Good leaders must be good followers. That is paradoxical, isn’t it? This article from CNNMoney.com chronicles an M.B.A. students journeys from grad school to the Marines to a tour of duty in Iraq and back to grad school. It is a fascinating first-hand account (h/t to JustSell.com). This is profound (emphasis mine): In many ways there’s probably no better preparation I could have had for the business world than joining the Marine Corps. The Marines teach you how to be both a leader and a follower. I don’t have to lead in every situation – but I’ve come to enjoy stepping up in a time of chaos. When I’m working… Read More
Continue ReadingFailing To Succeed
This is an 8 minute video on failure from Honda via JustSell.com. The 8 min. may change your perspective:
Continue ReadingWhen Hiring, Expect Success
Have you ever worked with a “glass half empty” person? They are something to behold especially if you are a bit of an optimist. We get the chance to interact with many leaders of both sales departments (VP of Sales) and entire companies (CEO). One thing that always catches my ear is the leader’s level of optimism. I find leaders who have a realistic level of optimism to be the most effective. I’m not talking about whistling through the graveyard, but rather a measured optimism that seeks positive solutions. The reason this is so important is that employees have a more difficult time rallying behind a pessimistic leader. I have… Read More
Continue ReadingDrucker On Mistakes
Peter Drucker is always an interesting read and clearly was way before his time. BusinessWeek.com provides an article titled Drucker’s Take on Making Mistakes. The article is filled with many great points so it is difficult to highlight just a handful. Here is the gist of the article (emphasis mine): A batting-average mentality, he added, allows for companies to accommodate different kinds of talent. “One man will consistently do well, rarely falling far below a respectable standard, but also rarely excel through brilliance or virtuosity,” Drucker wrote. “Another man will perform only adequately under normal circumstances but will rise to the demands of a crisis or a major challenge and… Read More
Continue ReadingGen Xodus
BusinessWeek.com has an article titled Today’s Top 10 Talent-Management Challenges that provides some interesting tidbits from 3 different talent managers. One topic leaped off the screen: 6. Stemming the exodus of Gen X’ers from corporate life. A big threat in many firms today is the exodus of mid-career talent—people in whom the organization has invested heavily and in whom it has pinned it hopes for future leadership. For example, developing talent management practices and programs calibrated to leverage technology and create greater work/life balance has been a priority for Mercer over recent years. The sheer smallness of my generation creates pockets of problems with the marketplace. This particular problem is… Read More
Continue ReadingDon’t Fight Emotions With Logical Facts
In sales we know that prospects and customers make decisions emotionally and then justify them afterwards intellectually. This is why strong salespeople have the ability to build rapport and then engage the prospect’s emotions during the qualifying stage. This truth appears to have been validated in a new book titled Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior as noted in this Inc.com blog. The pull quote: Newsflash: People, even when given a choice of thinking logically and getting beneficial results, will often act emotionally despite the consequences. The effects of this irrational behavior on businesses can be far reaching. There is an intriguing case study referenced in the post that… Read More
Continue ReadingLeadership Requires Resilience
BusinessWeek.com has an intriguing article titled Why Failures Can Be Such Success Stories. I have an appreciation for these discussions because I can relate to many of these topics. My career has had many ups and downs and certainly does not look like a textbook example of how to build a career. In business—as in sports, politics, and the arts—many of the greatest and most influential leaders share a history of failure. Automaker Henry Ford and animator Walt Disney both stumbled badly with early business ventures. Early in his career with General Electric (GE), Jack Welch caused an explosion that blew the roof off a building. Not long after taking… Read More
Continue ReadingDefining Leadership
Inc.com’s Boss School blog discusses a topic that seems like it might be a distinction without a difference – leadership vs. management. However, I think the author hits a perfect chord right at the start: Leadership isn’t the same thing as management. Leadership is about providing vision as to where the company is going. It’s about inspiring and motivating. It’s about instilling a certain amount of comfort that someone wiser than you is going to figure a way out of a mess. I often think of managing as being somewhat akin to being a zookeeper. You keep things in order and provide needed resources. That’s not the greatest metaphor, but… Read More
Continue Reading7 Deadly Sins of Sales Managers
First we posted on the 7 Deadly Sins of Salespeople over a year ago. Now comes the follow up – leaders, or sales managers. Each item has a full paragraph explanation to it which I have removed for space. However, 3 of them warranted the full paragraph: 1. Passiveness 2. Unaccountability 3. Thoughtlessness Leaders think. They acknowledge they are making assumptions when they make them and that they are considering opinion rather than dress it up as a fact. They do not apply business models from other industries or businesses without considering whether their external operating environment, strengths and weaknesses are or can be made to be similar. They do… Read More
Continue ReadingEgomaniacal Business Beliefs
My father likes to state that your ego is your most expensive business partner. I’ve seen this firsthand in companies where the leader regularly proclaims their position or superiority. I’m all for it when it is accurate and not overstated. I’m thinking of one particular company where the President consistently stated: Our company does things better than any other company. We are the best in our industry. Nobody can do what we do. Unfortunately, in this instance, these statements were just not accurate. The outcropping from this situation was painful for us. We were searching for a regional sales manager for this company. We lost good candidates because the President… Read More
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