Grolistic

Leading Productive Conflict

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A key ingredient of enduring team relationships is productive conflict. Sustaining trust within a team requires the occasional fearless, passionate exchange of alternative, sometimes contradictory, ideas. Conflict is often considered to be offensive in organizations.  As leaders progress in their careers, they tend to invest increasing amounts of energy avoiding the spirited debates that are necessary for building the most effective teams. To be clear, productive conflict is focused on exploring ideological differences, not destructive …

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3 Leadership Factors That Drive Growth

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An effective leader realizes that sustaining growth, or reigniting it, depends on the depth to which his or her people are committed. Successful, dedicated teams are bonded by more than their aspiration to achieve a shared goal. These 3 leadership factors result from the awareness that your people are your most sustainable competitive advantage for driving growth. Purpose: Commitment cannot be compelled; it must be inspired. People must choose to invest discretionary effort above and …

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Crafting Price Satisfaction

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When the selling/problem solving process is done well, both buyer and seller can be satisfied with the final price. To earn your price, and leave the customer feeling satisfied with that decision, preparation is the key. Use these 3 methods to maximize preparation: Start early. Ensuring that both parties will be satisfied when the deal is done begins with your decision to do more than resolve a customer’s current pain. Early in the discovery process, …

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Why 80% of Qualified Leads Get Wasted

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Since directly linking sales growth to some marketing program is unrealistic, measuring the ROI for these initiatives is often based on monitoring the number of newly generated leads, tracking these through qualification to proposal. But what if the lead-to-proposal process is not being monitored? According to a recent report, 80% of qualified leads get wasted…they never get followed-up by the sales team.   A qualified sales lead is a prospective customer whose need has been …

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The Certainty of Uncertainty

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Few strategies are actually implemented as planned. Circumstances inevitably arise to disrupt the best of plans. Every experienced business leader understands this reality, and the need to adapt. With this certainty of uncertainty, what then makes the difference? What produces success? Business planning is still an essential, productive exercise. But leaders recognize that it’s the planning process that is most valuable, not the plan document that emerges.  The process of developing the plan engages leaders …

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Dysfunctional Teams Are Toxic

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Teams typically commence their activities with the best intentions in mind. But over time, dysfunction can creep into the group, destroying its productivity and wasting precious time. These teams are toxic to themselves and the organization. What triggers this deterioration and how can the decline be stopped? Dysfunction is always triggered by a team member’s behavior. Someone on the team behaves in a manner that is inconsistent with the other team members’ expectations about how …

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Can They “Visualize” The Goal?

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Leaders communicate purpose, vision and goals. But no action or change can begin until your people engage to move in the direction you’ve specified. As the constant companion of change, fear of the unknown must be overcome. Paralysis persists as the assessment of what could be gained or lost continues. If your team cannot visualize the goal, if they can’t see how the future will emerge, then you must help them push through the fear …

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New Prospects May Hear Less Than 10% of Your Message

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Successfully connecting with a new prospect takes more than a compelling message. Your verbal communication with that prospect accounts for less than 10% of your total communication process. We are feeling beings who have learned how to think – we’re not born as thinkers who feel. The genesis of what we feel is a set of neurological impulses created through interactions with our five senses. These impulses are our only inputs and we react to …

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Leadership Lessons from St. Patrick

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Lost in the midst of parades, green beer, and Irish music, there is a story of a remarkable leader. That millions of people still celebrate a holiday honoring Patrick, 1500 years after his death, attests to his success as a leader.  How does his legacy have anything to do with business leadership today? Leaders are not born into this world; some may arrive with stronger leadership traits or qualities than others, …

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The Price of “Free”

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Have you ever been seduced by a zero price offer? Did it cause you to think about the real value of what was being offered for free, or did you just react to the word “free”? Have you considered using the “free” offer tactic to attract new customers? Would doing so entice the right customers – those who might actually invest in your product or service? Most people find “free” offers to be compelling. They …

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