Customers Are NOT Always Right
I managed a group of tourist attractions and we strived for excellent customer service. So I told my employees that “the customer is always right.” Sounded like good management at the time, but I was wrong. The customers are NOT always right. To boost our admission income, I initiated a 100% money-back guarantee if the […]
How Not to be a Sleazy Salesperson
Eeeewwww! There is such a negative stigma about “salespeople.” Why? Because they are often seen as gushing, insincere, and shallow. They care about you until you turn down their deal and walk out the door. Then, they are gushing, insincere and shallow to the next person who walks in. They don’t care about the customer; […]
How to Get Your Confidence On
It is one of those traits that empowers you when you have it and undermines you when you don’t. You perform better when you feel self-confident, and your team performs better when members feel confident in you and each other. So it’s important to know how to get your confidence on. If you lack it, […]
A Counterintuitive Guide to Improvement
When you think about improvement, do you focus on weaknesses? Here’s a counterintuitive (and much more rewarding) guide to improvement. Ask most people what about their lives they’d like to improve and you’ll usually get a litany of their weak points. They want to improve their problems with their business or personal relationships, careers, weight, […]
Aspirations, Not Resolutions
Many business leaders have given up on New Year’s Resolutions. Why? Studies show that goals don’t work, so I recommend you try aspirations, not resolutions. They say the top reasons for failed resolutions are things like a lack of consequences, a lack of specificity, being too big, not enough external support, not writing them down, […]
Speedy Year-End Leadership Review
My clients usually conduct a review of their people every year. But to really get the flock flying in formation and ready for the year ahead, take time for a quick year-end leadership review at your business. Call a meeting and facilitate a discussion that reflects on and reviews everyone’s take on the past year. […]
Great Leaders Give Presents of Presence
The greatest holiday gift or year-end bonus might not come in a package. Great leaders give presents of their presence – and they do it all year long. Employees won’t always remember what you gave them, but they’ll remember how you made them feel. Be present. Practice mindful leadership. Don’t treat employees like employees – treat them […]
Listen With Your Eyes
Listening with your eyes as well as your ears is so important. Whether you’re the boss or the employee, the parent or the spouse, you’d better be a good listener, but how do you do it? To really understand, listen with your eyes. Remember what you’ve learned about active listening? You make eye contact, nod, […]
Stretch Out of Your Comfort Zone
For constant improvement, take a lesson from a baby – stretch out of your comfort zone. Why does a baby learn to walk? She gets bored. How does she learn to walk? She takes baby steps. First, she learns to stand, then bounce, then hang on to something and take a step. Eventually, she lets […]