Posted: October 5, 2017 | Categories: Leadership, Sales, Team Building

With online shopping steadily on the rise, retail chains nationwide are struggling.  As many face this issue, it is common that they turn to improving customer service.  I once heard someone say, “Success comes in what we do after we have done what we have been paid to do.”  In other words, go the extra mile.  Setting the bar high is one challenge. Keeping the bar high can be an even bigger challenge.Read More…

Posted: September 19, 2017 | Categories: Leadership, Self-Improvement

Early in my coaching career I developed an hypothesis: There is no leadership growth without an improvement in listening skills.  So far, this theory has served me well.

If someone challenged me to come up with a  list of people I thought were truly good listeners, I would only be able to think of a handful.  No, I wouldn’t be on that list (unless my wife wasn’t reading it!).Read More…

Posted: August 22, 2017 | Categories: Leadership, Management, Team Building

About 15 years ago, I was working in a key position for a worldwide training company. The owners decided to hire a new training director. She was from a large corporation and brought a new flavor to the team. The flavor she brought did not taste good. Sylvia was what is commonly referred to as a “body tripper”.

At first, Sylvia was friendly and gracious to everyone on the team. Then, once she got situated in her position, she began to change. She became aloof, ignored people, wouldn’t listen to anyone, and it wasn’t long before virtually everyone resented her. I said, “virtually”. There were a few people she was very nice too. They were all in top management. She had them snookered. Top management didn’t see what we saw.
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Posted: July 17, 2017 | Categories: Leadership, Presentation skills, Time management

“You’ve got to ride the horse in the direction it is going” -Old Texas saying

One of my clients is in a key position with a start-up company.  He is an exceptional leader with boundless energy and focus.  As you can imagine, it is important for Ray to continuously sell ideas to his very busy boss.

At first it was frustrating trying to corner his boss for a quality conversation.  It seemed like the boss was always distracted.  Then Ray got wise: Read More…

Posted: July 6, 2017 | Categories: Leadership, Management

We have all heard that time-worn line from so many commercials:  “My only regret is that I did not do it (buy it) sooner”.  If your goal is to lead a #1 team, you may want to incorporate this concept also.Read More…