I sat down with a senior executive a number of years back to brainstorm opportunities for his division – and to compare notes on the gaps between strategy and true execution. Keep in mind we were talking here about a sales division – but the transferability...
Whether or not iconic musician Jerry Garcia ever really made the above statement about saving the rain forests of South America is subject to debate – he denied it but it’s clear the sentiment lived on. And Dead Heads believe it to be so. It’s one of my...
I speak often in my seminars and executive coaching sessions on the subject of character – that sometimes-overlooked personal dimension that can’t always be discerned in an interview (or even a meeting) – at least not easily. And yet there may be no dimension more important...
A Harvard Business Review article a few years back suggested that something less than a quarter of the approximately 500 accredited business schools in the United States offered any type of sales curriculum. A stunning figure. At the same time no more than 15% offered an MBA...
That business plan you just presented was brilliant. Well designed and carefully crafted – it addresses market, customer, company, and competitor to a finely tuned degree. You’ve identified your resources and have put them into play. Nothing but clear sailing ahead. One question – what happens if...
There is a relatively simple formula involved in influencing others – and it begins with a concept that is timeless…. and often ignored. The problem statement - affecting change in organizations or with individuals is not an easy process. Most of us are quite comfortable with the...
Want to quickly spot the differences in a transformative leader and a transactional manager? The former invests more time in articulating the why behind what we do – and the how involved in achieving it. The latter invests more time in the what– to include constantly harping on results...
If today’s headlines have taught us anything it’s that there are sometimes disconnects between public image and private reality. Yes, legitimate character may be difficult to gauge but its criticality is obvious – and organizations built on that foundation inevitably persevere. It’s clear that some of the...
I started my career with a company that was undersized, underfunded, and under appreciated. But its leadership embraced a powerful principle - hire quality employees, trust them implicitly, allow them to do their jobs, and reward them accordingly. I did not realize then how that elegantly...
A recent conversation reminded me that though almost every company lathers its walls with vision statements, missions, philosophies, and goals – a limited few embrace what makes them either: Come to life Or become about as important as that water color painting on the third...