Tag Archives: Business Leadership

Metrics in Business – User Beware

“I used to believe that if it doesn’t get measured, it doesn’t get done. Now I say if it doesn’t get measured it doesn’t get approved… you need to manage by facts, not gut feel.” General Jon Michael Loh, USAF … Continue reading

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Clarity

With so much going on in our companies today, our employees have a large number of competing priorities as they do their daily tasks. What is most important? What should they focus on first?

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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

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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

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Three Paradoxes of Leading Multiple Business Units

As your company expands or as you progress up the ranks in your company, you will likely move from having P&L (profit and loss) responsibility for one business unit to having P&L responsibility for several different business units (usually located … Continue reading

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We Need Less Leadership!

In her thought-provoking book, The End of Leadership, Barbara Kellerman writes: One of the problems plaguing the leadership industry is its fixation on developing good leaders, while ignoring completely the problem of stopping or at least slowing bad leaders. Stopping … Continue reading

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The Leadership Machine – Developing Skills for Your Leaders and Executives

In their book, The Leadership Machine (Architecture to Develop Leaders For Any Future), Michael W. Lombard and Robert W. Eichinger discuss ways to build leaders and develop leadership competencies (skills) in any company. Although the book is a bit too … Continue reading

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Lady Luck Always Has Her Day

Whether we like it or not, a good deal of what happens to us in our lives, our careers and our businesses comes down to luck and fortunate timing. The chance meeting with someone that led to a job and … Continue reading

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The Oz Principle – Be Accountable, Be Responsible, Be Answerable

In their book, The Oz Principle – Getting Results Through Individual and Organizational Accountability, Roger Connors, Tom Smith and Craig Hickman discuss the pervasive lack of accountability in the corporate world. Dirty Little Secret The dirty little secret is that … Continue reading

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Stephen Covey’s “Habits” Books – Still Valuable After All These Years

Stephen R. Covey is justifiably famous for his books on business and personal success. In this blog, I briefly summarize two of his best and most relevant books for moving you and your company forward. The 7 Habits of Highly … Continue reading

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Move Your Company Forward in 2012

Welcome to 2012! I remain confident that this will be the year that your company once again begins to soar. To help you with that I offer up six suggestions on how you can make a substantive change in your … Continue reading

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Jack: Straight From the Gut

In Jack: Straight From the Gut, famed GE CEO Jack Welch (with John A. Byrne), gives a no-nonsense take on what made his 20-year tenure at GE so successful. The first fundamental in strategy is to be in the right … Continue reading

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‘Tis a Gift to Be Simple

In a previous blog (Why is Business So Complex?), I highlighted the factors that drive business leaders and businesses towards greater and greater complexity and more and more work. Yes, business is complex. And that complexity cannot be ignored. But, … Continue reading

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It is Better to Be Good in Fact than Great in Fiction

This is my 100th blog post in my blog “Helping Leaders Win.” If I had to sum up one line that describes my approach to business success and “winning leadership” over the previous 99 posts, it would be the title … Continue reading

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Ahead of the Curve: Two Years at Harvard Business School

In his book, Ahead of the Curve: Two Years at Harvard Business School, Philip Delves Broughton recounts his experience as a student at HBS. It is an interesting read, especially for those planning to go to business school. For our … Continue reading

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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

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Business Turnaround 301 – Right People Doing the Right Job

In discussing business turnarounds, we have seen that the three fundamentals to turn a troubled business around are as follows: Understand Reality, Face Reality Focus, Prioritize, Plan (Less is More) Right People Doing the Right Job Today, we turn our … Continue reading

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12 Stupid Hiring Mistakes to Avoid in 2012

Despite the 8.6% unemployment rate, many companies searching for their next manager or executive have but one complaint: I cannot find the right person for my company; there is no good talent out there. In reality, nearly all these companies … Continue reading

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Made To Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die

In their excellent book, Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, Chip Heath and Dan Heath discuss the ways to make sure your ideas stick. An idea sticks when it is understood and remembered and has a … Continue reading

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How to ‘Do What You Say’ and Distinguish Yourself from Everyone Else

A fundamental for business relationships and business success is to do what you say you are going to do. ‘Doing what you’ say builds trust and confidence that you are reliable, dependable, and will live up to your commitments and … Continue reading

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