I am a huge sports fan. My husband is a golf pro, my oldest son played college and professional golf, my youngest son is playing Division 1 baseball and playing summer ball in the Cape Cod league. ESPN is our tv channel of choice. But the other day, I was thinking about sports, not as …
Businesses are doing their best to produce top results in a tough market. It is not easy. It is made even more difficult because too many businesses succumb to common myths–myths called best business practice by trusted advisers such as business schools, the papers, or most often, other business leaders. Many of the myths seem …
Selling cycle creep isn’t a new dance or rock bank; it is the ever-lengthening time it is taking customers to move through the selling cycle. In 2009, many customers just didn’t enter it at all, choosing to “just say no.” Today, customers are expressing interest, investigating new products and services, but stalling when it comes …
Middle class is as American as apple pie. “Just surviving” is the goal of many businesses today. Being comfortable, “doing as well or better than most folks” is just fine. Unless you have the desire to be world class. I do. So here is what it takes. A friend of mine, Rick Sutcliffe, invited our …
Too many times the tail is wagging the dog. The business is pushing the executive team around, and the solutions are either “work faster” or “identify a problem and fix it”. It is not uncommon for the problem to actually be a symptom…not the real issue. So what happens next??? The merry-go-round continues, one change …
There is a growing conversation that the majority of the leaders in the future will be women. It is not a gender bias, but rather an observable and documentable fact that women are emerging as the more prepared and more aligned demographic with the growth sectors of the economy. It is not a revolution, but …
What is the difference between those who succeed and those who don’t? Attitude. The first step to success is believing you can. As Mark Emkes, recently retired CEO of Bridgestone Americas, said in a recent interview, “if you don’t think you will hit the baseball, you won’t.” The great thing about attitude is, it is …
I am a strategic thinker and make a living helping people make strategic decisions that improve future performance. It is a very enjoyable and rewarding career. Admittedly, to most people, what I do is a mystery, hard to explain and even more difficult to do. It is all in what you are used to. I …
In a few weeks, I will be interviewing Dan Cathy, President and COO of Chick-fil-A. In their corporate communications, they talk about their “raving fans”. They have even registered the phrase. I was asking a friend of mine who is in marketing at Southwest Airlines whether they have a “raving fans” marketing plan, and she …
Have you met anyone who enjoys being a road warrior? George Clooney in Up in the Air aside, most people don’t really enjoy slogging from airport to airport and hotel to hotel. Air travel is unreliable with constant delays. Security is tight with restrictions that make it difficult to get basic supplies on board. And …
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