He was doing his best to choke back his emotion. I sat in silence and waited. We were at a local coffee shop. It was early afternoon and the lunch crowd was thinning out, but there were still plenty of stragglers around. We were discussing sales growth strategies for his Read more…
This was not my first rodeo. I had led teams before. But this was a brand new industry for me and my first time leading a sales organization. I was also a member of the family that owned and operated the company, so I felt like I had something to Read more…
Last week I had the pleasure to spend some time with an extremely successful investment banker from one of the most prestigious firms in the country. He asked me about what I was doing now and told him a little about my work in helping organizations become more healthy. His Read more…
Leaders are readers. Why? Because one of the most important aspects of leading is vision: being able to see and paint a clear picture of what the future looks like in order to inspire those you lead. Reading constantly exposes us to new ideas and perspectives and keeps us part Read more…
If you are in sales or you lead a team, if you are in a relationship with a significant other or you have kids, if you serve customers or communicate with others in any way — basically, if you live on this planet (and you are not the caveman in Read more…
Trust is every organization’s most valuable asset. It is what great teams are made of. It is what great customer relationships are made of. But what is it and how can we create more of it? Trust, according to Steven Covey, has two major components: competency and character (seen as Read more…
Wow, I feel energized but exhausted…, proud but humbled…, and honestly a little light headed. This week I had the immense pleasure of helping a leadership team discover and articulate clearly and powerfully the guiding principles of their organization. I had a front row seat to observe a team of Read more…
It’s hard to believe it’s Spring Break season already. I give thanks that my kids aren’t old enough to make requests to attend group trips yet, although those days are coming quickly. Actually, as I’m finding, many of us are feeling stuck in the day to day craziness at work. Read more…
I’ve recently found that the more Self centered I am, the better things have been going. Has anyone ever called you self-centered? If so, you know how much it stings. We’ve all met one of those self-absorbed, narcissistic people who think the world revolves around them and them alone. Ironically, Read more…
The last of the three key characteristics of ideal team players according to Pat Lencioni is the quality of being “smart”. Not head smarts or IQ, but something much more akin to emotional intelligence or “people smarts”. Volumes have been written about emotional intelligence or “EQ” and I would recommend Read more…