Guest Post: Ian Cook

Sep 9, 2011 | Guest Post

We have a special guest on the blog today. Ian Cook, Fulcrum Associates, has written a terrific article that we'd like to share with you. What’s Your Ask/Tell Ratio? By Ian Cook Do you ask your employees as often as you tell them what to do and what you think? In my experience, most managers don’t, not even close. Elsewhere in this blog I have offered four reasons why this is so. But if you have no answer to the above question, I invite you to spend a week or so watching...

Training Successors Without Hurt Feelings

Sep 5, 2011 | Leadership Development

A manager recently approached me with this troubling issue, "My back-up person is incredible. But when she retires, which she's eligible to do at any moment, we'll be in big trouble. My problem is: How do I train someone else to do her job, without taking responsibilities away from her? I don't want to hurt her feelings and make her feel as if I'm trying to push her out the door by training someone else to do her job." That's an excellent question for an all-too-common problem. Here’s how to...

Stop Running from Complaints

Aug 29, 2011 | Leadership Development

I've had several conversations with clients lately on customer satisfaction, retention, and profitability. All of my clients agree—satisfying customers is crucial to their success. Yet, when I ask them how they handle customer complaints and feedback, their responses are less than unified. Some say they read every customer feedback email, form or letter, note the comment(s), and take appropriate corrective action. Others say they disregard the worst and the best for the week (they consider...

Guest Post: Kate Nasser

Aug 26, 2011 | Guest Post

We have a special guest on the blog today. Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach, has written a terrific article that we'd like to share with you. Success in Two Words – Be Memorable. By Kate Nasser Starting a company? Looking for a job? Attempting to sell your house? Trying to change careers? Get noticed by being different but … to achieve success — be memorable. Memorable is not just what makes you different. Memorable connects you with others in ways that matter to them. Success in...

You Gotta Show ’em How It’s Done!

Aug 22, 2011 | Leadership Development

We have all experienced it. The boss says one thing then does something else. Isn't that irritating? Yeah—you bet! So why do YOU do the same thing to YOUR employees? In order to reap the rewards of any new initiative, leaders and managers better be willing to ‘Walk the Walk and Talk the Talk’ whenever we want the best from our employees. This is critical when we are trying to institute a change in our employees’ behavior. Because, at the end of the day, if we can’t exhibit the desired...