Guest Post: Shep Hyken

Jan 6, 2012 | Guest Post

We have a special guest on the blog today. Shep Hyken, Shepard Presentations, LLC, has written a terrific article that we'd like to share with you. Are You the Owner? By Shep Hyken At many of my presentations, I’ll leave time at the end for the audience to brainstorm the ideas and take-aways they plan to implement as a result of what they heard in the speech. At a recent presentation for the Vail Valley Partnership in Vail, CO, Clark Walsh an employee at Old Forge Pizza made a great comment:...

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...

People Power

Aug 3, 2011 | Leadership Development

I had the opportunity to provide the keynote address at a client's annual team meeting in New York. For most organizations these events are quite boring and, to be honest, attended only by those employees who couldn't come up with a believable excuse not to attend. This organization, however, is different. Their employees are different, the leadership style is different, and their success and growth rates are different. Why? They believe in the power of their employees. I started to get an...

Could Your Company Sink the Titanic?

Jul 7, 2011 | Leadership Development

There is a great analogy for businesses that, over the years, I have shared with many clients. Its originator is unknown to me, but when a company needs help putting the magnitude of their behind-the-scenes administrative stuff into perspective, this is a great place to start. First, think of your company as an iceberg floating in the sea. Now think about the visible, above-the-water portion of the iceberg as the elements of your company easily seen by others (i.e., facilities, service or...

Avoid the Moth Effect

Jun 30, 2011 | Leadership Development

Leaders, do you know why it is important that your employees know how YOU fit into the overall strategic plan? Too often, we leaders fail to clarify for our employees how OUR actions tie into and align with the overall strategic plan. To employees, our actions tend to have, what I call, 'The Moth Effect.' Have you ever tried to catch a moth that's flitting around a light bulb? There's absolutely no pattern to its flight path as it bobs and weaves all over the place trying to get to the light....