Results

4 Jul, 2011

The Return of Responsibility

By |2016-10-29T15:29:54+00:00July 4th, 2011|Accountability, Government & Politics, Integrity & Ethics, Leadership, Personal Development, Results|

The trials of former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and disgraced self-help guru James Arthur Ray both ended in guilty verdicts. Blagojevich was found guilty on 17 of 20 counts of corruption. Ray was found guilty of three counts of negligent homicide from deaths in a sweat lodge ceremony. And though some would argue that the verdicts in both cases were never in doubt, the results could have gone either way. Here are three lessons leaders can learn from these two seemingly unrelated cases:

21 Jun, 2011

Milestones & Goals

By |2016-10-29T15:29:54+00:00June 21st, 2011|Accountability, Business Strategy, Corporate Culture, Leadership, Personal Development, Results|

Seventeen days can make a tremendous difference. The date was May 25, 2011. The Dallas Mavericks became the National Basketball Association’s Western Conference Champions for only the second time in its thirty-one year history. The 17,000-plus fans were anxious for a celebration. The team held up the trophy, smiled, posed for the obligatory photo-op, and then exited the arena – leaving ESPN reporter Doris Burke looking for someone to interview.

2 Jun, 2011

Engage Your People to Engage Your Customers

By |2016-10-29T15:29:58+00:00June 2nd, 2011|Accountability, Business Growth, Business Strategy, Corporate Culture, Employee Retention, Execution, Innovation, Leadership, Performance Improvement, Personal Development, Results|

Right now – as you are reading this sentence – 70 percent of your staff are alienating your customers, keeping you from achieving your goals, or costing your company money that could be used for more productive uses. Scary, huh?

25 May, 2011

How Important Are Your Values? What Is Your Number 2?

By |2011-05-25T18:31:34+00:00May 25th, 2011|Accountability, Business Growth, Business Strategy, Corporate Culture, Integrity & Ethics, Leadership, Performance Improvement, Personal Development, Results|

Values – every company hangs them on the wall and distributes them on wallet cards. It is the same for individuals. Ask ten of your friends to list their values, and at least eighty percent will use words like respect, integrity, and honesty. So how important are your values? Will you sacrifice them for the results and outcomes you desire? Are they so important that you would lay down your life – figuratively or literally – to protect them?

27 Apr, 2011

Are You in an Accountability Crisis?

By |2016-10-29T15:29:59+00:00April 27th, 2011|Accountability, Business Growth, Business Strategy, Corporate Culture, Leadership, Performance Improvement, Personal Development, Results|

There are a lot of factors that could contribute to your lack of results – time, talent, resources – but for most of us the difference between excellence and mediocrity comes down to accountability. Accountability requires courage: Courage to tell and value the truth. Courage to remain keenly focused on results that matter, and courage to be relentless and unwavering as we look at contribution and behavior. The failure to stem a crisis of accountability places us on the path to mediocrity and worse – irrelevance.

20 Apr, 2011

Lead the Experience

By |2014-11-02T18:50:23+00:00April 20th, 2011|Business Growth, Business Strategy, Corporate Culture, Execution, Innovation, Leadership, Personal Development, Results|

Why do certain companies, brands, and even people stand out in a world where everyone is basically saying and doing the same things? For the most part, we all get it wrong. We focus on the tools – like marketing campaigns, social media, and advertising – and ignore the goal – to make customers want to do business with us. Here are three things you can do to define and deliver an experience that sets you apart:

15 Apr, 2011

The Rewards of Staying Stupid

By |2016-10-29T15:29:59+00:00April 15th, 2011|Business Strategy, Corporate Culture, Execution, Innovation, Integrity & Ethics, Leadership, Results|

I published a piece titled “Stupid Has Its Own Momentum” in November 2010. Since then, examples of stupid having its own momentum. have continued ... and continued ... and continued. Stupid maintains its own momentum because there are incentives to do so. Here are three powerful rewards to stay stupid:

22 Mar, 2011

Ask a Better Question

By |2016-10-29T15:29:59+00:00March 22nd, 2011|Accountability, Business Growth, Business Strategy, Corporate Culture, Execution, Government & Politics, Innovation, Leadership, Performance Improvement, Results|

Southwest Airlines faced a dilemma early in its operation—a cash shortage was forcing it to sell one of its four airplanes. The implications are obvious—selling the airplane generates cash for operations and cuts capacity to generate future revenue. Government leaders are facing their version of this challenge in budget meetings across the country. Should we raise taxes and fees in a difficult economy, or do we cut services at a time when they may be needed most?

15 Mar, 2011

How Public Sector Unions Could Work & Why They Won’t

By |2016-10-29T15:30:00+00:00March 15th, 2011|Corporate Culture, Government & Politics, Leadership, Results|

Public employee unions could significantly increase their chances for voter support by taking the lead – or at least working together with their opponents – on the following actions: 1. Take strikes, work stoppages, and slowdowns off the table. The public has a right to expect that its public agencies continue to function even if there is a disagreement over terms of the contract. In return for this, public employee unions should receive the right for expedited arbitration over violations of the contract.

27 Jan, 2011

A Love Affair With Results

By |2016-10-29T15:30:00+00:00January 27th, 2011|Business Growth, Corporate Culture, Execution, Leadership, Results|

The edge is a deep passion for competing, contributing, and yes, winning. It’s being dissatisfied with the status quo and never resting on your laurels. It is caring so much that you work your tail off to deliver better results tomorrow than you did today. Passion for delivering results drives learning and embracing change as a way of life. It’s an attitude not a skill.

3 Jan, 2011

2011 Business & Workplace Predictions

By |2023-02-12T00:29:43+00:00January 3rd, 2011|Business Growth, Business Predictions, Business Strategy, Corporate Culture, Employee Retention, Innovation, Leadership, New Year's Resolutions, Performance Improvement, Results|

We’ve been doing annual business and workplace predictions for our clients since 2005. This year we are sharing them with a broader audience. We’ll begin with a review of our 2010 predictions. Here’s are the five predictions we made going into last year: • Politics will continue to trump leadership.

15 Nov, 2010

Stupid Has Its Own Momentum

By |2016-10-29T15:30:02+00:00November 15th, 2010|Business Growth, Communication, Corporate Culture, Execution, Innovation, Leadership, Performance Improvement, Results|

We have all seen and/or participated in an experience similar to my purchase of an Arabian horse. More important, we have witnessed the result of a well-intentioned idea gone bad in the communities and organizations we serve. Stupid – once in play – can take on a life of its own.

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