Month: August 2011

I Just Don’t Trust You

Lack of trust appears to be a common challenge among teams. Why is this? Competition within the organization, overzealous individual ambitions, and prior historical experiences all factor into this being the case. Yet, when we look this harsh reality in the eye, can we move forward. We must work to understand and appreciate our differences, and our experiences up until now. We must reveal our individual and collective vulnerabilities. Only through a conscious process of building trust, can our teams optimize their effectiveness.

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Leading Through Enthusiatic Participation

Over the past several months, I have lead numerous leadership development workshops for my corporate clients. We have discussed many different aspects of how to effectively lead through building and implementing strategically aligned plans, unifying our boards, leadership and sales teams, embracing and leading through transformational change, and how we as leaders need to stay centered and aligned to set powerful examples. It has been incredibly rewarding. We all learned from one another and shared insightful experiences around the topic of leadership.

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Little Roy and Big Fred – Customer Service on Steroids

While recently visiting my parents, I had the opportunity to witness the utmost of customer service in action. What frightened me is how surprised I was – when did expecting stellar service go by the wayside?

The simplest of exchanges resulted in a raving fan and delighted customer. It is amazing what happens when an individual LOVES what he/she does and is committed to being the BEST in the service he/she provides. What so many of us could learn from this example! If this is the standard approach of a Sears delivery team, this could perhaps be a turnaround in the making.

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Basic Business for Our Country – Really?

The crisis of the U.S. debt ceiling has taken over all our media channels. It is an issue which cannot be avoided or ignored. The inability of our country’s leaders to come to an agreement on how to move forward threatens the stability of our economy, our security, our credit rating, and potentially even the strategic financial future of the world.

As a business person, I can’t help but wonder why basic business principles can’t be applied to this situation. Those of us in business (and those managing our own households) must embrace reality regularly. We have to make brutally tough decisions every day. Funds are not unlimited; trade-offs must be made and faced. There is no magic button to push…no giant bank in the sky from which to borrow.

A few basic business thoughts for our government leaders to consider:

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