Be An Expert Presenter

Nov 8, 2011 | Leadership Development

I attended a luncheon that culminated with an insurance expert explaining his services to the attendees. As soon as the speaker turned on the projector to start his presentation, the bulb blew. A quick inspection revealed there was no spare and the restaurant staff didn't even know their projector used bulbs! Instead of panicking, the insurance expert simply said, “I'll just have to cue you more carefully as you follow along with your handouts.” He then proceeded with his talk. As he...

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...

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...

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...