No, I’m not talking about Star Trek but rather a common drive amongst leaders that can get them in trouble. I’ve seen this drive recently in a couple of different business-owning customers. My definition of it is a fast-acting, emotionally-driven decision. I think there is some value to it especially in the early, entrepreneurial stages of a company. Start-ups certainly need to be nimble to compete against larger, established competitors with deeper pockets. However, the impulse drive can outlive its value if the owner/founder overuses it as his/her company grows larger. One example is an owner who developed an idea for a new service offering and went full out to… Read More
Continue ReadingLeadership Made Simple
Remember the book, All I Ever Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten? Perhaps not, unless you are a seasoned vet like I am, but the premise is still sound. Today I was reminded of the power of principle centered leadership. This morning I attended a meeting of the Manufacturers Alliance, a group of 300 or so manufacturers here in Minnesota who share best practices, lead training seminars and otherwise help their peers get better. The keynote speaker was Tom Tiller, CEO of Polaris Industries. Tom’s message was so crystal clear I need to share it. Polaris, he told us, has increased its value by 150 times in the last… Read More
Continue ReadingOffice Meeting Heresy
I give you CareerJournal.com’s Another Meeting? Good. Another Chance To Hear Myself Talk: Mr. McKay’s confession helps answer the question of why, if everybody hates meetings so much, do we have so many of them? Great question. The gentleman referenced in the article misses meetings in his new company! My word, I cannot relate to that sentiment. Here is the stunning research results: Steven Rogelberg, a professor of industrial organizational psychology at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, and a group of colleagues found that among people surveyed about their last meeting, 69% rated them at least “good,” while only 16% rated them “poor” or worse. And although 50% said… Read More
Continue ReadingLeverage Your Sales Team’s Abilities
BusinessWeek.com offers up a great article from one of the authors of First, Break All The Rules. The author discusses how managers discover what makes their employees tick and then they use that information to place the employee in the best situations for success. This approach is one we wholly subscribe to: Do what great managers do: Instead of trying to change your employees, identify their unique abilities (and even their eccentricities)—then help them use those qualities to excel in their own way. This approach is one greatly important aspect of successful sales management. At times, we see sales managers who expect the sales team to adapt fully to him… Read More
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