“Are you ready to be a transference object?” Fred hesitated. The coffee shop seemed to become dead silent. One week earlier, Fred had been offered a dream job, as part time CEO of a startup, working for a proven star…
Blog Archives
Stop Putting People First – Put Profit First
Strategic execution requires that you stop putting people first (in the wrong way). Profit must come first. I will pause while you gasp in horror. If you “put people first” in the wrong way, you’re harming them, yourself, the rest…
Keep a Thin Skin
Leaders shouldn’t be “thick skinned” — not if that means shrugging off negative feedback that might actually be correct. Leaders need to be emotionally resilient, unattached to outcomes, and assume positive intent. Our tool here is “The Ladder of Inference.”…
Creating a CEO Calendar
Create and measure success, month by month, with a CEO (or Executive) Calendar. Being a CEO (or manager or front line worker) typically means having more things to handle than you can actually pay attention to. Most humans can track…
How to Pick Good Metrics
For every leader who loves numbers, there is a skeptic. They both have points — without measures, we cannot tell how we are doing, yet many metrics seem arbitrary or measure the wrong thing. Meanwhile, often the right goals seem…
How to Listen to Complaints as a CEO
The business owner or CEO is the inevitable recipient of problems, complaints, and suggestions. The tide of them can feel overwhelming. One client of mine took to hiding from his staff, and feeling vaguely picked upon, when staff members tried…
Recruiting 101 for CEOs – with Wendy Kent
Of the CEO’s four major responsibilities — Culture, Budget, Strategy, and building the senior Team — I believe the hardest and most important is building the team. Jim Collins, the author of “Good to Great” and “Great by Choice” among…
If You Will Lead – with Doug Moran – Nov 25,2011
Tom discusses leadership and character — and historical examples and lessons — with returning guest Doug Moran, who will share examples from his new book “If You Will Lead.” Doug is an expert on building character and the influence of character on l…
Turnarounds and Revitalizing – with Bob Papes
Seasoned executive and turnaround expert Bob Papes discusses the timely lessons of his two books, “Turnaround” and “Management During an Economic Crisis.” (These are both out of print, unfortunately.) Bob has engineered five consecutive turnarounds of businesses in the $15…
Pay for Performance – from the C-suite to the Front Line
It’s vital that CEOs and business owners pay people what they are worth. Pay should be fair, and should combine (A) what the job market says a role is worth, and (B) each person’s actual results.
Pay for Performance systems are easy to get wrong — encouraging the wrong behaviors while creating uncertainty and resentment. Here, developed with the input of expert and turnaround CEO Bob Papes, are four steps to get them right.
Build Trust with Job Descriptions
We need more trust in the workplace.
According to data collected by Stephen M R Covey, high trust teams and companies out-perform their low trust competitors by 4 to 1. High trust, in addition to being more profitable, is also less stressful and more fun. Here’s one thing you can do immediately to start raising trust levels in your own immediate circle at work — with the humble job description.
Mentoring Best Practices
Mentoring is a crucial way to improve the leadership and management skills of your people. I’ve been involved in a lot of different mentorship programs, most of which have failed despite good wishes and intentions on all sides. My Toastmaster’s…
Avoiding the Arrogance of "Hard for You, Easy for Me"
If I had a nickel for every time a client said “I don’t understand why people can’t just…” I would be rich.Last week a coaching client related her struggles with her co-workers. She manages projects and has higher standards than almost anyone else i…
Managing in the NOW with John Bernard
There’s a business revolution coming, believes management guru and author John Bernard. He wants you to be ready for it. It’s called “Managing in the NOW.” (Listen to the interview is here.)Executing in the NOW means that “every employee can…
- Write a Perfect Thank-You Note, Again Tue 21-May-2013
- Why the Boss is Always Wrong Tue 07-May-2013
- On being Firm Thu 18-Apr-2013
- Six Steps to Solving a Problem Mon 15-Apr-2013
- The Changing Face of Luxury Sun 07-Apr-2013
- How to Harness Visual Leadership Sun 31-Mar-2013
- Stop Putting People First – Put Profit First Wed 27-Mar-2013
- Why your Employee is Always Right Tue 19-Mar-2013
- When is Anger Okay in the Work Place? Thu 14-Mar-2013
- Keep a Thin Skin Wed 27-Feb-2013