Tag Archives: Management

Survival of the Fittest and Leadership Flexibility

Hawaiians and other Polynesians are the descendants of peoples who traveled by boat from East Asia to settle their islands.  Those most likely to survive the long and arduous journey were those with “thrifty genes”.  They were those ancestors who … Continue reading

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Avoiding Micromanagement

Guilty as charged!!  I confess that I do, at times, micromanage. However, soon after slipping into micromanagement, I become aware (yet again) that micromanagement is truly just mis-management.  It would have been far better for me to avoid the trap … Continue reading

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Use Words Well to Lead Well

Our words matter. As leaders, we spend much of our time communicating with others through our actions, our body language, and especially our words. Unfortunately, all too often we do not use our words well leading to poor communication and … Continue reading

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Optimize the Overall Business

As business leaders, we strive to have each of our areas improve its efficiency and effectiveness. Accounting, Sales, Marketing, Engineering, Operations, Project Management, Customer Service – each of these parts of the business needs to be as effective as possible.  Likewise, … Continue reading

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8 Ways To Be As Smart As We Can Be

To do our best in business, we need to be as smart as we can be. Alas, I do not have any tremendous insight or magic elixir to make myself or anyone else be smarter.  Sorry. What I do have … Continue reading

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The ‘Crack Cocaine’ of Leadership

Crack Cocaine has three distinguishing features: It gives the user a short – lived, intense high It is highly addictive It inevitably leads to the user’s downfall These exact three characteristics are found when business leaders feed their egos. Let’s … Continue reading

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5 Ways Managers Can Make It Happen

In order to move our companies forward, we, as managers, need to get the right things done – the most important tasks that lead to success. This needs to happen in a workplace besieged by interruptions, distractions, and office chatter. … Continue reading

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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

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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

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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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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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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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Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done

In their book, Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done, Larry Bossidy, Ram Charan and Charles Burck drive home the point that execution is vital. The difference between a company and its competitors is its ability to execute; that is … Continue reading

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5 Business Fundamentals I Did Not Learn at Wharton

In a previous blog, I discussed the five business fundamentals that I learned at Wharton. Today, I discuss five keys to business success that I did not learn at Wharton (and that may not be learnable in a classroom environment). … Continue reading

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5 Business Fundamentals Learned at Wharton

The start of another school year is upon us. As such, nearly 100,000 aspiring MBA’s will be matriculating in the next few weeks to begin a two year program that leads to that golden business passport – an MBA. A … Continue reading

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The Lost Skill of Delegation

“You cannot do it all.” As business leaders, most of us have come to realize that we need to better delegate tasks so that we can get what is essential done. But, it is important to remember that the purpose … Continue reading

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Introducing – Build a Better B2B Business

  My book, Build a Better B2B Business: Winning Leadership for Your Business-to-Business Company, is now available for sale on Amazon.com (Click Here). The book offers a simple, focused, and practical approach to business leadership. Today, business and business leadership … Continue reading

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Five Things a Business Leader Should Do Today and Every Day

  Successful business leadership depends on the words and ideas that the leader contributes to the organization. But even more significant, is what the business leader does. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: Your actions speak so loudly that I … Continue reading

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Who is Managing and Leading Your Front-Line Managers?

Every organization requires strong front-line managers and leaders. The job of developing these managers falls to their direct supervisors, leaders who are “managers of managers.” These managers of managers must select, train, and hold front-line managers accountable. Alas, many managers … Continue reading

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4 Warning Signs That a New Manager is Failing

Perhaps, you have just been promoted to management for the first time. Perhaps, you have just promoted someone to their first management role. In either case, the next few months will be a challenge. The shift from valued contributor to … Continue reading

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