In challenging times, sometimes your boss's behavior becomes erratic. She may overmanage or undermanage you and your work. She may lose sight of all the things you are working on. You may not be sure what your boss's priorities are; they change daily.The costs associated with this business malady are many including: missed deadlines and opportunities, working on unimportant tasks, avoidance, frustration, the appearance of incompetence, stress,...more
I've had the pleasure and honor to meet some of the world's greatest leaders and leadership gurus. From Sir Richard Branson, General Tommy Franks, and Captain Mike Abrashoff to Dr. Warren Bennis, Dr. Henry Mintzberg, and Tom Peters. And I get paid to do it! Through our work with Linkage Inc., we help support their broadcasts of these famous people by designing and developing participant and facilitator guides that many clients use to turn a...more
It's time to beat the old bad customer service drum again. I know, I'm sick of beating the drum, too, but as long as bad customer service runs rampant through so many businesses I feel it is my entrepreneurial duty to bring it to your attention. So grab a pew and prepare to listen to the sermon I've preached before: bad customer service is the bane of business. If the Almighty smote down every business that dispenses bad customer service the world would be a much friendlier, albeit much sparser place. Consider a world without malls and fast food jointsÂ… would it really be so bad? What puzzles me most is if bad customer service is such a death knell for business, why do so many businesses allow it to go on? Don't they read my column, for Pete's sake? I think the problem is that most bad customer service is doled out (or at least condoned) by business owners and managers who have ceased caring what their customers think. When you stop caring what your customers think it's time to close the doors. Go find a day job. You'll make someone a wonderfully disgruntled employee.My latest parable of lousy customer service was actually experienced by my better half while attempting to buy my...more
If there is not enough diversity in your employee base or there is high turnover with certain groups of employees, your organization will not be able to leverage the power of diversity. Building diversity in a company through recruiting and retention is an important step to creating an inclusive workplace. Are your recruiting efforts doing the...more
Abstract: Delegation is art and science. Effective leaders know when and how to delegate in order to 1) get more done and 2) develop people. This article provides tips for effective delegation.As a project leader, manager, or business owner, you may suffer from a fatal disease - one that can suck the very life force from not only you but from...more
Real estate success? It happens by way of the many things you repeatedly do right, and it is your habits that ensure they get done. Here are some habits to develop for your real estate investing success.Ask for people's names, and tell them yours. People are your most valuable resource in real estate investing. The more you know, the more likely you are to find good properties, or buyers for your good properties. Get to know the right people too. Start with a real estate agent that gets many listings of the type you are interested in. Wouldn't it be nice if he called you first?Think numbers. Think people first, but know the relevant numbers. Ideally, when you look at a rental property, for example, you should be thinking about the income, the expenses, and the cap rate. You should be imagining how certain changes would allow you to raise the income, and what that would do to the value. Having a "feeling" about a property, and ignoring the numbers, gets investors into trouble.Carry supplies. Always have at least business cards, pen and paper on you. You never know when you might see a property for sale, or hear about one. Mention that you invest in real estate, and sellers, buyers...more
It's true, You can make a lot of money by investing in real estate. Yet, many investors are not. And when you look at their real estate investment strategy, it's no surprise.The problem is that they have been brainwashed by the so called real estate...more
A Business Necessity - CommunicationThis business necessity is often something we tend to NOT think about since we feel it's something that is always there. What is this necessity? Communication. Communication happens every day. We talk to people....more
The beginning of a new year is a time when many of us make resolutions, some resolutions are intended to improve aspects of our personal life and some are professional life-based resolutions to achieve certain goals. Among the personal and...more
Successful business relationships are based on Value, Competence, Trust, and Propriety.ValueValue: The customer's perception of your worth, excellence, usefulness, or importance. Value addresses the customer's question, "What can this person or...more
Judgment is the process of forming an opinion of something by making a comparison. While judgment can play an important role in decisions we must make to live productively, sometimes the thoughts we hold are what prevent us from having what we most...more
Support functions like training often are the first to feel the impact of difficult times. Ironically, the crunch comes at a time when many businesses may benefit from their services.Let me be clear at the outset, during lean times especially,...more