The “Dottie Test”
Reading Time: < 1 minute As organizations grow and C-Level executives become busier they often lose sight of the team members who occupy the lower rungs of an ever-growing org chart. Charles Schwab CEO Walt Bettinger shared a valuable lesson in a NY Times Interview which taught him “you should never lose sight of people who
Who Owns the Sales Culture?
Reading Time: < 1 minute We are constantly reminded about the importance of a strong company-wide culture. But there are sub-cultures within the whole. Take sales, Do you know who owns the sales culture? Is it the CEO, the Sales Manager, the COO? Collen Stanley, Vistage Speaker and president of Sales Leadership, Inc. knows, and if
What We Can Learn About Leadership From Sports
Reading Time: 3 minutes Reposting an oldie (but a goodie) from March 2014 I have a son Tod who plays squash in college – I have always been fascinated with the sport (I could never play it). Watching him grow upand attending many of his matches, I learned how difficult a sport it is
Managing & Leading: What are the Differences?
Reading Time: 2 minutes I often get confused between Managing and Leading – after all aren’t they one and the same? I soon discovered that managing is squeezing efficiency out of the system. It is largely about productivity – how can I get more units of output per labor hour. How do you think
Are Leaders Born or Are Leaders Made?
Reading Time: 2 minutes My own view is Leaders are like professionals (sports, arts, etc.): Some have more natural talent than others, yet it is the growth in this talent that propels them into a level of mastery. The most important point is we have to want to grow our talent at an emotional level, not
The Leadership Journey: How to Communicate so People Will Listen
Reading Time: 4 minutes I have been hanging around the leadership arena for many years, and I can’t tell you how many mistakes I have made along the way with my communications. Why is this so? I know what to do, but my mind races ahead. I recognize I have the words to say
Are You a Pusher?
Reading Time: < 1 minute No, not the kind that word generally brings to mind…. I mean as a leader are you a “pusher?” Patrick Lencioni author of “Five Temptations of a CEO” and “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” says you should be. Learn why he says “Leaders are Pushers.”
How Ike Did It
Reading Time: < 1 minute Few people had more important and momentous careers that President Dwight (Ike) Eisenhower. During World War II he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe. He not only led the planning for the invasion of Europe, his remarkable interpersonal skills held together a fragile coalition of US, English,
Seven Best Business Decisions of All Time
Reading Time: < 1 minute A few years back Vern Harnish (“Rockefeller Habits”, “Scaling Up , “Gazelles”) shared what he thought were the seven best business decisions of all time in a short video. At the end, he commented that 6 of the 7 decisions had one thing in common. See if you can identify it before
Drucker’s Big Five
Reading Time: < 1 minute It’s hard to believe that the legendary Peter Drucker’s been gone for over a decade; perhaps it’s the timeliness of his work that keeps him top of mind with so many executives. Many companies will be focusing on their strategic plans during December and it’s easy to get lost in