With companies of all sizes adapting to a constantly changing economic landscape, it’s more important than ever for CEOs and other stakeholders to understand the pros and cons of chasing revenue vs. earnings when making financial decisions. In this blog post, we’ll explore why income streams depend largely upon whether
By: Gary Cohen If you consider that when I was in college in the early 1980s, the world population was 3 Billion people. Today the world population is 7 Billion. While death by disease, war, and famine are down significantly the complexity has more than doubled. Take a look at
The Internet has completely changed the world, especially the world of business. Not only have traditional businesses become more streamlined and connected, but the web has also brought along a renaissance of non-traditional businesses. Entrepreneurship has skyrocketed over the last decade, as many are attempting to become the next
Developing Leadership Skills: What Do Great Leaders Have in Common? Two groups of authors and researchers have recently tried their hand at identifying what exactly makes for great leadership skills: Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner (who wrote The Leadership Challenge), and Michael Jensen, Werner Erhard, Steve Zaffron, and Kari Granger
Pam Rochlin is a personal injury lawyer who has represented hundreds of people injured in Minnesota car accidents. At breakfast the other day, we discussed how a car accident injury affects the employee and employer, and the employer support after a car accident that can be most helpful. Priorities of Car Accident
The Essential Guide to SWOT Analysis is a comprehensive and interactive guide that introduces and then details the fundamental aspects of SWOT analysis. The co-authors, Jackson Hille, Content Associate of FormSwift, and Justin Gomer, a Lecturer at UC Berkeley, decided to make the guide upon noticing the below-average quality of
8 steps to delegating tasks and Authority more effectively. If you know what you want your employees to do, don’t play games give clear direction.
Organizational psychologist Chris Argyris, a Harvard professor, uses what he calls the “Ladder of Inference” to explain how we take actions based upon beliefs–and how our beliefs, in turn, lead us to select observational data.
Chances are you won’t have to wring that neck either, since that person will know it is his responsibility to ensure the action is completed on time and well. If he encounters problems along the way, he will be more likely to address them immediately than wait until the reporting
Suit-able Leadership Your wife says your wardrobe is handicapping you professionally. You respond by finding a wardrobe consultant. He eyes your wide-lapel suit and room-for-two pleated pants and says, “Listen, Italian would be perfect!” What does that mean? It means he loves Italian. But do you–or could you? If
The right word may be effective, but no word is ever as effective as a rightly timed pause.– Mark Twain Pausing is undervalued and underutilized by leaders. There’s a tendency when someone asks us a question to enter a “me” mindset. “Now it’s my turn,” our brains tend to
“My fascination with letting images repeat and repeat–or in film’s case ‘run on’–manifests my belief that we spend much of our lives seeing without observing.” – Andy Warhol Say it 7 times to make it so. There is a reason this became an adage. It works.
How to conduct a meeting is accomplished by a small amount of deliberate practice and training and will save significant costs to the business. Businesses are spending billions on meetings and do little to improve them. In this post you will begin your exploration of effective meeting strategies.
Meeting Roles lead to successful meeting. The following describes the meeting roles of leader, facilitator, recorder, time keeper and participant.
Today I met with a wonderfully interesting and experienced consultant, Tom Siders from L. Harris Partners, who was part of the management team that grew McGladrey from sub $400 million to over $1.3 billion in revenues. According to Tom, clients want the three A’s: Availability Affability Ability Availability Availability is
A Business Book Bonanza of Minnesota Based Authors In January, the Business Book Breakfast began— and groups of 25-50 exciting, high energy, curious and fun people have gathered at 6:45 AM the 4th Wednesday of every month, to share thoughts and ideas about five very amazing books. It was decided
How do you frame your work so that your audience–team members, customers, service providers–doesn’t miss valuable content? How do you make the most important information the most visible and aesthetically pleasing? How can you avoid having to re-frame an argument later?
The Power of the ASK We have covered a lot of ground regarding your network (see Related Links below). Now we need to put the power of your network into action. Ask. Asking seems simple, and it is, but not if you get preoccupied with concerns about your image. Do
The Power of the ASK We have covered a lot of ground regarding your network (see Related Links below). Now we need to put the power of your network into action. Ask. Asking seems simple, and it is, but not if you get preoccupied with concerns about your image. Do
The Power of the ASK We have covered a lot of ground regarding your network (see Related Links below). Now we need to put the power of your network into action. Ask. Asking seems simple, and it is, but not if you get preoccupied with concerns about your image. Do
One of the most used habits of successful leaders is asking questions. And the exceptional leaders know what questions to ask and when to ask them.
How to Prepare for a Meeting The first seven steps to prepare for a meeting are: 1. Set a clear and achievable goal for the meeting How to Prepare for a Meeting: Steps #1 & 2 that is in line with the organization’s vision and mission 2. Choose the appropriate
The first four steps of how to prepare for a meeting are: 1. Set a clear and achievable goal for the meeting that is in line with the organization’s vision and mission [How to Prepare for a Meeting: Steps #1 & 2] 2. Choose the appropriate type of meeting: decision-making,
The first four steps of how to prepare for a meeting are: 1. Set a clear and achievable goal for the meeting that is in line with the organization’s vision and mission [How to Prepare for a Meeting: Steps #1 & 2] 2. Choose the appropriate type of meeting: decision-making,
How to Prepare for a Meeting The first three steps of meeting preparation are: 1. Set a clear and achievable goal for the meeting How to Prepare for a Meeting: Steps #1 & 2 that is in line with the organization’s vision and mission 2. Choose the appropriate type of meeting:
How to Prepare for a Meeting Once you have a clear and achievable goal for the meeting How to Prepare for a Meeting: Steps #1 & 2 that is in line with the organization’s vision and mission, and you’ve chosen the appropriate type of meeting, selecting the right participants ought to
How to prepare for a meeting is important for all employees and critical for any manager or leader. Step by step process that will improve your meeting preparation and wow your co-workers
Trust is essential to maintain any personal network. Winning trust with those in your personal network requires fous on all four identified dimensions.
Building personal network through listening In previous posts, we presented the idea of building your personal network through the human touch and building your personal network through sharing. In both cases, a key skill to be developed and nurtured is listening. In Trusted Advisor, authors David Maister, Charles Green, and
Building a personal network is all about sharing. Before you walk into the conference, adopt the first of my Four Mindsets for relationship building…
Building your personal network with a human touch is very important. It is about an emotional appeal to other people–their emotions.
Reading List: What’s on yours? My reading list is usually longer than I have time to complete, but I always appreciate book recommendations. Today, I thought I’d share some of mine. I have been reading (or listening) to at least six business books per year for the last twenty years.
Meeting Minutes can have a great deal of power in the organization. Learn how to take effective meeting minutes and enhance your position in your company
A common theme from both Cohen and Adams is to ask questions. Questions, and only questions, can help you overcome limiting beliefs, false or misleading assumptions, and keep you off of the JUDGER path.
When you ask questions you must go from JUDGER to LEARNER in order to effectively get the outcomes you are looking for from yourself and others.
Marilee Adams, MSW, Ph.D. offers 10 very powerful tools to improve communication–both personally and professionally by how you ask questions.
10 powerful tools that will improve how you Ask Questions that will improve communication both personally and professionally. Gary Cohen & Marilee Adams deliver Questioning Skills.
Discover the right social media outlets that you can use & when to use them to build your personal network.
8 proven ways to build your personal network. Real networking occurs when people put themselves out there–often when trying something new.
True networking, as it is really intended, is about connecting with people on a personal level. To succeed, you need to be likable, provide information and guidance, and also seek information and guidance.
Judgment Day vs. Making Judgments All Day Regardless of your religious beliefs, you likely associate “judgment day” with a processing of a life’s worth of action and information. And yet, we tend to make judgments all day without hardly any information at all. Dictionary.com defines “judgment” as “the ability to
You Can’t Steer a Parked Car You can’t turn the wheels much when a car is parked. When a car is moving, even just a little bit, the wheels are much easier to turn. Try it the next time you get in the car. And so what does this have
To develop your leadership capability focus on all of the three areas Leadership of Self, leadership of others, and leadership of performance.
Be Informed about Informational Interviews: 4 Key Tips The purpose of an informational interview is to get information about a field of work from someone who has firsthand knowledge. Seems simple enough. Unfortunately, some people approach informational interviews as informal interviews and don’t do enough advance preparation. Here are four
How much Klout do you have? Klout measures your level of influence online. To increase your Klout score, you must drive action online (by getting lots of “likes” and comments on Facebook and LinkedIn, retweets on Twitter and reshares on Google+, for instance). Just generating online content isn’t enough; people
Both your résumé and your bio should tell a story–one with a beginning, middle, and an end. Where did you come from, where are you now, and where do you want to go? Many HR reps spend two minutes or less per application, so your story must be compelling and
Leaders often decry meetings–the number, the quality, the length, the size, you name it. It’s easy and fun to bash meetings. It’s also largely safe, since the meeting or meetings are the focus of the criticism, not an individual. But is that the full truth…
Leaders often decry meetings–the number, the quality, the length, the size, you name it. It’s easy and fun to bash meetings. It’s also largely safe, since the meeting or meetings are the focus of the criticism, not an individual. But is that the full truth…
Leaders often decry meetings–the number, the quality, the length, the size, you name it. It’s easy and fun to bash meetings. It’s also largely safe, since the meeting or meetings are the focus of the criticism, not an individual. But is that the full truth…
Leaders and subordinates telegraph their position of authority based on the e-mail language they use, according to Eric Gilbert, an assistant professor at Georgia Tech. He analyzed more than 500,000 e-mails from Enron employees and made some interesting discoveries. First, Gilbert weeded out e-mails that might be tainted by Enron’s
The more you lead, the more you may be accustomed to hearing and believing your own voice. And the more you may tune out other voices. Successful leaders, in particular, have the propensity to believe in themselves and their opinions to a great and perhaps dangerous degree. They turn the
As organizations grow larger and more complex, leaders are often surprised by the unintended consequences of their decisions. Leaders can’t anticipate everything. They must make the best decisions they can with the information they have. But they also should anticipate unintended consequences and be prepared to reassess changes they’ve implemented.
Asking questions is critical to great leadership. Remembering to ask questions can be difficult for new leaders. If you are struggling with asking questions, try this acronym, APPLE! Ask the right question. Right questions are open-ended and encouraging. They help others imagine new solutions. Pause after you ask the question.
Asking questions in business often brings to mind the Socratic Method. This is great for teaching but it may get you in hot water as a leader.
Leadership Development can involve shifting mindsets–from resource-building to resourcefulness. When resources are not limited, dramatic change rarely happens because there is no imperative or imminent risk. As a result, resource-building leaders often miss great opportunities for organizational and personal growth. When resources get thin, leaders tend to adopt a resourcefulness
Leadership Keynote Speaking to audiences globally has given me great opportunity for reflection on leadership. Leaders in the iconic mold of John Wayne, Ronald Reagan, and Margret Thatcher no longer work. They issue commands that don’t inspire and motivate others the way questions do. If we go further back in
KSAs — Knowledge, Skill, Ability Specific KSAs are needed in performing certain jobs. Individual KSAs are demonstrated through qualifying experience, education, or training. KSAs are defined as: Knowledge – an organized body of information, usually factual or procedural in nature. For example, having knowledge of human resources’ rules and regulations
Two footed questions drive curiosity and they can convert even ordinary minds, into expert problem solvers. The idea is to engage both sides of the brain, to increase innovation. Would you agree that most people tend to ask questions with predictable answers? Boring to boot! Add a second foot to your
The Left-Siders by Simon Sinek (blog) The world is a bell curve. Class room test scores, employee performance in a company or how many people really, really like you. No matter the population you’re studying, they always fit neatly across the standard deviations of the famous bell curve. The most
According to Steve Jobs, the strength it takes to say “No” and eliminate distractions is so important in how we present ourselves and build our organizations. For ten more insights from the American icon, check out these Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs!
At a Global 100 company, a new senior executive sat down with his division heads a week ago and told them to WAIT. His mentor, who ran and built this company, shared that same advice with him. At that time, the senior executive was confused. “Wait for what?” he wondered.
“Where observation is concerned, chance favors only the prepared mind” – Louis Pasteur It turns out that the number one Key Performance Indicator (KPI) for a sales organization is Revenue to Face Time. In general, the more time a sales person is in front of clients and prospects, the more that person
Being recommendable can do wonders for your business. For example: One of my best friends told me that I had to go to this one particular gelateria–that it was “the best” in Italy! She said it was just two doors down on the street to the right of the Duomo in Florence.
Click to hear: ASTD TCC Podcast Gary Cohen Interview Company leaders today face new and increasingly complex problems. Most of these problems are intractable, if not, in the end, problems without real, lasting solutions. It is an extremely frustrating situation for today’s leaders, who are accustomed to finding answers and
Leaders are trained to identify when revenues, EBITDA, number of new customers, and retention of customers are up or down. They are less likely to receive training in how to identify values conflicts. Values conflicts can have a tremendous impact on employee engagement, employee retention, and alignment. They can take
If your threshold for failure is too short or small, you are likely doing yourself and your coworkers a disservice. When you feel tempted to intervene and make corrections or change course entirely, wait. Waiting allows your coworkers to discover failures on their own and take corrective action. Waiting will
One of our family’s credos is “Make a promise, keep a promise.” It helps us live up to our commitments. For example, a few days ago my oldest daughter was encouraging me to do my training for an Eco Challenge that I am doing in Colorado this summer. Before she
One of our family’s credos is “Make a promise, keep a promise.” It helps us live up to our commitments. For example, a few days ago my oldest daughter was encouraging me to do my training for an Eco Challenge that I am doing in Colorado this summer. Before she
We’re a culture that values expertise. We want answers and fast. The more answers you know, the more you move ahead–first at school, then in your career. You become a go-to person and others seek out your expertise.
Leila Bulling Towne presents on asking better questions. She provides three clear ways to improve your ability to ask: Ask open ended questions Use silence and Listen Ask follow-up questions to gain greater understanding
Jeffery Gitomer explains how the best sales people ask the best questions. Are you asking the right questions?
OODA stands for: Observe Orient Decide Act Colonel John Boyd, Military Strategist, created this model once he considered decision making for military strategy happened in recurring loops. The idea is that when moving to action you first observe the battlefield or what ever area you are operating in. Once you
OODA stands for: Observe Orient Decide Act Colonel John Boyd, Military Strategist, created this model once he considered decision making for military strategy happened in recurring loops. The idea is that when moving to action you first observe the battlefield or what ever area you are operating in. Once you
The leaders who invest the time to put their philosophies, stories and strategies in a book are the ones that stand out from the crowd. Let’s face it: leaders who are authors have a leg up on credibility and appear as an authority in their respective worlds.
The leaders who invest the time to put their philosophies, stories and strategies in a book are the ones that stand out from the crowd. Let’s face it: leaders who are authors have a leg up on credibility and appear as an authority in their respective worlds.
In a recent post by Mike Michalowicz (pronounced mi-CAL-o-witz), he details how he started his first business at the age of 24, and moving his young family to the only safe place he could afford – a retirement village. With limited resources and no experience, he systematically bootstrapped a multi-million
Carmine Gallo provides his seven secrets of inspiring leadership.
Peter Drucker suggested that if leaders ask, “what can I contribute?” instead of asking, “how can I achieve?” they will be so much more effective. Marilee Adams, a friend, a psychologist, and author, wrote the book, Change Your Question, Change Your Life. She would suggest that simply changing the question
Being productive and not getting anywhere can hold back leaders, teams and organizations. What if you don’t connect these ideas together? How will that effect your performance?
Body language can give you an edge as a leader. The direction of your belly button will be the difference in giving and gain report with others.
Is your obsession with order driving your company to input more data and generate more reports? Is it distracting your employees from delighting your customer? Yesterday, a hundred megabyte drive was sufficient storage; today it’s in the terabytes. The drastic reduction of costs associated with data storage is allowing companies
About the DARPA Network Challenge To mark the 40th anniversary of the Internet, DARPA has announced the DARPA Network Challenge, a competition that will explore the roles the Internet and social networking play in the timely communication, wide-area team-building, and urgent mobilization required to solve broad-scope, time-critical problems. The challenge
By Steve Watkins Posted 10/15/2009 06:14 PM ET Hold people accountable and you’ll get more productivity and profit. Here’s how: • Define it. Make sure your people know what you mean. Accountability comes down to people doing what they said they would in the time frame they set, says Linda
By Steve Watkins Posted 10/15/2009 06:14 PM ET Hold people accountable and you’ll get more productivity and profit. Here’s how: • Define it. Make sure your people know what you mean. Accountability comes down to people doing what they said they would in the time frame they set, says Linda
I was at my younger daughter’s volleyball game this afternoon and noticed how quickly each team tried to get the ball over the net compared to my older daughter’s team. I am struck by the similarities of new leaders versus experienced leaders. The more experienced leader tends to see keeping
Continual learning is a basic necessity to professional improvement and in many cases it’s other people who will help you get there. But only if you’re coachable. Are you? To be coachable means to be: • Approachable • Attentive • Receptive • Curious • Objective • Trusting • Shape-able •
If you watched the Wizard of Oz or read the book you would be certain you know who the “good guys” are (The Wizard and Galinda) and who is evil (Elphaba – Wicked Witch). If someone asked you to bet on it, you would probably have taken the bet, I
Asking Questions is one of Howard Gardner’s best skills as he explains, and one he would like his students to adapt.
As a leader, we often do not see ourselves as we are. The question is, what you would do if you got solid feedback to demonstrate what your behaviors were really like? Not the feedback that comes with a sanitized 360 instrument that insures you don’t get the tough love
As a leader, we often do not see ourselves as we are. The question is, what you would do if you got solid feedback to demonstrate what your behaviors were really like? Not the feedback that comes with a sanitized 360 instrument that insures you don’t get the tough love
Asking questions is a critical skills of a leader today and yet most leaders acknowledge the need to stop asking questions at a certain juncture.
How can I ignite imagination? Gary Beck says that igniting imagination comes from rubbing minds together. With all of his leadership and marketing experience (as former President of FCB Database Marketing Group and former Executive Director of Database and Infrastructure for vehicle sales and services marketing at General Motors), he
Dear Coach, Question: I have always been intrigued by politicians, who utilize “Town Hall Meetings” to communicate with their constituents. These meetings seem to be a great tool, allowing voters to ask the right questions. Recently, I decided to try out the Town Hall concept on a corporate level. I
Dealing with exceptions, often means that you are in need of creating clear accountability with your team.Clear lines of authority are when the roles and responsibilities of each person in the organization are defined.
