All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players.
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts…
William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”
What are the major differences between a leader and a manager? Do you view the two roles as simply variations of the same theme or do they each take on a life of their own? [click to continue…]
Greed, for lack of a better word, is good
Greed is right
Greed works
Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit
Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind
And greed; you mark my words; will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA
The above was said by Gordon Gekko played by Michael Douglas to shareholders of Teldar Paper in a very famous scene in the movie “Wall Street” (1987). We have become Gordon Gekko as a global economic society and are suffering the consequences. Life preservers are being thrown out in the form of articles, books, congressional hearings and the media about leadership, who’s to blame, and how to fix the mess. From the Presidents of nations to the entrepreneurs running a one-man shop, true leadership in adversity needs to be sealed with a KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid).
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“Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door.”Ralph Waldo Emerson
Innovation comes in waves, nourished by advances in technology. That was true in 1450, when Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press. The advent of personal computers set off a similar wave in the 1970’s, ushering in the information age. In the 1980’s it was software and in the 1990’s, the internet and all things digital. The digital revolution continues, but today’s urge to innovate also looks inward as firms turn to their own competencies in search of the new. [click to continue…]
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As we are entering an uncertain 2009, sometimes it is better to reduce complexity and embrace the simplicity of using loyalty, both internally and externally to drive business. News of massive layoffs predominates the airwaves and with those layoffs comes loss of employee loyalty which will affect customer loyalty. Rather than the traditional Balance Sheet Analysis to cut jobs, another approach may be to measure the effects that losing key employees will have on employee and customer/brand loyalty. [click to continue…]
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Sir Francis Bacon said, “Time is the measure of business” in the 1600’s. Those words are truer today than ever. How many times have you sat through a meeting that was a waste of time? We all have, in fact, we have even set them up and in the end realized it was not time well spent. How many times have you met the same person or group and walked out of the meeting with comments like “great meeting”, nice people”, “that person is really smart”, but what was the outcome? Why did I just spend one hour of my day with this person or group? [click to continue…]
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If you would persuade, you must appeal to
interest rather than intellect
Benjamin Franklin
In Part I of this series we discussed the D of DISC.
D=Dominant
I=Influencer
S=Steady Relator
C=Critical Analyzer
In this article, we’ll be focusing on selling to “Influencers.” A more personal approach tends to have greater efficacy with this type of buyer. [click to continue…]
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