Dorothy in the “Wizard of Oz” movie famously proclaimed to her dog, “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.” Well, neither are we! In these transformative times, it’s essential to insure that your mission statement mirrors the direction in which your organization must travel. Your mission statement from two years ago needs to be […]
This is part one of a three-part series dedicated to helping you plan your team’s direction for 2017. Part 1: Look Back to See Forward Here are six essential questions for you and your leadership team to resolve to gain a clear line-of-sight into what occurred this year and where you need to tack your […]
I’ve heard every excuse in the world for why presentations fail. Here are some doozies: “I didn’t get enough sleep last night.” “There wasn’t enough time to prepare.” “My boss just threw me in there without warning.” “I got lost so I was late. It threw me off my game.” “The moon was in the […]
Curating your organization’s value proposition is a fun exercise that brings people together along with synthesizing your company’s DNA. Too often, however, organizations feel they need to present their history of achievements, how they began as an organization X number of years ago and/or the biographies of their founders. All of these are wrong. How your organization got […]
When interviewing someone for a job, we generally have a few key characteristics that, if found, would indicate the person will be successful with our company, right? But, how often do we look at our own sales teams with the same amount of examination? What I’ve found over the years, whether it’s with Fortune 500 […]
Email. Text. Chat. Voicemail. All of these have become common ways in which we communicate with clients and business associates. But what about the big one…the phone call! Lost in our digital age is the importance a phone call can have in determining the future of your business relationships. And yet, many times I’ve witnessed seasoned […]
Most of us have some kind of mobile device we use for directions. We plug in a starting point and a destination and voila…fully mapped out routes. Apps like Google Maps and Waze will give alternate routes from which to choose, essentially asking for our input. So, if a mapping app can do that, why don’t […]
As you grow as a leader, you will change, whether you like it or not! How you change and the impact that has on your development, your team and you future is up to you. Sometimes, the changes are requested by others who see your potential, even if you don’t. I work with many people […]
In my last post, I listed the 10 Worst Questions to Ask a Client. So, what questions should we be asking? Given the pressures so many of have on producing results it’s important to understand that the pressures we have, our clients have, too. Therefore, to “serve” clients as an adviser, not a vendor, you […]
Every time I work with an executive or a sales team, I stress the importance of probing questions. They are open-ended questions that get you to a deeper level of understanding of your client’s business. They also give you a subtle opportunity to show that you’ve done your homework by asking well-researched questions. Feedback I […]
