A survey of millions of American workers conducted by the Gallup Corporation discovered that 65% of them received no praise or recognition for the work they did in the past year. That’s right, for two-thirds of the workforce a whopping 52 weeks went by without any affirmation. It’s like we’re saying to our employees, “I […]
Read MoreTraditional time management says this: Do you have 10 things to do today? I can show you how to do 15. Do you have 15 things to do today? I can show you how to do 20. But what happens when you have 30, 40, and 50 things to do every single day like we […]
Read MoreHere’s a tale of two businesses: Tom, the owner of a busy retail store, was working in his office when his desk chair broke. Quickly, before running off to an important vendor meeting, Tom bought a new chair at the office warehouse down the street. He drug the box in from the car and asked […]
Read MoreTeams are all the rage today. We have executive teams and sales teams, product development teams and cross-functional teams. Most teams, however, are not teams at all but mere committees. Not only do these groups waste precious time and energy, but they miss the powerful synergy that real teams achieve. Here’s why your team is […]
Read MoreI was working with a client recently putting the final touches on a quarterly sales contest he was conducting with his team. We noticed from past quarterly contests that his people started well and ended well, but in-between they needed extra motivation. So we added a few fun twists for weeks five, six, seven, and […]
Read MoreThe word customer is, perhaps, the most important word in the language of business. Without customers, we don’t have a business. Or if we have one, we won’t have it for very long. Yet in my years of working with businesses, I have found them woefully ignorant about their customer. The reason for this, however, […]
Read MoreA great irony about vision is that it’s born, not on the mountaintop, but in the valley; not in the light, but in the darkness. It’s created by adversity. Whereas most people would conform to the limitations of current reality, sinking into it like quicksand, visionaries do just the opposite. They refuse to accept the […]
Read MoreAny idea, initiative, product, brand, and even organization is subject to the laws of the bell curve. That bell curve may extend over a few months, or even years, but its dynamics affect everything. Exceptional leaders understand this and take the actions needed for each stage of development. Stage One: Acceptance A bell curve begins […]
Read MoreContrary to what popular psychology proclaims, we must know our weaknesses and know them well. Don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise. Why? First, so that you can avoid situations that play to your weaknesses. All workflow takes the path of least resistance, and, if you’re ignorant of your weaknesses, you’ll find yourself repeatedly doing […]
Read More“People will run really, really fast for two reasons,” sales trainer Thomas Freese is fond of saying, “to win a gold medal and to get away from a German Shepherd.” His point is this: a buyer has more than one reason to buy, a positive one that results in gaining pleasure of some kind–the gold […]
Read More