I hear the word if a lot, and based on the number of times it is used, it must be incredibly valuable. Judging by the way so many sales professionals talk, I would say it’s worth thousands of dollars! For example: If only I had gotten...
Frank made it! After years of dedication to his craft he was named the new Vice President of Sales. While he was settling into his new office, he received an email from the President of the company asking him for his strategy to achieve the...
Whether it’s Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toews, PK Subban or Connor McDavid, I'm continually amazed by the high-performing athletes we see on the ice. Their outstanding commitment to excellence and relentless dedication to their craft got me to thinking. What does hockey have to do with...
Ok – so I’m about to date myself and trigger a flurry on google for some of my younger readers. Here goes….do you remember the TV series “Little House on the Prairie”? Set in the 1870’s, the town of Walnut Grove, Minnesota was bustling with activity. ...
A profound and enduring change is on the horizon for our corporate world. Millennials, those born between 1980 and 2000 are poised to make up the majority of the work force in the next few years. We are about to move from a “manage and...
Given the expense and effort required to find top talent that aligns with your organizational culture and values, it would seem equally important that employee engagement is carefully nurtured and managed. Ensuring that employees utilize their gifts and talents in a way they find personally...
Plato said, “The first and best victory is to conquer self.” We’ve all been involved with organizations that try and address problems by creating more rules, more regulations and more oversight, which frankly often just adds to the cost and complexity of running a business. Addressing...
In a few words, Peter Drucker summed up one of the biggest challenges facing organizations today. Most of these challenges have one thing in common: people. I’ve seen it first-hand and in many cases, from a people point of view, is was heart breaking. Over the...
So this salesperson walks into a prospect’s office and sees a large elephant sitting in the corner of the room. It’s clear that the elephant is quite comfortable and has been there for some time. The salesperson stares at the elephant, looks at his prospect,...
Most sales professionals are measured by established sales quotas and targets. Marketing, operations, engineering, and general/ administrative overhead usually are tied to corporate revenue forecasts. When sales quotas are missed, the entire company must realign budgets to manage the loss of revenue captured. The general model...
If you are a sales manager who is more suited to social work than leadership, you may find the following difficult. In some worlds, managers would rather coddle people than confront them, choosing peace and harmony over temporary discomfort, and accept baloney over bringing home...
The airport was crowded and there were few seats available at the coffee shop. Heading out of town on business, I was in desperate need of a coffee before boarding the plane for a four hour flight. Latte in hand, a table full of strangers thoughtfully offered...
When I hung up the phone from an incoming sales call, I was exhausted. The salesperson asked a number of predictable questions and when he thought he had determined what I needed, he presented a variety of different possibilities. He told me about the corporate...
In church on Sunday, our Pastor was sharing some information about the life of Moses – examples of leadership abound in the book of Exodus. It took Moses over 80 years to prepare and develop himself as a leader, ultimately becoming the first political leader...
Imagine a doctor who, as patients come in all day long and tell him what they want, simply gives it to them without asking any questions. “Doctor, I’m stressed. I need Valium,” says a patient. “No problem,” says the doctor. “Here’s your prescription.” And so it goes...
This summer I was on the driving range at one of our local golf courses, hitting a few balls before our tee time. I was watching an extremely focused individual working on his driving accuracy. His ball continually floated to the right, missing his intended...
Digging through some articles from the past I came across information on PWOTS. (Potential Waste Of Time). Some salespeople find themselves spending time with a bad prospects – after all, it feels better than having no meetings at all. The challenge in sales is to...
Stress is defined in the dictionary as a “demand on mental or physical energy”. While it is virtually impossible to totally eliminate stress from work or life, you most certainly can reduce it. Below are nine stressors that could be classified as stress catalysts in...
Human beings are interesting creatures. The rational part of our brains and outside disguise we show the rest of the world understands that the world does not revolve around each of us as individuals; we understand that “I”, “we” and “me” types of conversations are...
Silence is a powerful tool when used effectively. Too much silence can be a mistake and the old adage “he who speaks first loses” can be a painful experience for everyone. Immediately filling a moment of silence may do more harm than good. A customer starts to...
The business world I work in is fascinating. With the opportunity to work so many different leaders running different companies, in different industries the chance to sit back and quietly observe the day to day through a clean set of lenses has been a gift. ...
I was thinking about some of the most important lessons I’ve learned from the many clients I have had the privilege to serve. You’ve likely seen most of these or considered them as you look to taking your business to new heights, but they are...
While cleaning out some files I came across an old, wrinkled piece of paper with the following information – I can’t say where this came from (it’s not mine) but I must say it made me laugh out loud and there’s no better way to...
At this time of year I’m often engaged in conversations that revolve around the knack of setting goals. And while the month of January for the goal-setting type is a time to reflect and create ambitious intentions for the New Year, February is typically when...
Edward Lorenz was an expert in the field of meteorology. Awarded with the 1991 Kyoto Prize for basic sciences, he’s known more as the father of the famed “chaos theory”. He came up with the concept that small effects lead to big changes (the Butterfly...
En-gage: To occupy the attention or efforts of a person or persons. To attract and hold fast. To bind by pledge, promise, contract or oath. Choosing to involve oneself in or commit oneself to something. Synonyms include: absorb, engross, interest, involve. Are you engaged? And no,...
Hello friends. Well, it has certainly been a while hasn't it? The heading for this post is a quote from the great Peter Drucker and the last two years have been a living example of what Peter was referring to when he made this statement ...
It's been a long time since my last post. I've been so busy, with the sale of my other business, with children and grandchildren, with friends, hobbies and the general day to day routines we all deal with - busy, busy, busy. Running ragged and becoming a...
I've noticed a trend in some of the "halftimers" that I've met in the past couple of years. These individuals are beginning to get excited about moving from their successful business lives into living a life of "significance" , but something seems to get in the...
Do you remember telling your children that "life isn't easy"? It dawned on me that in those moments when I reminded my kids that the world didn't owe them anything, that somewhere inside, I thought that it would get easier for me as I got...
Just when you think you've made it, when you think all of life's big challenges have been dealt with, the kids are grown, off to college or married, work has become comfortably routine and the house is paid for, why do we we feel that...
John Mayer, a musician and artist I appreciate, says his generation is waiting for the world to change. They are waiting and not because they don't want things to be different and not because they aren't capable of creating waves of change, but most are...
I paused the other day and considered the past few years and realized that I had, without any real plan, stepped up my giving game for the pure joy of it. As my world continues to change and the race to succeed, to prove myself, ebbs, I...
In Ken Dychtwald's book "With Purpose" he compares life to: A flower that blooms once - the annuals you plant in your garden each year. They are beautiful but as fall approaches the petals fall off and the plant shrivels up in the cold, never to be seen...
Is there a difference between "making it big" and "making a big difference"? I guess wealth can be looked at in one of two ways. There's the financial part and then there's how we live our lives as human beings. What you've gained and what...
At a function I attended not too long ago, an energetic individual handed me their card. Under their name was the title "philanthropreneur". How interesting I thought to combine philanthropy and entrepreneurship. Immediately the likes of Bill Gates and the Gates Foundation popped into my...
The potential of a retirement "movement" where thousands and thousands of seasoned, accomplished men and women use their time, talents and treasures to change the world is staggering. But not nearly enough is being done to harness this enormous resource. Most just don't know how...
I've been fortunate to spend time with many remarkable "Halftimers". What they have most in common is they have decided they simply cannot live a fulfilled second half without purpose. Not that long ago, life for people over the age of 60 was not all...
There seems to be a noticable lack of joy in many retired individuals - not all of course, but sadly more than I imagined. I think many people would describe "joy" as delight or some kind of emotional sensation that follows some event, like winning...
People ages 40 and up are pioneers - pioneers of an entirely different kind. These high performing individuals are learning how to "finish well" in a world that has programmed us differently. These pioneers are rewriting the rules of success for what is clearly going to...
This is the healthiest, wealthiest and best educated generation to ever reach midlife. One hundred years ago the average life expectancy was less than 50 years old, but today when we reach 50 we have thirty bonus years. This is an unprecedented change in the...
There seems to be a point in most everyone's life where we experience a moment like no other. It's like the world stops spinning and everything freezes in time. This might happen at certain birthdays, after a traumatic event has occured, when someone you love...
Finishing well is really what matters. Consider any professional sport - most games are won or lost in the second half. So it is with life. Typical first half pursuits and challenges include: Obtaining an education Getting married or building relationships with friends Building a career and striving to...