My people were sick of training. In every meeting, we did some sort of sales training. The term “sharpening the saw” was being overused. I agree a dull blade is ineffective. But, poor sharpening will make the blade duller. Plus, a blade can be ground down to nothing with too much sharpening. We had reached […]
Ready – Shoot – Aim! Unfortunately that can be my decision-making process. On the other end of the spectrum are leaders who tend to be Ready – Aim – Aim – Aim…. Both styles can be problematic. One causes a lot of starting and a lot of stopping to happen. The other causes nothing to […]
He was a borderline narcissist. His reaction to my coaching often approached rage. I hired him for his past performance in another industry. But, I failed to fire him quickly when I realized he was unwilling to change. Every now and then I add another entry to my un-resume. These are my leadership screw-ups and […]
The reward for leadership is the opportunity to make more sacrifices. I see many talented people become disillusioned leaders because they are not prepared for this fact. I attended the National Council On Culture and Leadership Annual Summit (NCCL Website) last week and heard a fellow West Point graduate Steve Ingalls describe the sacrifices we […]
Early in my leadership career in Corporate America, I followed the pack. I did what others did. I remember watching my sales manager lead a certain way, and I emulated what he had done. Unfortunately by following what was commonly done, my teams consistently had very common results. Like many people, being common was never […]
“Dave, you are not the messiah of wayward sales people.” My boss had a way of being direct – sometimes with a sting. She knew me and my desire to help others. I didn’t like the delivery, but she was right. The problem was, once again, I was hanging on too tight to someone who […]
Trust in a relationship, whether it is at work or at home, is the foundation to the success of that relationship. Without trust between individuals or on a team, mediocrity and failure are the most likely results. I have worked for people who told me I had to earn their trust. I have worked in […]
There are High Maintenance People and there are Low Maintenance People. The High Maintenance People wear me out. I like Low Maintenance People! I believe you can have teams that are High Maintenance and teams that are Low Maintenance. I have led both types of teams. Again, I like Low Maintenance Teams! What does a Low […]
Lead, Follow AND Get Out of The Way! The famous bumper sticker actually reads Lead, Follow OR Get Out of The Way. But, for leaders the proper statement needs the AND instead of the OR. For most people placed into leadership the call to lead is obvious. This is a no-brainer. A teacher’s job is […]
“That’s not going to work.” Every time my most experienced people said this, I cringed. I had a team with eight veterans and four rookies. I soon realized that our team’s experience was killing innovation. Each time a veteran spoke, it hurt us or helped us. Experience kept us from moving forward into new territory. […]
