Listen, Empathize, Redirect

Being a manager is an incredibly difficult job when an organization is going through significant change or challenge. So often I speak to managers, either as clients or candidates, who are worn out by being in a situation where...

Shiny, Happy People

Traveling is a reminder that Murphy was right--whatever can go wrong, will go wrong. Two days ago, I was scheduled to fly from Telluride, Colorado to Los Angeles. I was lucky to be flying out Sunday morning since a snow storm was...

Keep Moving Forward

Food for thought today comes from an interview with Lynn Hill, the first climber, male or female, to notch a free ascent of the Nose Route on Yosemite's El Capitan. A year later she upped the ante by becoming the first to free...

Make Meaning

I always have multiple books on my nightstand. I usually have several business books going and try to make sure I always have at least one that is pure pleasure reading. I get a lot of pleasure out of reading business books and...

Some Things Just Don't Need to Be Hard

I was interviewing a top producing sales person this afternoon named Shane in Texas. Shane is as plain-spoken as he is talented. He has been in the top 10% of the sales force month in and month out since he started with his...

Start and End Your Day with a Win

There's a lot that can and will go wrong in the course of a day. How's that for an optimistic thought? Or maybe it's a realistic viewpoint. As they say, optimism is what precedes experience. Realism is what comes after. The fact...

So Very Grateful

Today is September 11. It's a date on the calendar that took on a horrific significance six years ago. No need to recount the details. We all know what happened. If you think about it for too long, it makes your heart ache.

This...

From the Inside Out

While I was making calls this afternoon, I notice something had changed in the view outside my window. From from my vantage point on the 24th floor of our high rise building, I can see a lot of activity in the downtown core....

Advice for Sales Managers: Never Forget Your Best Salesperson

A quick piece of advice for top salespeople moving into management: Never forget your best salesperson. The follow-on is that your best salesperson may be you. This piece of advice comes...

Have Fun!

"Have Fun!" That's what the post-it note hanging from my computer monitor says. A friend of mine mailed me tickets for a football game and he enclosed that note. I'm sure he gave it less than two seconds of thought when he wrote...