From Mark Sanborn: The quick answer is that my greatest inspiration comes from my faith, family and friends, in that order. While true, that answer is incomplete. On a practical level there is a fourth [...]
Flawless execution today is no guarantee of relevance tomorrow. The ability to quickly and continually change and adapt is a competitive advantage —which is why companies like Jim Beam, Procter & Gamble, and Zildjian Cymbals [...]
You will never inspire the hearts and minds of others without a deep, genuine appreciation for the talent, commitment, and value that others can bring to your team. When you get that, your ability to [...]
Regardless of how fast your company is today, the marketplace expects and rewards being faster and more nimble. Current success proves that correct choices were made yesterday. A competitor’s game-changing innovation or their faster response [...]
The names that regularly appear at the top of every list for amazing customer experiences and service are familiar: USAA, Amazon, Chick-fil-A, Publix, and Zappos. And sadly, so are names that appear at or near [...]
From Randy Pennington: We fired the service that had done all of our lawn care, landscaping, tree trimming, and holiday lights for 17 years. There wasn’t one single incident that caused us to leave. It [...]
Businesses want people to be creative and unique in order to help them be different and distinctive. But is that always the best approach? Viewers of Katy Perry’s halftime show at the 2015 Super Bowl [...]
A prospect recently asked my fee for a one-hour speech. Their response to my answer was, “I thought plumbers and electricians were expensive.” With absolutely no disrespect to those who work in the trades, my [...]
This is the first reader question we have answered in the Five Friends blog. It seems many want to know how we all got started in this business and we are happy to share that [...]
Billy Crystal gave voice to what we all have felt: “Change is so hard.” Change, by definition, causes at least some level of discomfort. If it happens easily and overnight, it isn’t really change. That [...]
What does the future look like? It is difficult to be 100 percent certain, but here are six trends that I believe will be a big part of our lives and work going forward: Customer [...]
Leadership is about the ability to influence others – nothing more and nothing less. It has less to do with position and is more about credibility, trust, and bringing out the best in yourself and [...]
From Scott McKain: Employees should remember EVERYONE is replaceable – those who aren’t distinctive get replaced first. Steve Jobs died in 2011. Apple just reported their most profitable quarter ever. Tim Cook is good, too. [...]
Leaders are known by their results. Your organization’s results improve when the performance of you and your people improves. It sounds obvious, and yet performance development remains, at best, an oxymoron along with jumbo shrimp, responsible [...]
The scariest change on your horizon is the one that you don’t see coming. The problem for most of us is that we are so busy taking care of the seemingly urgent stuff on our [...]