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Constant chaos? It may be time to innovate
“If I asked people what they wanted, they would say they wanted a better horse” -Henry Ford
Last month I was meeting with a client who had a big problem: His business was growing too fast. He had built his success by giving excellent service and managing relationships well. Now all that was at risk. Things were slipping through the cracks, important details were getting overlooked, and his team was “dropping the ball” far too often.
When a situation like this occurs, it is important to define the problem so that we come up with the right solution.Read More…
Effective leaders make room for failure
After decades of business coaching, I have found that there are two “absolutes” of a top-performing team: They don’t make excuses and they don’t blame others. That is because they are not afraid of making a mistake. Strong leaders make room for failure and the opportunity to learn from it.Read More…
Something respected leaders never do
“I will speak ill of no man…and speak all the good I know of everybody.” – Ben Franklin
Several years ago a client of mine asked me to coach one of his sales team leaders. His name was Carl, and his production was below expectations. Even though Carl worked as hard as any team leader, he just kept coming up short. John, his boss, knew the problem. Carl was in the habit of saying negative things about other team members behind their back. We don’t have to be a genius to figure out the repercussions of this habit: Read More…
The payoff of “keeping our cool”
“If you can keep your head about you when all are losing theirs…” – Rudyard Kipling
It is so easy to react quickly when we are wronged or offended.
Many years ago, I remember reading a story in “Bits and Pieces’ about Robert Johnson, founder of Ebony Magazine. It took place in the mid-50’s, and Mr. Johnson wanted to start his publication. He needed financing, and the first bank he went to turned him down. As politely as he could say it, the loan officer informed Mr. Johnson that they did not loan money to people of color. Instead of becoming defensive, Mr. Johnson came back with a question: Read More…
The earlier the concession, the less the value
When I was growing up, many of my summer vacations were spent in Wyoming visiting my relatives. We had several visits to Yellowstone National Park, and I vividly remember seeing bears walking around and occasionally leaning on a car. Not far away we could count on seeing a sign that said, “Do not feed the bears!” We all know why we are not supposed to feed the bears, don’t we? Because if we do, they won’t be satisfied with what they give them, and they will demand more.
This story is a good one to remember in selling: The rule is:
The earlier the concession, the less value it has in closing the saleRead More…