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Author Archives: David Shedd
Skin in the Game
In a previous job, I had around 100 salespeople who reported either directly or indirectly to me. As a group, they were strong in sales. But they lagged in paperwork, especially sales reporting and expense reports, and in doing any … Continue reading
The Challenge of Being Ethical
“The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you’ve got it made.” Groucho Marx “There’s one way to find out if a man is honest – ask him. If he says, ‘Yes’, you know … Continue reading
Posted in Leadership, Personal Success, Team / People
Tagged Do the Right Thing, Ethical Leadership, Ethics
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Rough Seas Ahead?
Economists, politicians, and many business leaders are predicting a recession in 2023 as the Federal Reserve continues to tighten to lower inflation and inflationary expectations. Alas, I have no insight on whether an economic downturn will come to pass. I … Continue reading
Evolution and Change in Business
Looking at our businesses within the context of evolution can give us actionable insights to help move our businesses forward. Despite what we may have read or heard; evolution is not about a dog-eat-dog world where only the strongest individuals … Continue reading
Posted in Business Acumen, Improve / Turnaround, Perform / Execution
Tagged Change, Change Management, Evolution
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Let’s Be Scientific
As leaders, we are required to constantly evaluate evidence and make decisions. In doing so, we often succumb to “winging it” and making decisions on the fly, trusting our gut. While this might work for some decisions, it does not … Continue reading
Hold Opinions Lightly (While Holding Convictions Tightly)
“When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?” John Maynard Keynes In a leadership position, we need to hold our opinions lightly. We need to be able to change our opinion or viewpoint when new … Continue reading
Posted in Business Acumen, Communication, Personal Success
Tagged Confirmation Bias, Decision Making
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14 Basics to Master
Leadership training focuses intently on high level leadership skills – strategic planning, negotiation, managing stakeholders, projecting charisma, developing and communicating a vision. These are certainly vital skills. But, to be an effective leader first requires that we master basic productivity … Continue reading
Field Centric
As leaders, we can get wrapped up in so many different activities and meetings – meeting with the finance, human resources or marketing department; talking to investors, banks and insurance companies; strategic planning; looking at acquisition candidates or joint venture … Continue reading
Make Molehills
“Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill.” Unfortunately, too many leaders ignore this wise advice. Instead, every minor issue becomes a major problem that needs to be addressed and resolved now. Why? Leaders make mountains out of molehills for … Continue reading
The Four Stupidities of the Smart Leader
To be a good leader, we have to be intelligent: intellectually, socially and emotionally intelligent. In a previous blog post, I even gave some advice on 8 Ways to Be As Smart As We Can Be. Being smart, however, does … Continue reading
Posted in Business Acumen, Leadership, Personal Success
Tagged Business Leadership, Communication
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Patience
The regular readers of my blog are aware of my focus on Decisiveness and Getting Things Done. But, as in all things in leadership, balance is required. Good leaders balance this decisiveness with a healthy dose of patience. There are … Continue reading
Three Keys to Teamwork
The fundamental determinant of success on most projects and at most companies is teamwork. Volumes have been written about how to foster teamwork. My small contribution is to suggest that each of us, when part of a team, keep three … Continue reading
Posted in Communication, Perform / Execution, Team / People
Tagged Accountability, Humility, Simplicity, Teamwork, Winning Teamwork
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Don’t Get Angry
The Ancients knew a thing or two about anger: “Whom the Gods want to destroy, they first make angry.” Ancient Greek Proverb “Great anger is more destructive than the sword.” Indian Proverb “The angry man will defeat himself in battle … Continue reading
A Good Leader is a Good Storyteller
If only I could never open my mouth…until the abstract idea had reached its highest point – and had become a story! Zorba the Greek Since joining my current company, I have been emphasizing several concepts, such as “trust but … Continue reading
Posted in Communication, Leadership, Sales and Marketing
Tagged Communication, Leadership, Storytelling
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Apology Accepted
As a leader, we will make mistakes or behave (in a moment of anger or frustration) inappropriately. The usual response is to blame someone else, ignore the mistake or minimize the bad behavior, and then just move on. “I have … Continue reading
Posted in Leadership, Personal Success, Team / People
Tagged Apology, Humility, Leadership
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Humor – A Vital Leadership Skill
“A sense of humor is part of the art of leadership, of getting along with people, of getting things done.” Dwight D. Eisenhower (34th President of the United States) Having humor in the workplace is crucial to leadership success and … Continue reading
Posted in Leadership, Personal Success, Team / People
Tagged Business Leadership, Humor, Winning Teamwork
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Seek Out the ‘Useful Answer’
“When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.” Dalai Lama In my company, as in many others, we have a formal system to review work that we have done. Whether called post-project reviews, re-caps, or post-mortems, these reviews give the people … Continue reading
When Negotiating, Selling or Just Persuading, Quality Over Quantity
Niro Sivanathan is an Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior at London Business School, who teaches Negotiations, Influence and Decision-Making. His psychological insights can help all of us be better negotiators, influencers and decision makers. In this blog, I let Niro’s … Continue reading
Posted in Business Acumen, Communication, Personal Success
Tagged Communication, Negotiation, Niro Sivanathan, Persuasion
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The First Two Steps in Process Improvement
Most process improvement initiatives fail miserably. First, they do not improve the processes they were supposed to improve. Second, they waste managerial and employee time, effort and attention. Or, third, the process may be improved; but this improvement does not … Continue reading
Top Three Things to Do Today to Be a Better Leader
To build a better business, we need to be better leaders. This does not mean we need to rush out and get more training or education or bring in a consultant (absolutely not!!). Instead, we need to focus on the … Continue reading
Posted in Improve / Turnaround, Leadership, Perform / Execution
Tagged Follow Up, Leadership, Positivity, Simplicity
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David M. Shedd - Move Your Company Forward 