Why the oldest profession will never die!
Have you wondered why your telemarketing team never provides you market intelligence? They provide orders, good repeat business, but you never seem to be ahead of the competition? Do you find yourself competing at the commodity level, and not at the premium level? There is a theory about …