Decision Making

13 May, 2012

Oh S**T! They’re Serious!

By |2016-10-29T15:29:50+00:00May 13th, 2012|Business Growth, Business Strategy, Corporate Culture, Leadership, Leading & Managing Change, Results|

There is a moment of truth in every organizational change that determines if the effort has a chance of succeeding or is destined to fail. It is the point where good intention is transformed into focused action. It when everyone looks at each other and says, “Oh, S**T! They’re Serious!”

12 Feb, 2012

Right Number – Wrong Measure

By |2014-10-19T22:25:01+00:00February 12th, 2012|Accountability, Business Growth, Business Strategy, Government & Politics, Leadership, Personal Development, Results|

What if the unemployment rate is the wrong measure? The U.S. economy added 243,000 jobs in January 2012, and the unemployment rate dropped from 8.5 percent to 8.3 percent. That’s huge, and everyone should be excited regardless of their political affiliation. This is the type of employment gain that solidifies the economic recovery. But, what if the right number turns out to be the wrong measure?

10 Dec, 2011

Delivering Results in the New Abnormal

By |2016-10-29T15:29:51+00:00December 10th, 2011|Accountability, Business Growth, Business Strategy, Corporate Culture, Leadership, Results|

So here’s a scary thought: What if the turbulence that we’ve seen in the past three years is the new normal? This is an exciting time to be in the business of building a team, a department, and an entire organization. It is not for the faint of heart, however. The legendary brands of the future are being created today by leaders and organizations who relish the opportunity to compete and master life in the new abnormal.

31 Oct, 2011

The Only Culture That Matters

By |2016-10-29T15:29:52+00:00October 31st, 2011|Accountability, Business Growth, Business Strategy, Corporate Culture, Leadership, Results|

“Culture” is becoming the catch word for virtually every new business book, training program, or speech. There are people out there who want to help you develop a culture of accountability, service, innovation, celebration, learning, listening, sustainability, trust, recognition, teamwork, engagement, and change. The only culture that matters is the one that helps you and your organization achieve your desired results.

22 Oct, 2011

Three Questions Determine Your Value

By |2016-10-29T15:29:52+00:00October 22nd, 2011|Accountability, Business Growth, Business Strategy, Leadership, Results|

The reality of today’s market-driven world is brutal. We are all better at some things than others. Most of us are actually excellent – or at least better than average – at some aspects of our business or personal performance. And, that doesn’t matter unless what we do well adds value to the customer.

22 Sep, 2011

Want Growth? Part III: Raise the Talent Level

By |2016-10-29T15:29:53+00:00September 22nd, 2011|Business Growth, Business Strategy, Government & Politics, Leadership, Personal Development|

Your value in the marketplace is in direct proportion to the importance and complexity of the problems you can solve and solutions you can provide to your customers. Put another way, you can’t earn a brain surgeon’s salary with a talent level that qualifies you to be a convenience store clerk.

6 Sep, 2011

Want Growth? Part I: Start With Trust

By |2016-10-29T15:29:53+00:00September 6th, 2011|Business Growth, Business Strategy, Government & Politics, Integrity & Ethics, Leadership, Personal Development|

The U.S. economy is in a self-fulfilling death spiral propelled by mistrust. There is a good chance that the same thing can be said of your industry, your employer, and your career. Growth requires investment, and that requires confidence. You can’t cut your way to sustainable growth. When trust is absent, people naturally protect their immediate self-interest. This will occur even if it leads to their long-term individual and collective undoing.

17 Aug, 2011

Let’s Be Honest About Dishonesty

By |2016-10-29T15:29:53+00:00August 17th, 2011|Accountability, Business Growth, Business Strategy, Corporate Culture, Integrity & Ethics, Leadership, Personal Development|

Dishonesty is not new, but let’s be honest—our society has raised the rationalization of dishonesty to an art form. When it comes to the truth, we embellish, expand, enrich, soften, shave, stretch, and withhold. We misspeak, pretend, bend, and improve. We are guilty of mistakes, misjudgment, and truthful hyperbole. We exaggerate, spin, filter, and inflate. However, we rarely—or perhaps even never—believe that we are guilty of dishonesty.

17 Aug, 2011

Leadership & The Tea Party

By |2016-10-29T15:29:53+00:00August 17th, 2011|Accountability, Government & Politics, Integrity & Ethics, Leadership, Personal Development|

What’s not to like? Millions of like-minded people promoting limited federal government, individual freedoms, personal responsibility, free markets, and a return of political power to the states and the people. How could anyone argue that the Tea Party is a bad thing? Oh wait! That can’t be right. The Tea Party is actually millions of small-minded people who engage in racist behaviors and want to take away the power of the federal government to set policy and help society by cutting the funding to every social program that they don’t like. So which is it? The answer is, “It depends on your point of view.”

4 Jul, 2011

The Return of Responsibility

By |2016-10-29T15:29:54+00:00July 4th, 2011|Accountability, Government & Politics, Integrity & Ethics, Leadership, Personal Development, Results|

The trials of former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and disgraced self-help guru James Arthur Ray both ended in guilty verdicts. Blagojevich was found guilty on 17 of 20 counts of corruption. Ray was found guilty of three counts of negligent homicide from deaths in a sweat lodge ceremony. And though some would argue that the verdicts in both cases were never in doubt, the results could have gone either way. Here are three lessons leaders can learn from these two seemingly unrelated cases:

21 Jun, 2011

Milestones & Goals

By |2016-10-29T15:29:54+00:00June 21st, 2011|Accountability, Business Strategy, Corporate Culture, Leadership, Personal Development, Results|

Seventeen days can make a tremendous difference. The date was May 25, 2011. The Dallas Mavericks became the National Basketball Association’s Western Conference Champions for only the second time in its thirty-one year history. The 17,000-plus fans were anxious for a celebration. The team held up the trophy, smiled, posed for the obligatory photo-op, and then exited the arena – leaving ESPN reporter Doris Burke looking for someone to interview.

2 Jun, 2011

Engage Your People to Engage Your Customers

By |2016-10-29T15:29:58+00:00June 2nd, 2011|Accountability, Business Growth, Business Strategy, Corporate Culture, Employee Retention, Execution, Innovation, Leadership, Performance Improvement, Personal Development, Results|

Right now – as you are reading this sentence – 70 percent of your staff are alienating your customers, keeping you from achieving your goals, or costing your company money that could be used for more productive uses. Scary, huh?

25 May, 2011

How Important Are Your Values? What Is Your Number 2?

By |2011-05-25T18:31:34+00:00May 25th, 2011|Accountability, Business Growth, Business Strategy, Corporate Culture, Integrity & Ethics, Leadership, Performance Improvement, Personal Development, Results|

Values – every company hangs them on the wall and distributes them on wallet cards. It is the same for individuals. Ask ten of your friends to list their values, and at least eighty percent will use words like respect, integrity, and honesty. So how important are your values? Will you sacrifice them for the results and outcomes you desire? Are they so important that you would lay down your life – figuratively or literally – to protect them?

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