Will you be my mentor?
What do successful people all have in common? They’ve asked for help from someone that’s been where they want to go. They’ve had mentors.
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How to become an “A” Player
Most of us think we’re good drivers. Spend any time on the highway and you’ll see this just can’t be true. Is being an “A” Player kinda like that?
Are you an “A” Player? How do you know? If you want to become one here’s how…
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What the best growth strategies have in common
What do the best growth strategies have in common? A genius CEO, limitless funding, or game-changing tech? The answer might surprise you.
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The most powerful word in goal setting
From the archives…
I wrote this post in January of 2021 when I set a goal to write a blog post each week for a year. I made it 50 weeks. Effort: check. I thought I could get to 1,000 subscribers. Result: unchecked.
I’m not there…yet. How about you with your 2021 goal(s)? If you aren’t there yet, let’s re-up and go another lap around the sun.
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How to hit your sales number next year
No such thing as a free lunch? Learn how to use “free” to hit your sales number next year.
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Why reps miss their sales number
When Einstein said sales is a numbers game, he wasn’t wrong. He still isn’t, although the game has changed. Here’s why reps are missing their number.
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Not just another post about company values
My company has values. They’re on a poster in the hallway. I once recited them by memory in front of a room full of colleagues.
So what else do I need to know?
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Career advice for beginners
The greatest benefit I got out of college was figuring out exactly what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. SIKE! In fairness, I got plenty out of higher education, but I can’t say career clarity was tops on the list. Here are three lessons I’ve learned since graduation day that can help if you’re just starting out.
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The warning passive job seekers need to hear
Got a job but lookin? You aren’t alone. U.S. workers are leaving their jobs for more money, more flexibility, more happiness. But before you go dancing in the streets, heed this warning…
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The secret to good execution
Your team invests oodles of time, energy, and resources into a project. At the moment, it’s 80% done and 0% usable. Sound familiar?
All of a sudden a new priority emerges. Resources are redirected and the initiative gets put on the back burner.
Yet some leaders still find a way to execute and complete the project.
What’s their secret?
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How to make hiring easy
Want to make hiring easy? Follow these can’t-miss steps, and I guarantee you’ll build a dream team that would make Captain America jealous… or at least put the Staples Easy Button on notice.
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The best meeting advice I ever received
I spend most of my day in meetings and talking on the phone. How about you?
There are repeatable elements to a great meeting: Have an agenda, take notes, assign action items, instill accountability. All of that stuff is good.
But none of it is better than a piece of advice I received early in my career. I call it the golden rule of meetings.
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The hidden treasure in companies today
Are you in a commoditized industry? Haggling over price? Seeing growth slow? Does your product or service look a lot like the next guy’s?
No, this isn’t a pharmaceutical ad, although I am here to tell you – you are not alone.
Still, some of these companies are winning big.
Want to know why?
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How to jump from middle management to executive level
Stuck in the middle? Here are 3 key behaviors that Executives repeatedly make that Middle Managers don’t. Use them and you might just get more than legroom.
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Why Prospects Aren’t Calling You Back
In February of 2011, I started my career in Sales. I was hungry. I hit the phones…hard. I left voicemail messages. One, two, three, four, or more messages… for the same person. You could run but not hide…or so I thought.
I’d ask myself constantly…”why don’t prospects ever call me back?” But that was the wrong question.
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2 Tips For Working Late
If you feel like you are constantly giving your days away to other people’s requests, remember we can own the night.
Check out my 2 Tips For Working Late.
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Why We Sometimes Mess Up the “Vision Thing”
Pick up any book on business and you’ll read about the importance of having a Vision for your company, your team, or your project. What better future are you working towards?
Vision is a prerequisite for effective leadership. No doubt.
But still, many of us kinda get it wrong…
Why?
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How To Find The New Year’s Version of Ourselves
Back in January, I wrote that the most powerful word in goal setting is the word “yet.” If you haven’t reached your goal yet, then good news. You’re like the rest of us.
Like Christmas in July, let’s take a mid-year reset. That January version of ourselves is still out there waiting for us.
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A New Definition of Productivity
One day a C-level mentor and one of the hardest workers I know said to me “My productivity is actually motivated by extreme laziness. Believe it or not, I’m a very lazy person.”
Could it really be? I thought. How is this possible?
The comment disturbed me. Then I realized, what if our definition of productivity is all wrong?
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The thing you need to know about yourself…that you probably don’t
Customer requirements. Profitability analysis. Marketing strategies. New HR policies. Company updates. New information be coming at us all day.
What if you could learn the same set of information twice as fast? What if I told you it was possible…once you know this thing about yourself.
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You Are An Innovator
Since you likely don’t work for Apple, Google or Amazon you might not think you are that innovative.
If you aren’t in products, software engineering, or strategy maybe you don’t think you’re an innovator either.
But you are.
Curious how I know?
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The Cure To The Achiever’s Curse
The achiever’s curse is running rampant. It seems to be targeting men, women, and now children between ages 5 and 60.
How do you know if you’ve caught it?
You have the achiever’s curse if you feel like you’re constantly behind.
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How To Get Better At Networking
True story alert! Last year a friend of mine lost his job on Valentine’s Day. This isn’t a sob story though. 2 weeks later he had 3 job offers and started his new gig in enough time to double-dip on severance pay and salary from his new place.
How did he do it?
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How To Always Have A Job
The average professional applies to 100-200 jobs online before receiving 1 offer. (Thanks for nothing LinkedIn :))
Want to always have a job? Here’s how.
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The Greatest Productivity Hack In The World
“We don’t have time to do it right, but we always have time to do it over,” a colleague recently said to me.
He discovered the greatest productivity hack in the World. Now you can too.
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How To Stand Out At Work
In the old days, you stood out by being productive. Nowadays, being productive will get you your annual 3%, but it won’t help you stand out. Want to stand out? Come check this out…
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Pop Quiz: What’s The Most Important Role In Your Company?
The CEO? The Sales Rep? IT Helpdesk? No, nope, and maybe. The best run companies know the answer to this question…now you can too.
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The Management Fear Holding Us Back
There’s one fear at work many of us need to overcome to be more effective. HINT: It isn’t public speaking…
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Why New Business Strategies Fail
Many of the business strategies your company launches won’t work. But you guys aren’t alone. According to Forbes, a third of all business strategies fail.
We’re all pretty smart people. Why don’t our companies win more often?
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The Next Generation of Goal Achievement Strategy
Things Evolve. Radio, Black & White, then Color TV. Antenna, Cable, then Netflix. New Kids, Backstreet Boys, then Hanson…wait, is that right?
Things evolve. Goal Achievement Strategy is no different. Here’s where we’re headed next…
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Advice for High Performers
It’s no longer perform in your role, and wait your turn to be promoted. It’s now perform and advance.
Advance to the next assignment, challenge, or opportunity that the company is chasing.
If you’re a high performer, you’re going to get asked this question:
“What do you want to do next?”
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Want To Lead Change? Better Get These Right
If you’re a leader, you lead change. As you become more senior, it’s no longer lead us from X to Y, it becomes from X to ?.
To be successful, you absolutely must get these right…
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What To Do When You’re Triple Booked
Been busy? This is a prioritization framework that can help.
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Career Economics: How To Get To Candy Castle
Are you playing Career Checkers, Chess, or Candy Land?
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What You and Tim Cook Can Have In Common
More than ever, companies need Execution. Someone that can deliver on a strategy, objective, or project. Tim Cook is an Execution Guy. You can be too.
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How To Gain Valuable Experience
If having experience is a pre-requisite for getting more of it, how does anyone ever gain valuable experience?
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The Mistake Good Managers Make
Are you a good manager? If you are, then you’re likely giving too many of these…
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The next strategic BIG thing
What if you could reconfigure your products and services to drive more value for your customers, more profit for your shareholders, and something cool for your sales team to talk about?
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The Secret to Winning More Big Deals
Big customers want better solutions, lower prices, and their problems solved. That’s what we do! So then, why aren’t we closing more big deals?
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The 3 Little Pigs of Digital Leadership
Digital Transformation isn’t just for companies; it’s for leaders too.
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The Most Powerful Word in Goal Setting
What if you knew you would reach your goal? What if you were guaranteed to achieve it? This one little word can make that happen for you.
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The Question We’re Asking, or Being Asked
Wouldn’t it be nice to have a bigger budget, more resources, and deeper bench strength? Sure it would. Sadly, the question we’re all asking, or being asked, is “how do I do more with less?”
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The Problem with Predictability
The problem with predictability is that we chase it instead of creating it.
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Planning Your Strategy: How To Have It All
Much of today’s strategy development is about eliminating risk and reducing uncertainty. Maximize upside and minimize downside. Heavy emphasis on minimizing the downside. But what if we shifted our thinking to maximize upside by maximizing downside? There will always be a downside. What if we used it?
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Why You Want To Hire Your Replacement
Is this how you’ve felt when new talent comes into the company?
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The Collaborator’s Guide to Giving Feedback
Collab is all the rage right now. And it should be. But collaboration has a dark side. And if you’re not careful, it will have you completely lost in the woods.
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How to Create a “Fake Work” Culture
We have a problem with employee engagement in the U.S. It’s increasing.
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Failure to Fail: What I’ve Learned from Playing it Safe
“The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.” – Michelangelo
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Starting with Why I’ve Started this Blog
I believe that if you want to inspire others, you first have to be inspired -which is why I’ve started this blog.
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