Bob Schultek Author of The Gauntlet Failure has always been a better teacher than success. Failure promptly resets our perspective, making us aware of the need for change and the pursuit of knowledge necessary to implement it. Overwhelming our natural risk aversion, it opens our minds to ideas we’ve never considered or have previously rejected. Seeking understanding, we dampen our hubris and humbly tap our relationships in search of a broader array of input and a deeper …
Bob Schultek Author of The Gauntlet In today’s marketplace, there’s lots of barking and not much listening. Everyone is in a hurry to inform why they are right, loudly and clearly. When your debate or pitch isn’t resulting in a dialogue about facts or rationale, when no one is conforming to your ideas or even engaging with you in a productive discussion about competing ideas, then the easy answer is to decide that your audience simply doesn’t …
Bob Schultek Author of The Gauntlet Patients arriving at hospital emergency rooms are often triaged into three groups: (1) No amount of intervention will save the person, (2) patient can survive if care is eventually provided, and (3) survival requires immediate care. This process focuses scarce resources where they can do the most good. Opportunities for your business often arrive in bunches. Does your organization have a process to rapidly and efficiently prioritize them? To avoid a decision …
Bob Schultek Author of The Gauntlet When Henry Ford introduced mass production to the fledging automotive industry, his objective was to make Ford cars affordable for everyone by optimizing efficiencies in car manufacturing. But then, he and his team discovered that people didn’t want the cheapest car. They wanted a car that made them feel special – a car with some style, that was safe – a car that they were proud to drive. Every …
Bob Schultek Author of The Gauntlet When your business with one customer exceeds 25% of your annual sales, then you have a “gorilla” customer and you’re probably feeling vulnerable. You’ve earned the business by serving them well, and if they offered you more, you’d likely be pleased to expand the relationship, but be wary. Loss of a gorilla customer can be devastating, and typically that loss has nothing to do with your performance. The 3 …
Bob SchultekAuthor of The Gauntlet The pursuit of change generates conflict, which when left unresolved, inhibits progress, wastes energy, destroys relationships, and potentially, can threaten the success of the enterprise. Conflict is a natural consequence of change management. Change initiatives are accomplished by first revealing the basis for differences of opinion that are generating tension, and then productively and collaboratively working to resolve those disparities. Most often, the root cause of conflict is ambiguity about …
Bob Schultek Author of The Gauntlet Accountability: “The obligation of an individual or organization to account for its activities, accept responsibility for them, and to disclose the results in a transparent manner.”When something goes wrong and the finger pointing begins, that is how most people perceive accountability. But success as a leader or as a productive team cannot occur without it. When accountability is front-loaded into strategy, early in implementation, before the outcome is …
Bob Schultek Author of The Gauntlet rschultek@staging.elfin-bead.flywheelsites.com 216-272-4449 The market is tilted in favor of commoditization – easy access to information about multiple options, a simplistic assessment of those options to fit them into pre-determined boxes, and little time or interest in exploring alternatives beyond what is evident through readily available information. Responding to your inquiries without discovering why solving the prospect’s problem is important to them just reinforces their perception of you as …
It may seem that your attitude, the way you feel, depends on how things are going for you. But in reality, how you choose to feel affects the way things are going. Your attitude reflects your most heartfelt expectations. Every day, you make the vital choice about your attitude. This choice is significant because it impacts every part of your life – your thoughts, words and actions are all driven by how you choose to …
Leaders seeking commitment from their teams regarding the implementation of a decision often encounter delays as a team pursues consensus and certainty. Living with the reality that decisions must be made promptly, and typically with limited time for research or analysis, is a fact of life for leaders; they understand that these circumstances could lead to a decision being wrong. But their teams may struggle with this reality as they work towards committing to the …