Blogs by Topic
Tweets
- RT @TheRaymondGroup: Congratulations to Ruslan Mitsyura, Carpenter Foreman in Northern California. Ruslan was voted by his peers to receive… 1 day ago
- RT @TheRaymondGroup: Congratulations to Raymond’s December anniversaries: Bill Doehring (16 years), Brian McCallister (9 years), Aran Carlt… 2 days ago
- RT @TheRaymondGroup: #ShoutOut to Dave Hunt, Painter Foreman in Las Vegas. Thank you, Dave, for putting safety first and always being appro… 3 days ago
- RT @TheRaymondGroup: The Westfield Valley Fair Mall Expansion (ENR 2020 Best Project) was a $1.1b endeavor, broadening the upscale shopping… 1 week ago
Category Archives: Team / People
Lead With Questions
As leaders, we often have an employee come to us with an issue or problem. As “make it happen” managers, we then focus on getting the problem solved and getting it done as quickly as possible. Thus, we take charge, … Continue reading
Get to the Front Lines
Undercover Boss has become a hit TV series by showing big corporate bosses going undercover and discovering the reality of the work lives of their employees. As leaders, we do not need to go undercover; we just need to get … Continue reading
Posted in Business Acumen, Leadership, Team / People
Tagged Accountability, Business Leadership, Business Transformation, Business Turnarounds, Change, Customer Satisfaction, Do the Right Thing, Employee Engagement, Face Reality, Human Resources, Integrity, Sales and Marketing, Sales Coaching, Winning Teamwork
Leave a comment
New Year Resolutions for First-Time Managers
Happy New Year! For first time managers struggling to move their business units forward in 2015, now is the time to take a step back and focus unwaveringly on the fundamentals of managing and leading others. As such, I offer … Continue reading
We Need to Spend “Alone Time” With Our Skip Levels
As leaders, we need to spend time on a regular and consistent basis with our skip levels. What is a Skip Level? As we move up in our organizations, we become ‘managers of managers’ with both direct reports and … Continue reading
The Advice Not Taken
Lose Weight…Eat More Fruits and Vegetables…Exercise More. We all know what we have to do in order to improve our health. That is easy. The difficulty lies in taking this advice and actually following it. Likewise in business, there is … Continue reading
We Need to Deal with Our Non-Performers Today
Dealing with non-performers is likely the most uncomfortable (yet necessary) task in building a winning team. Truth be told, few of us enjoy disciplining, remedial coaching, and terminating employees, especially those that we may work with on a daily basis. … Continue reading
Building Accountability
A dirty little secret in business is that most organizations lack accountability at all levels from the leader to front-line management to individual employees: Assignments are not completed as promised Problems are left half resolved Phone calls are not returned … Continue reading
3 Fundamentals of a Customer Service Culture
Having a true customer service culture depends on each individual employee. Each employee is focused on solving the customer’s problems Each employee strives to help the customer succeed in their business Each employee supports and helps their fellow employees
Leadership Restraint
Contrary to popular opinion, a successful business leader does not need to: Have all the right answers and be the smartest person in the room Be involved in every matter and make every decision Overwhelm his or her subordinates with … Continue reading
Posted in Leadership, Team / People
Tagged Focus, Leadership Restraint, Leadership. Less is More
Leave a comment
Let’s Train Our Sales Managers
The all too common refrain in sales and sales management is: When you promote your star salesperson into a sales management position you lose a good salesperson and gain a lousy sales manager. But why? Why do we have so … Continue reading
Posted in Sales and Marketing, Team / People
Tagged Sales Coaching, Sales Management, Sales Training
1 Comment
To Communicate Better, Communicate Less
Today, we are all overwhelmed with communication of one type or another– too many and too mixed messages from our supervisors, too many E-Mails, too much information. In trying to absorb and process the daily blitz of messages and communication, … Continue reading
Posted in Communication, Leadership, Team / People
Tagged Communication, E-Mail Management, Leadership
Leave a comment
Employee Training and Managerial Development for Free!!
More than ever, companies need to train and develop their employees and managers. As such, countless billions of dollars are spent on seminars, executive education, speakers, etc. The results, however, have been underwhelming. The dirty little secret is that, done … Continue reading
Instilling Passion Back Into Our Businesses
For many companies, the last few years have been a long, hard slog for the leaders and employees alike. Raises and bonuses have been minimal. It is more difficult to make good profits and win. Anxiety is high as there … Continue reading
Hire Smart or Manage Tough – Sound (But Often Forgotten) Hiring Advice
“No management style can undo the damage of a poor hiring decision.” Red Scott In the quick read, Hire Smart or Manage Tough, Red Scott, the former Vice-Chairman of Pier One Imports and a grand-nephew of legendary tough guy, General … Continue reading
Posted in Leadership, Perform / Execution, Team / People
Tagged Hiring, Human Resources, Leadership Development, Team Development
3 Comments
The 4 Innate Qualities of Great Employees
With title inflation, clever wordsmithing, and self-marketing campaigns, every employee or potential employee appears to be a great employee. However, we all know the truth; few people are stars. In order to differentiate people and find the gem, seek out … Continue reading
The “Hard Work” Myth
A few months ago, there was a lot of discussion and a bit of vitriol about Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook, and her habit of leaving the office at 5:30 pm in order to have dinner with her family. … Continue reading
The Leadership Pipeline: How to Build the Leadership Powered Company
In their book, The Leadership Pipeline: How to Build the Leadership Powered Company, Ram Charan, Stephen Drotter, and James Noel lay out a model for building a pool of leadership talent at all levels of your business or corporation. Introduction … Continue reading
Posted in Leadership, Team / People
Tagged Business Leadership, Leadership Development, Training
Leave a comment
