Often, the problem that leaders think they have is not the real problem. If they understood their real problem, then they would fix it. The fact that the problem still exists is a likely indicator that the real issue remains unresolved. The symptoms of their problem are more visible so that becomes the focus of their work. Are you working on your symptoms, unaware of the real issue? It’s that time when the past year’s …
Seth Godin describes two types of customer loyalty in a recent blog. The first kind is “loyalty of convenience” which is based on the fear switching. For these folks, switching suppliers is risky and time-consuming, plus it may be a mistake. The other kind of loyalty is based on supplier commitment that drives genuine customer satisfaction. Seth confirms that “You earn this sort of loyalty, you don’t architect it.” What’s the most proven way to …
As businesses grow, their organizations become more complex. Responsibilities are divided to drive productivity and goal achievement. Department leaders become endowed with control, which they then strive to protect. The fear of losing control often causes these leaders to erect barriers. Barriers promote bureaucracy, inefficiency, low morale and failure by shifting the focus away from the organization’s goals to a concentration on departmental needs. Full engagement with customers is hampered by competing priorities within the …
Business leaders have never experienced a more fast-paced and complex leadership environment. Many are struggling to adapt quickly enough and are frustrated by their constraints. Focusing on sales, profit and strategy is not enough. How you lead your business in overcoming today’s challenges is vital. Relying on your experience and intellect alone will not produce the results you seek. To grow, your company is relying on your leadership. Cultivating high-value innovation, building trust relationships with …
A recent article in Harvard Business Review (by John Dame and Jeffrey Gedmin: 11:00 AM September 9, 2013) spoke of executive humility. They suggest several points of effectiveness to achieve a humility posture: Resist falling for your own publicity. Never underestimate the competition. Embrace and promote a spirit of service. Listen, even (no, especially) to the weird ideas. Be passionately curious. Hubris is just the opposite: It conforms to our individualism, narcissism, pride of position …
It’s from the Latin “numen” meaning a nod or beckoning, particularly the nod of the Gods of ancient myth. It was rediscovered and brought into western thinking by the German Philosopher/Theologian Rudolf Otto in his book “The Holy” (“Das Heilige”) first published in 1917. Otto began a shift away from the rationalism and speculative side of the enlightenment and more toward an “irrational” side of religious understanding; a sense of “power” and “mystery” and a …
Marketing folks are fascinated by social media, but does investing heavily in social media really work? Does it help companies keep customers and find new ones? According to a Gallup research study of more than 17,000 social media users discovered: “Social media initiatives drive customer loyalty and acquisition.” This is the biggest myth about social media. The Gallup study indicates that “brand-sponsored social media initiatives have very little impact on customer decision making. Nor do …
In working with clients we are always emphasizing learning and the building of knowledge; many forms of course from the detailed technical to the integrated experiential. It is completely surprising in this current environment that many folks (working and not working) do not work at learning and often are adamant about why (too many work hours, too many responsibilities, too tired, etc, etc, etc. . .) In Forbes this past summer (Jason Nazar | Forbes – Fri, …
Bill can’t understand why his people are discouraged and frustrated. After a couple of slow years, the company is busy again so there’s plenty of work. No fairness or compensation issues have been raised. He is keeping everyone aware of their progress and communicating his expectation that goals must be achieved to accelerate their progress. So why do many in the company seem so negative? Peter Drucker and other gurus have been credited with saying: …
It’s from the Latin “limen”: a threshold, a door, a passage and in our time refers to psychological or metaphysical state of being; to discuss psychological states; rituals of passage. Increasingly the word usage can be found in psychological & theological literature recognizing a sense of the holy, the sacred, and the transcendent; often the threshold between consciousness & unconsciousness (“subliminal”). Some examples from life: The feeling of always being in between and never “there” …