Growth & Leadership Insights

The Thing About Promises

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Businesses sometimes refrain from using the word “promise.” It’s risky to promise an outcome that might fail to be delivered due to some unforeseen variable. So if no promise is explicitly made, then the risk of failure is reduced.  But in a world where customers have many options available to them, “promising” a result can be a differentiator. A promise is a commitment, that when fulfilled, creates value for the customer, reinforcing trust and building loyalty. Without risking …

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Why Leaders Are Trusted

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Without trust you cannot lead. Trust is the basis of every relationship.  Trust is the foundation of your credibility, empowering your ability to get things done.Trust bonds your team together to share commitment and accountability.Trust motivates your people to challenge the status quo, pursue innovation and improve performance.  Your success as a leader depends on the willingness of your people to trust you. There are numerous questions they may ask to help make and sustain this decision:  Can I trust …

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Inspiring Energy

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I recently met John O’Leary via one of his podcasts. With so many discouraging, angry and negative messages being relentlessly thrust upon us, it was refreshing to listen to John’s message.  John lived through a moment in hell. At age nine, a fire exploded in his garage and burned 100% of his my body. His probability of survival was 1%.  After 5 months in the hospital, and dozens of surgeries that cost him all of his fingers and much …

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Inspiring Energy

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We celebrated Labor Day this week, a day dedicated to the contributions that working people make to our country’s progress and supporting us all. It’s a remembrance that we appreciate more this year because the Covid disruption has created a stark contrast. We honor those who have defied the risk and worked, often tirelessly, to keep products flowing and shelves stocked, to care for us, to teach us and to protect us; likewise, we remember and respect …

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The Value of Discovery

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Discovery is the most essential piece of the selling process.  In a market that cultivates commoditization, where needed information is readily available and simplistic assessments are used to hastily define you, price is the priority over value creation. Prospective customers are predisposed to perceive your offering as just another commodity, so to hurry the transaction, they prefer to keep dialogue with you to a minimum.  An effective discovery process challenges this paradigm. Asking the right questions, in the right …

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Is This Meeting Necessary?

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Time is the only irreplaceable asset, so deciding how much of your valuable time to invest in meetings is vital.  Meetings seem to consume more and more time.What makes a meeting productive? What makes it necessary for you to attend? The stated purpose for a meeting can be to inform, or to educate, or to motivate. But what makes any meeting productive is the dialogue it generates, the dialogue required to motivate action and make progress. One-sided pronouncements don’t …

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3 Ways to Lead Better in the Virtual World

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The exclusive use of virtual business methods, fostered by our shared Covid experience, has challenged many leadership paradigms. Particularly hard hit are those processes that rely on interpersonal skills to develop trust and to cultivate the collaboration necessary for teams to drive change, take ownership and improve results.  Leaders who have traditionally used their relational skills to strengthen their personal connections with those they lead, to encourage open, transparent communication, and to better understand what emotions are motivating the …

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Let Learning Be Doing

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How we educate has always been a topic for debate, but in these days of Covid adaptation, all proposed methodologies, and their related consequences, are being critically scrutinized.  In public education, policies and circumstances have driven the current dialogue about alternatives to a fever pitch. While in business organizations, where each investment’s value is projected and monitored, the discussion about the most effective education methods has continued unabated.  One reason this debate persists is that we’ve labelled …

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The Process in Innovation

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When considering an innovation initiative, leaders tend to start by evaluating their accumulated product or service data. They know the profit margin for each offering, and how well each is selling in key markets; often, they have a good sense of market share for each offering. They may even have customer satisfaction metrics available for each product or service.  But all of this internally-generated data does little to clarify why customers choose a specific product or service, what …

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Making a Difference

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For months now, people have been working virtually to keep the wheels turning…fulfilling their responsibilities, meeting their deadlines and striving to achieve their assigned goals. It’s necessary work, producing some personal satisfaction, but often leaving many with a thirst to do more…To contribute to a purpose they believe in…To invest their energy in more meaningful work…To make a difference.  As their leader, it’s expected that you’ll nurture this aspiration to make a difference, to drive productive change that improves …

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