On a recent client assignment, I realized my client’s team could greatly increase their resonance with current and prospective clients by changing their conversations with them. Far too often business development consultants and leaders of teams have too many peripheral conversations, not intimate ones. It happens outside of normal business, too. Here’s an example from my recent visit […]
I’ve been coaching executives and sales teams for a while now. And I have found there are three main areas in which people have at least one weakness when it comes to presentations or sales calls. It’s either they aren’t planning their meetings well enough, they lose control of the meeting, or (in some case […]
Recently, a client lamented that he and his firm lost a multi-million dollar order. The CEO, who had not been involved in the process, stopped the expected transaction…after my client had invested a year’s worth of relationship building with the two execs that reported to the CEO. Hence the phrase; no client left behind! I felt […]
Q2 of 2016 is at hand. We’re all working hard…let’s work smart too. As I coach executives, I remind them it’s not OK to only check-in with their associates and provide feedback. They need to check themselves, too. Here are five questions every leader should be asking, and answering, so that the rest of year is productive […]
In the 1980’s the Army had a great slogan I often use when introducing a coaching program to an executive; “Be all you can be.” That’s the essence of an executive development program…if you want it. The problem is, many think of coaching as a punishment or a sign that management is not happy with their […]
I often talk, and write, about how important it is to know your clients’ goals and objectives. You can’t offer an effective recommendation without doing so. However, most of the discussions around this focus on company or department goals. For you really to be effective, you have to get beyond that and find out what […]
Filling open positions on your team usually boils down to this: find the right person for the job. But what about the people already ON your team. Do they meet this basic qualification? Perhaps they did at first, but the job has changed. How well do they match up now? Too many times I see […]
I’m writing this at the end of December 2015 and sitting outside determining 2016 Resolutions I’d like to share with you. I believe in resolutions as a way to give you a benchmark upon which to start things off right. Whether your resolutions are 100% kept or not, it’s important to make them. Why Have Resolutions? […]
In this blessed holiday season there is a lot to be grateful for as I’ve blogged about in the past. It’s also the time to acknowledge people. Assess Your Relationships From clients to associates, take a moment to assess this year’s relationships with people you’re close to professionally. Assess their importance to you, how your year has […]
The great Spanish philosopher Jose Ortega y Gasset once said: “We cannot put off living until we are ready. The most salient characteristic of life is its coerciveness: it is always urgent, “here and now,” without any postponement. Life is fired at us point blank.” Understanding this truism, the challenge for all of us is […]
