7 Ideas Coach
Get On the Same Page with Strat Maps
10/12/10
Leadership OF an Organization
Working ON your business, not just IN it... and make it exceptional
Session 7 ~ Strategy Maps:
A Tool for Getting Everyone on the Same Page
Previous 7 Ideas Coach sessions have discussed how DIRECTION, PERFORMANCE, INNOVATION, STRUCTURE, and CULTURE are core leadership concerns of any organization. How can leaders put them all together into a coherent whole? Try Strategy Maps.
Strategy Maps originated as a key part of the Balanced Scorecard model developed by Norton and Kaplan of the Harvard Business School in the 1990s, and is widely used in business, non-profit, and public organizations.
A strategy map, or strat-map, is a one page document that shows how specific high level objectives - financial, customer outcomes, operations, and learning - link strategically in accomplishing the organization’s mission and vision.
This session covers seven things you will want to know about strat-maps, and how you can use them to get everyone in your organization on the same page.
click the image below to hear this week’s coaching session
7 Ideas Coach... 7 tips in 7 minutes for busy leaders
Lead Organizations, Work ON Your Biz - overview article
THINK! Subscribers received related leadership articles in PDF - FREE
You can too! Get this article immediately when you subscribe...get articles now
*******
additional resources
Create a Strategy Map for Your Organization - how Think Leadership Ideas can help
Get on the Same Page with a Strat-Map - THINK! leadership article
Working ON your business, not just IN it... and make it exceptional
Session 7 ~ Strategy Maps:
A Tool for Getting Everyone on the Same Page
Previous 7 Ideas Coach sessions have discussed how DIRECTION, PERFORMANCE, INNOVATION, STRUCTURE, and CULTURE are core leadership concerns of any organization. How can leaders put them all together into a coherent whole? Try Strategy Maps.
Strategy Maps originated as a key part of the Balanced Scorecard model developed by Norton and Kaplan of the Harvard Business School in the 1990s, and is widely used in business, non-profit, and public organizations.
A strategy map, or strat-map, is a one page document that shows how specific high level objectives - financial, customer outcomes, operations, and learning - link strategically in accomplishing the organization’s mission and vision.
This session covers seven things you will want to know about strat-maps, and how you can use them to get everyone in your organization on the same page.
click the image below to hear this week’s coaching session
7 Ideas Coach... 7 tips in 7 minutes for busy leaders
Lead Organizations, Work ON Your Biz - overview article
THINK! Subscribers received related leadership articles in PDF - FREE
You can too! Get this article immediately when you subscribe...get articles now
*******
additional resources
Create a Strategy Map for Your Organization - how Think Leadership Ideas can help
Get on the Same Page with a Strat-Map - THINK! leadership article
Comments
Cultivate CULTURE
17/11/10
Leadership OF an Organization
Working ON your business, not just IN it... and make it exceptional
Session 6 ~ Cultivate Culture
Previous 7 Ideas Coach sessions have discussed how DIRECTION, PERFORMANCE, and INNOVATION are core leadership concerns of any organization. How do leaders to attend to these concerns?
Two tools that leaders can use to influence direction, performance, and innovation within their organization are STRUCTURE and CULTURE. I think of structure as the banks of a river, giving direction to the water’s flow. I think of culture as the current in that river that pulls people along, unless they make an effort to do otherwise. We focused on structure in the last session - this session focuses on important strategies leaders use to shape their company culture so it adds value.
Culture is what people do when the boss isn’t looking. Organizational culture is the behavior, attitude, and atmosphere that happen by default - unless there is intention and effort to do otherwise. If you aren’t paying attention to the company culture, you might be missing a powerful means to accelerate productivity, profitability, employee retention, and customer satisfaction – in short, your organization’s success. Listen to this session for practical ideas for cultivating your organization’s culture...
click the image below to hear this week’s coaching session
7 Ideas Coach... 7 tips in 7 minutes for busy leaders
Lead Organizations, Work ON Your Biz - overview article
THINK! Subscribers received related leadership articles in PDF - FREE
You can too! Get this article immediately when you subscribe...get articles now
Working ON your business, not just IN it... and make it exceptional
Session 6 ~ Cultivate Culture
Previous 7 Ideas Coach sessions have discussed how DIRECTION, PERFORMANCE, and INNOVATION are core leadership concerns of any organization. How do leaders to attend to these concerns?
Two tools that leaders can use to influence direction, performance, and innovation within their organization are STRUCTURE and CULTURE. I think of structure as the banks of a river, giving direction to the water’s flow. I think of culture as the current in that river that pulls people along, unless they make an effort to do otherwise. We focused on structure in the last session - this session focuses on important strategies leaders use to shape their company culture so it adds value.
Culture is what people do when the boss isn’t looking. Organizational culture is the behavior, attitude, and atmosphere that happen by default - unless there is intention and effort to do otherwise. If you aren’t paying attention to the company culture, you might be missing a powerful means to accelerate productivity, profitability, employee retention, and customer satisfaction – in short, your organization’s success. Listen to this session for practical ideas for cultivating your organization’s culture...
click the image below to hear this week’s coaching session
7 Ideas Coach... 7 tips in 7 minutes for busy leaders
Lead Organizations, Work ON Your Biz - overview article
THINK! Subscribers received related leadership articles in PDF - FREE
You can too! Get this article immediately when you subscribe...get articles now
Institute STRUCTURE
11/11/10
Leadership OF an Organization
Working ON your business, not just IN it... and make it exceptional
Session 5 ~ Initiate Structure
Previous 7 Ideas Coach sessions have discussed how DIRECTION, PERFORMANCE, and INNOVATION are core leadership concerns of any organization. How do leaders to attend to these concerns?
Two tools that leaders can use to influence direction, performance, and innovation within their organization are structure and culture. I think of structure as the banks of a river, giving direction to the water’s flow. I think of culture as the current in that river that pulls people along, unless they make an effort to do otherwise. We’ll focus on structure in this session, and on culture in the next.
Structure is the tangible and intangible architecture of how your organization is constructed - and structure drives human behavior. Listen to this 7 ideas Coach session to hear about four categories of structure important for leaders to understand, and three important ideas to consider when thinking about the structure of your organization.
click the image below to hear this week’s coaching session
7 Ideas Coach... 7 tips in 7 minutes for busy leaders
Lead Organizations, Work ON Your Biz - overview article
THINK! Subscribers received related leadership articles in PDF - FREE
You can too! Get this article immediately when you subscribe...get articles now
Working ON your business, not just IN it... and make it exceptional
Session 5 ~ Initiate Structure
Previous 7 Ideas Coach sessions have discussed how DIRECTION, PERFORMANCE, and INNOVATION are core leadership concerns of any organization. How do leaders to attend to these concerns?
Two tools that leaders can use to influence direction, performance, and innovation within their organization are structure and culture. I think of structure as the banks of a river, giving direction to the water’s flow. I think of culture as the current in that river that pulls people along, unless they make an effort to do otherwise. We’ll focus on structure in this session, and on culture in the next.
Structure is the tangible and intangible architecture of how your organization is constructed - and structure drives human behavior. Listen to this 7 ideas Coach session to hear about four categories of structure important for leaders to understand, and three important ideas to consider when thinking about the structure of your organization.
click the image below to hear this week’s coaching session
7 Ideas Coach... 7 tips in 7 minutes for busy leaders
Lead Organizations, Work ON Your Biz - overview article
THINK! Subscribers received related leadership articles in PDF - FREE
You can too! Get this article immediately when you subscribe...get articles now
Initiate INNOVATION
22/10/10
Leadership OF an Organization
Working ON your business, not just IN it... and make it exceptional
Session 4 ~ Initiate Innovation
The great business advisor Peter Drucker spoke of innovation as a new dimension of performance.
Previously we described how organizational leaders need to articulate direction - i.e. communicate why the organization exists, what it needs to do, and how it should go about doing it. Leaders then need to attend to how well the organization performs moving it that direction, i.e. measure performance.
In a fast changing world, ensuring DIRECTION and PERFORMANCE is not enough. Leaders must initiate INNOVATION... yet innovation requires change, which may directly contradict direction and performance. Savvy leaders find ways to attend to them all.
In this 7 Ideas Coach session, we cover 7 ideas that are important to consider for attending to innovation in your organization.
click the image below to hear this week’s coaching session
7 Ideas Coach... 7 tips in 7 minutes for busy leaders
Lead Organizations, Work ON Your Biz - overview article
THINK! Subscribers received related leadership articles in PDF - FREE
You can too! Get this article immediately when you subscribe...get articles now
Working ON your business, not just IN it... and make it exceptional
Session 4 ~ Initiate Innovation
The great business advisor Peter Drucker spoke of innovation as a new dimension of performance.
Previously we described how organizational leaders need to articulate direction - i.e. communicate why the organization exists, what it needs to do, and how it should go about doing it. Leaders then need to attend to how well the organization performs moving it that direction, i.e. measure performance.
In a fast changing world, ensuring DIRECTION and PERFORMANCE is not enough. Leaders must initiate INNOVATION... yet innovation requires change, which may directly contradict direction and performance. Savvy leaders find ways to attend to them all.
In this 7 Ideas Coach session, we cover 7 ideas that are important to consider for attending to innovation in your organization.
click the image below to hear this week’s coaching session
7 Ideas Coach... 7 tips in 7 minutes for busy leaders
Lead Organizations, Work ON Your Biz - overview article
THINK! Subscribers received related leadership articles in PDF - FREE
You can too! Get this article immediately when you subscribe...get articles now
Measure PERFORMANCE
10/10/10
Leadership OF an Organization
Working ON your business, not just IN it... and make it exceptional
Session 3 ~ Measure Performance
Performance - the work of the organization - is one of the 5 core concerns of organizational leadership that need focus, alignment, and attention (direction, performance, innovation, structure, and culture).
In this 7 Ideas Coach session, we cover...
click the image below to hear this week’s coaching session
7 Ideas Coach... 7 tips in 7 minutes for busy leaders
Lead Organizations, Work ON Your Biz - overview article
THINK! Subscribers received related leadership articles in PDF - FREE
You can too! Get this article immediately when you subscribe...get articles now
Working ON your business, not just IN it... and make it exceptional
Session 3 ~ Measure Performance
Performance - the work of the organization - is one of the 5 core concerns of organizational leadership that need focus, alignment, and attention (direction, performance, innovation, structure, and culture).
In this 7 Ideas Coach session, we cover...
- three ideas to keep in mind when thinking about your organization’s performance;
- four categories of performance you will want to include when determining performance measures.
click the image below to hear this week’s coaching session
7 Ideas Coach... 7 tips in 7 minutes for busy leaders
Lead Organizations, Work ON Your Biz - overview article
THINK! Subscribers received related leadership articles in PDF - FREE
You can too! Get this article immediately when you subscribe...get articles now
Articulate DIRECTION
01/10/10
Leadership OF an Organization
Working ON your business, not just IN it... and make it exceptional
Session 2 ~ Articulate Direction
As the great Yogi Berra so artfully observed, “if you don't know where you're going, you might not get there.”
Establishing the direction of your organization and communicating that direction is an essential task of leadership. It is one of the five core concerns of organizational leadership: direction, performance, innovation, structure, and culture.
In this 7 Ideas Coach session, we cover the WHAT and HOW of articulating direction...
click the image below to hear this week’s coaching session
7 Ideas Coach... 7 tips in 7 minutes for busy leaders
THINK! Subscribers received related leadership articles in PDF - FREE
You can too! Get this article immediately when you subscribe...get articles now
One Page Way leadership article
Working ON your business, not just IN it... and make it exceptional
Session 2 ~ Articulate Direction
As the great Yogi Berra so artfully observed, “if you don't know where you're going, you might not get there.”
Establishing the direction of your organization and communicating that direction is an essential task of leadership. It is one of the five core concerns of organizational leadership: direction, performance, innovation, structure, and culture.
In this 7 Ideas Coach session, we cover the WHAT and HOW of articulating direction...
- WHAT - four essential elements that need to be included when leaders establish direction;
- HOW - three things that are essential to keep in mind for communicating, for articulating direction.
click the image below to hear this week’s coaching session
7 Ideas Coach... 7 tips in 7 minutes for busy leaders
THINK! Subscribers received related leadership articles in PDF - FREE
You can too! Get this article immediately when you subscribe...get articles now
One Page Way leadership article
Answer This Question
17/09/10
Leadership OF an Organization
Working ON your business, not just IN it... and make it exceptional
Session 1 ~ What Experience Do You Create?
Great pricing, quality, and customer service alone won’t accelerate your business.
In today’s marketplace, businesses need right-priced quality products and services along with great customer service just to be in the game. For non-profits, NGOs, and public entities, doing good work and operating efficiently is a baseline. Organizations that win our attention are those that meet our higher-level needs – personal attention, belonging, identification, meaning, and image... in short, they create a distinct experience.
This ‘coachcast’ explores why asking “What experience Do We Create?” is essential for working ON your business and being a leader OF your organization. Experience is the unifying factor for the 5 core concerns of a leader that will be discussed in future sessions.
click the image below to hear this week’s coaching session
Keywords for this 7 Ideas Coach session...
7 Ideas Coach... 7 tips in 7 minutes for busy leaders
THINK! Subscribers received a related leadership article in PDF - FREE
You can too! Get this article immediately when you subscribe...get articles now
Working ON your business, not just IN it... and make it exceptional
Session 1 ~ What Experience Do You Create?
Great pricing, quality, and customer service alone won’t accelerate your business.
In today’s marketplace, businesses need right-priced quality products and services along with great customer service just to be in the game. For non-profits, NGOs, and public entities, doing good work and operating efficiently is a baseline. Organizations that win our attention are those that meet our higher-level needs – personal attention, belonging, identification, meaning, and image... in short, they create a distinct experience.
This ‘coachcast’ explores why asking “What experience Do We Create?” is essential for working ON your business and being a leader OF your organization. Experience is the unifying factor for the 5 core concerns of a leader that will be discussed in future sessions.
click the image below to hear this week’s coaching session
Keywords for this 7 Ideas Coach session...
- Distinction of Value
- Customer POV
- Don’t Stop at the Customer
- This Means You
- Consistent - Dependable
- Congruent - Authentic
- Coherent - the Story
7 Ideas Coach... 7 tips in 7 minutes for busy leaders
THINK! Subscribers received a related leadership article in PDF - FREE
You can too! Get this article immediately when you subscribe...get articles now
Work ON Your Biz Leadership
08/09/10
Three Common Errors of Planning Retreats
30/08/10
Has your board or leadership team scheduled a planning retreat or meeting?
This 7 minute “coachcast” reviews:
- 3 all-too-common errors that organizations make while creating their strategic or action plans;
- 3 best practices that will help a group avoid these mistakes;
- Plus the single most important thing to get right so everything else falls in place.
7 Ideas Coach is an ongoing series of coaching sessions,
7 nuggets of insight in 7 minutes for busy leaders
[This is a repeat of a popular session while we are on summer break - look for a new 7 Ideas Coach series in September.
Our THINK! subscribers will receive a free PDF article based on this podcast - become a subscriber now]
Related Resources
Get on the Same Page - Podcast
THINK! leadership article: Possibility Thinking
THINK! leadership article: Resolving Persistent Issues
THINK! leadership article: One Page Way
About Strategy Maps
10 ways professional facilitation adds value consulting and facilitation
If you liked this coachcast, you'll love the resource guide for productive meetings...
Eagles, Ducks, and Development
11/08/10
Foster Development and Growth
Essential Practices for Managing People... session 7
If you want people to be the best, then help them be better!
Conventional wisdom says don’t send a duck to eagle school. For that matter, you also shouldn’t send an eagle to swimming lessons, or a fish to basketball camp. But you DO want to foster development and growth for all your people.
This 7 minute session provides uncommon insight about avoiding the biggest mistake most organizations make in developing their people, along with essential strategies for providing your people with development and growth experiences that make a difference - to their future, and the future of your organization.
click the image below to hear this week’s coaching session
see the executive summary article for the Practices for Managing People series
Additional Resources
Leadership Development Tools Empowerment Readiness
7 Ideas Coach is a weekly series of coaching sessions,
7 nuggets of insight in 7 minutes for busy leaders
Get 7 Ideas Coach each week via email or through Apple iTunes
Bridge Across Silos and Walls
05/08/10
Essential Practices for Managing People... session 6
Especially in a knowledge-based world, people need to have effective communication within and without their unit, their company, and their industry.
Here’s a hit...making use of good technology is not the same as engaging in good communication.
This 7 Ideas Coach session provides uncommon insight about what you can do as a manager to create an environment where your people communicate effectively. Break down silos, increase alignment, and create an environment that encourages effective communication....now!
Link to Success
18/07/10
Essential Practices for Managing People... session 5
Extraordinary managers help their people see how work efforts impact the greater good.
Do this well and you help bring out best performance.
Fail to make this link and you not only miss a motivation opportunity, you risk people focusing on doing their job even when that job isn’t relevant to the organization’s goals.
This 7 Ideas Coach session provides uncommon insight into the practice of making visible how the efforts of your people contribute to organizational success.
Read More...
Extraordinary managers help their people see how work efforts impact the greater good.
Do this well and you help bring out best performance.
Fail to make this link and you not only miss a motivation opportunity, you risk people focusing on doing their job even when that job isn’t relevant to the organization’s goals.
This 7 Ideas Coach session provides uncommon insight into the practice of making visible how the efforts of your people contribute to organizational success.
Read More...
Master Performance Feedback
13/07/10
Essential Practices for Managing People... session 4
If you want your people to be champions at what they do, then performance feedback is essential...let me repeat, essential.
This week’s “coachcast” explores what managers need to do in order to master the two “flavors” of feedback, and use performance feedback to create and sustain champion organizations.
Read More...
Match Assignments to Strengths
08/07/10
Essential Practices for Managing People... session 3
You don’t rise above mediocrity, you don’t become an exceptional performer, by doing everything well enough. You do so by investing in what you already do exceptionally well to keep getting better. Likewise as a manager, if you want exceptional performance from your people, you invest your attention in understanding what your people do well, and matching this to their role in the organization.
This week’s “coachcast” explores how managers can identify the unique strengths of the people they work with, to match these strengths to organizational needs... Read More...
You don’t rise above mediocrity, you don’t become an exceptional performer, by doing everything well enough. You do so by investing in what you already do exceptionally well to keep getting better. Likewise as a manager, if you want exceptional performance from your people, you invest your attention in understanding what your people do well, and matching this to their role in the organization.
This week’s “coachcast” explores how managers can identify the unique strengths of the people they work with, to match these strengths to organizational needs... Read More...
Enable, Motivate, Empower
02/07/10
Essential Practices for Managing People... session 2
What’s the value you add as a manager? Sometimes value is very tangible, only because of something you do that your people now are able to do their work. Much of the time, the value you create is intangible - as in providing motivation - although the impact on results is very real.
This week’s “coachcast” explores the paradoxical nature of motivation, and offers seven ideas for enabling, motivating, and empowering the people you work with...
Read More...
What’s the value you add as a manager? Sometimes value is very tangible, only because of something you do that your people now are able to do their work. Much of the time, the value you create is intangible - as in providing motivation - although the impact on results is very real.
This week’s “coachcast” explores the paradoxical nature of motivation, and offers seven ideas for enabling, motivating, and empowering the people you work with...
Read More...
Communicating Expectations
17/06/10
Essential Practices for Managing People... session 1
People have a mind of their own. It’s unleashing that mind of their own which makes people so valuable in organizations, and what makes managing people so challenging. One of the most essential practices of managing people is communicating expectations. The more expectations are clarified, the more people can apply themselves effectively.
After exploring what a manager needs to know and be able to do to communicate expectations, this session outlines seven essential things a managers will want their people to understand.
Read More...
People have a mind of their own. It’s unleashing that mind of their own which makes people so valuable in organizations, and what makes managing people so challenging. One of the most essential practices of managing people is communicating expectations. The more expectations are clarified, the more people can apply themselves effectively.
After exploring what a manager needs to know and be able to do to communicate expectations, this session outlines seven essential things a managers will want their people to understand.
Read More...
Essential Practices for Managing People
03/06/10
Managing People... overview coaching session
click the image below to hear this week’s coaching session
7 Ideas Coach is a weekly series of coaching sessions,
7 nuggets of insight in 7 minutes for busy leaders
Read More...
Boost Confidence and Professionalism
24/05/10
Speak Powerfully... coaching session 7
Some experts say that 95% of people feel some fear or anxiety when called upon to give a speech or presentation. Feeling fear when giving a speech is normal, and it doesn’t have to stand in the way of making a great presentation. This new 7 minute coaching session quickly reviews seven techniques to reduce fear and boost your confidence when making that business speech or presentation.
Read More...
Some experts say that 95% of people feel some fear or anxiety when called upon to give a speech or presentation. Feeling fear when giving a speech is normal, and it doesn’t have to stand in the way of making a great presentation. This new 7 minute coaching session quickly reviews seven techniques to reduce fear and boost your confidence when making that business speech or presentation.
Read More...
Heighten Presentation Impact With Humor
06/05/10
Speak Powerfully... coaching session 6
Humor is your weapon to win attention. Humor is your tool to stand out. Humor is your winning edge. For those who need a less aggressive metaphor, humor is the icing on the cake that makes your message attractive and a pleasure to consume.
This new 7 minute coaching session quickly reviews seven actions you can take to add humor to your business speech or presentation.
Read More...
Resist Powerpoint Mediocrity
27/04/10
Avoid despair by Powerpoint
Speak Powerfully... coaching session 5
Not only is poor speaking is widely tolerated in business, poor use of presentation software is practically encouraged. Well it doesn’t have to be that way. You can avoid death, despair, and boredom by powerpoint.
This 7 minute coaching session offers seven actions for using Powerpoint, Keynote, or other presentation software to make your presentations stand out.
Read More...
Engage and Energize Your Audience
21/04/10
Speak Powerfully... coaching session 4
A speech is like a dance, with the speaker and audience as dance partners. Sometimes leading, sometimes following, effective speakers engage - dance with - their audiences. Engagement both takes energy and builds energy.
This 7 minute coaching session outlines seven ways that you can maintain and increase the engagement and energy of your audience while making your presentation.
7 Ideas Coach is a weekly series of coaching sessions,
7 nuggets of insight in 7 minutes for busy leaders
Subscribe to 7 Ideas Coach via email or through Apple iTunes
Read More...
A speech is like a dance, with the speaker and audience as dance partners. Sometimes leading, sometimes following, effective speakers engage - dance with - their audiences. Engagement both takes energy and builds energy.
This 7 minute coaching session outlines seven ways that you can maintain and increase the engagement and energy of your audience while making your presentation.
7 Ideas Coach is a weekly series of coaching sessions,
7 nuggets of insight in 7 minutes for busy leaders
Subscribe to 7 Ideas Coach via email or through Apple iTunes
Read More...
Openings to Command Attention
14/04/10
Speak Powerfully... coaching session 3
How you start your presentation or speech sets the audiences expectation. If you begin with a strong opening, end with a powerful close, and have relevant material in the middle, listeners will forget and forgive any parts that are uninteresting or less than well done. They will perceive the entire presentation positively as a whole.
This 7 minute coaching session covers the essentials of crafting a powerful opening, and includes seven different ways to do it.
listen to the summary podcast of the Powerful Speaking series
Read More...
How you start your presentation or speech sets the audiences expectation. If you begin with a strong opening, end with a powerful close, and have relevant material in the middle, listeners will forget and forgive any parts that are uninteresting or less than well done. They will perceive the entire presentation positively as a whole.
This 7 minute coaching session covers the essentials of crafting a powerful opening, and includes seven different ways to do it.
listen to the summary podcast of the Powerful Speaking series
Read More...
Organize What You Say
07/04/10
Speak Powerfully... coaching session 2
If you want to stand out and be heard, then you need to make sure your speech or presentation is organized so it can be followed by the listener. The following are seven things you would do well to pay attention to...
Read More...
If you want to stand out and be heard, then you need to make sure your speech or presentation is organized so it can be followed by the listener. The following are seven things you would do well to pay attention to...
Read More...
Put Polish on Speaking Mechanics and Delivery
31/03/10
Speak Powerfully... coaching session 1
Poor speaking is so tolerated as normal for business that perhaps no other skill gives as quick a payback for effort as learning to speak with clarity, brevity and energy. Small and basic improvements in speaking in front of others will typically elevate one well above the crowd. Plus effective speaking is one of the best tools for cultivating influence.
Acquiring the skills to improve speaking is not actually difficult to do, but takes time, practice and discipline. The following are a seven key practices to develop speaking mechanics and delivery.
Read More...
Poor speaking is so tolerated as normal for business that perhaps no other skill gives as quick a payback for effort as learning to speak with clarity, brevity and energy. Small and basic improvements in speaking in front of others will typically elevate one well above the crowd. Plus effective speaking is one of the best tools for cultivating influence.
Acquiring the skills to improve speaking is not actually difficult to do, but takes time, practice and discipline. The following are a seven key practices to develop speaking mechanics and delivery.
Read More...
Leverage Automatic Behavior
16/03/10
Leadership Momentum... session 7
A fundamental paradox of effective leadership is getting people to pursue excellence without thinking about it, eliciting top performance on “autopilot.”
Most people have had the experience of driving and arriving at a destination without remembering the trip. Much of human thinking and behavior is unconscious, essentially on “automatic pilot.” Expert marketers, politicians, and stage magicians are known for how they use unconscious “default” behavior to exert influence in what people think, perceive, and choose. Savvy leaders do well to adopt the same influence tools.
There can indeed be a fine line between manipulating and tricking people on the one hand, and nudging and influencing with integrity and transparency on the other. But as Thaler and Sunstein note in their book, Nudge, rarely is there a “neutral” option in choices and decisions. Leaders will invariably find themselves to be choice architects, influencing others whether they want to or not.
Listen to hear seven ways that leaders can consciously influence unconscious “automatic” behavior...
read the summary leadership article on Leadership Momentum
7 Ideas Coach is an ongoing series of coaching sessions,
7 nuggets of insight in 7 minutes for busy leaders
Subscribe to 7 Ideas Coach via email or through Apple iTunes
A fundamental paradox of effective leadership is getting people to pursue excellence without thinking about it, eliciting top performance on “autopilot.”
Most people have had the experience of driving and arriving at a destination without remembering the trip. Much of human thinking and behavior is unconscious, essentially on “automatic pilot.” Expert marketers, politicians, and stage magicians are known for how they use unconscious “default” behavior to exert influence in what people think, perceive, and choose. Savvy leaders do well to adopt the same influence tools.
There can indeed be a fine line between manipulating and tricking people on the one hand, and nudging and influencing with integrity and transparency on the other. But as Thaler and Sunstein note in their book, Nudge, rarely is there a “neutral” option in choices and decisions. Leaders will invariably find themselves to be choice architects, influencing others whether they want to or not.
Listen to hear seven ways that leaders can consciously influence unconscious “automatic” behavior...
read the summary leadership article on Leadership Momentum
7 Ideas Coach is an ongoing series of coaching sessions,
7 nuggets of insight in 7 minutes for busy leaders
Subscribe to 7 Ideas Coach via email or through Apple iTunes
Your Collaborative Advantage
09/03/10
Leadership Momentum... session 6
Organizations and individuals alike are constantly implored to develop a competitive advantage. Paradoxically, what may give you a real edge is a well-honed capacity to collaborate. In an increasingly complex world, leaders are more likely to face the challenge of collaborative projects and partnerships - efforts that will require different professions or different organizations to work together, including endeavors that span business, nonprofit, and public sectors.
There is hardly a better competitive advantage than being comfortable and effective in working across boundaries to achieve mutually beneficial results. Collaboration is not for the faint of heart. The following outlines seven essential ingredients leaders should include to assure success in collaborative projects.
read the summary leadership article on Leadership Momentum
Read More...
Organizations and individuals alike are constantly implored to develop a competitive advantage. Paradoxically, what may give you a real edge is a well-honed capacity to collaborate. In an increasingly complex world, leaders are more likely to face the challenge of collaborative projects and partnerships - efforts that will require different professions or different organizations to work together, including endeavors that span business, nonprofit, and public sectors.
There is hardly a better competitive advantage than being comfortable and effective in working across boundaries to achieve mutually beneficial results. Collaboration is not for the faint of heart. The following outlines seven essential ingredients leaders should include to assure success in collaborative projects.
read the summary leadership article on Leadership Momentum
Read More...
Cultivate Your Network
02/03/10
Leadership Momentum... session 5
Your network is the sum of connections you have with other people that might be used to share benefits. Networking is the intentional actions you take to build your network.
Networking is a lifelong endeavor, likely to play a vital role in making the achievements you desire a reality. There is no time like the present to take the initiative, and begin networking wisely. This session outlines seven fundamental principles of successful networking for long-term value.
Read More...
Your network is the sum of connections you have with other people that might be used to share benefits. Networking is the intentional actions you take to build your network.
Networking is a lifelong endeavor, likely to play a vital role in making the achievements you desire a reality. There is no time like the present to take the initiative, and begin networking wisely. This session outlines seven fundamental principles of successful networking for long-term value.
Read More...
Speak Powerfully
22/02/10
Leadership Momentum... session 4
Poor speaking is so tolerated as normal for business that perhaps no other skill gives as quick a payback for effort as learning to speak with clarity, brevity and energy. Small and basic improvements in speaking in front of others will typically elevate one well above the crowd. Plus effective speaking is one of the best tools for cultivating influence.
Acquiring the skills to improve speaking is not actually difficult to do, but takes time, practice and discipline. This session gives leaders seven key points to remember...
Listen to the new 7 Ideas Coach series that expands the material covered in this session > Powerful Speaking Series
Read More...
Poor speaking is so tolerated as normal for business that perhaps no other skill gives as quick a payback for effort as learning to speak with clarity, brevity and energy. Small and basic improvements in speaking in front of others will typically elevate one well above the crowd. Plus effective speaking is one of the best tools for cultivating influence.
Acquiring the skills to improve speaking is not actually difficult to do, but takes time, practice and discipline. This session gives leaders seven key points to remember...
Listen to the new 7 Ideas Coach series that expands the material covered in this session > Powerful Speaking Series
Read More...
Sharpen Thinking
15/02/10
Leadership Momentum... session 3
Effective leaders develop agility in understanding themselves, interacting with others, and managing their life endeavors by intentional development and application of specific modes of thinking. This coaching session outlines seven modes of thinking that are of particular importance to leaders.
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Effective leaders develop agility in understanding themselves, interacting with others, and managing their life endeavors by intentional development and application of specific modes of thinking. This coaching session outlines seven modes of thinking that are of particular importance to leaders.
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Focus On Strengths
09/02/10
Leadership Momentum... session 2
If you truly are driven by escaping mediocrity and accelerating achievement, you have to resist what most people do, which is focus on weaknesses.
Most people have been introduced to the idea that they should emphasize building on their strengths. Even so, Individuals and companies alike still persist in approaching development and performance management by identifying relative weaknesses and then trying to shore them up. The trouble is, if you do everything generally well, you will probably avoid failing but certainly fail to achieve excellence. This session offers seven ideas to focus on strengths as a way to generate Leadership Momentum.
Read More...
If you truly are driven by escaping mediocrity and accelerating achievement, you have to resist what most people do, which is focus on weaknesses.
Most people have been introduced to the idea that they should emphasize building on their strengths. Even so, Individuals and companies alike still persist in approaching development and performance management by identifying relative weaknesses and then trying to shore them up. The trouble is, if you do everything generally well, you will probably avoid failing but certainly fail to achieve excellence. This session offers seven ideas to focus on strengths as a way to generate Leadership Momentum.
Read More...
Generate Credibility
04/02/10
Leadership Momentum... session 1
Credibility generates an assumption of capacity to accomplish objectives. Moreover, credibility generates trust, and trust automatically gains a leader the benefit of the doubt. People carry on with their efforts, look beyond mistakes, and work around annoyances and inconveniences.
Savvy leaders know that multiple credibility indicators are more compelling than any single credential or quality. The seven assets and qualities discussed in this session are not exhaustive, but certainly among the most likely to broadly gain leaders credibility.
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Credibility generates an assumption of capacity to accomplish objectives. Moreover, credibility generates trust, and trust automatically gains a leader the benefit of the doubt. People carry on with their efforts, look beyond mistakes, and work around annoyances and inconveniences.
Savvy leaders know that multiple credibility indicators are more compelling than any single credential or quality. The seven assets and qualities discussed in this session are not exhaustive, but certainly among the most likely to broadly gain leaders credibility.
Read More...
Cultivate a Change Culture
26/01/10
Change Leadership... session 7
Culture is what people do when the boss isn’t looking. It’s the behavior, attitude, and atmosphere that happen unconsciously.
Want a culture that embraces change and innovation? Then cultivate an appreciative culture.
I use the word appreciative to describe a company culture where people both contribute to a positive climate AND take care of the business. Appreciative cultures highly value competency, excellence, and results as much as feeling good about their workplace. Two meanings of appreciative fit: to recognize with gratitude, and to increase in value.
Appreciative cultures are resilient to change, not resistant. They seek and reward change that adds value. This session outlines seven actions leaders can take to encourage and reinforce a culture of change...
7 Ideas Coach is an ongoing series of coaching sessions,
7 nuggets of insight in 7 minutes for busy leaders
see THINK leadership article on cultivating an appreciative culture
Culture is what people do when the boss isn’t looking. It’s the behavior, attitude, and atmosphere that happen unconsciously.
Want a culture that embraces change and innovation? Then cultivate an appreciative culture.
I use the word appreciative to describe a company culture where people both contribute to a positive climate AND take care of the business. Appreciative cultures highly value competency, excellence, and results as much as feeling good about their workplace. Two meanings of appreciative fit: to recognize with gratitude, and to increase in value.
Appreciative cultures are resilient to change, not resistant. They seek and reward change that adds value. This session outlines seven actions leaders can take to encourage and reinforce a culture of change...
7 Ideas Coach is an ongoing series of coaching sessions,
7 nuggets of insight in 7 minutes for busy leaders
see THINK leadership article on cultivating an appreciative culture
Handle Complexity Wisely
19/01/10
Change Leadership... session 6
In the 21st century, increasing complexity is a hard fact for almost all organizations - whether large or small, or business, public, or non-profit.
The combination of knowledge-based work plus increased complexity calls for a different kind of action to move organizations forward, which in turn impacts what kind of leadership styles are most effective and what kind of leaders are needed for the future.
The ideas in this session explain 3 different kinds of complexity, as well as appropriate leadership responses to varying levels of complexity...
Read More...
In the 21st century, increasing complexity is a hard fact for almost all organizations - whether large or small, or business, public, or non-profit.
The combination of knowledge-based work plus increased complexity calls for a different kind of action to move organizations forward, which in turn impacts what kind of leadership styles are most effective and what kind of leaders are needed for the future.
The ideas in this session explain 3 different kinds of complexity, as well as appropriate leadership responses to varying levels of complexity...
Read More...
Win Buy-In
11/01/10
Change Leadership... session 5
Too many change initiatives suffer from what preeminent executive coach Marshall Goldsmith calls the 1 2 3 7 problem - implementing change is a 7 step process, but leaders often leave out steps 4, 5, and 6.
To detail, leaders too often (1) Assess the Situation, (2) Identify Solutions, (3) Plan Action, but then leap to (7) Implement Changes - leaving out efforts to (4) Seek Buy-in Up, (5) Seek Buy-in Across, and (6) Seek Buy-in Down. Oops.
Effective leaders are intentional about creating buy-in for expected change. This podcast covers seven things leaders need to know...
Read More...
Too many change initiatives suffer from what preeminent executive coach Marshall Goldsmith calls the 1 2 3 7 problem - implementing change is a 7 step process, but leaders often leave out steps 4, 5, and 6.
To detail, leaders too often (1) Assess the Situation, (2) Identify Solutions, (3) Plan Action, but then leap to (7) Implement Changes - leaving out efforts to (4) Seek Buy-in Up, (5) Seek Buy-in Across, and (6) Seek Buy-in Down. Oops.
Effective leaders are intentional about creating buy-in for expected change. This podcast covers seven things leaders need to know...
Read More...
Gain Willing Followers
05/01/10
Change Leadership... session 4
There is fundamental paradox of effective leadership - people make their best effort only when they voluntarily choose to do so. Leading is the art of giving people a genuine choice to follow, while making the choice to follow irresistibly compelling.
A true act of leading is determined not by the “leader” but by the person who chooses to “follow”. Leading can be defined as the act of gaining willing followers for a course of action when the way forward is uncertain or unknown. At its core, leading is about creating conditions where people willingly change - this session reviews seven ways how...
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There is fundamental paradox of effective leadership - people make their best effort only when they voluntarily choose to do so. Leading is the art of giving people a genuine choice to follow, while making the choice to follow irresistibly compelling.
A true act of leading is determined not by the “leader” but by the person who chooses to “follow”. Leading can be defined as the act of gaining willing followers for a course of action when the way forward is uncertain or unknown. At its core, leading is about creating conditions where people willingly change - this session reviews seven ways how...
Read More...
Making Change Stick
29/12/09
Change Leadership... session 3
What needs to stick, of course, is change in human behavior. Replace your office furniture and the change will stay put with no effort on your part. The same cannot be said for getting everyone to respond differently to customers, cooperate across functional lines, or implement those new quality measures. If you want organizational changes to stick, implement the leadership initiatives described in this week’s podcast...
Read More...
What needs to stick, of course, is change in human behavior. Replace your office furniture and the change will stay put with no effort on your part. The same cannot be said for getting everyone to respond differently to customers, cooperate across functional lines, or implement those new quality measures. If you want organizational changes to stick, implement the leadership initiatives described in this week’s podcast...
Read More...
Actions to Manage Transitions
22/12/09
Change Leadership... session 2
Change is different from transition, and leaders ignore transition at their peril.
What’s the difference? Change is an observable event that often occurs very quickly – e.g. you sell your Hummer for a Prius. Transition is an inner state – how long it takes you to get used to driving the Prius. As noted in the previous session, transition is difficult because it requires new learning, new patterns of behavior, and emotional regrouping. This podcast outlines seven actions effective leaders can take to manage transitions.
Read More...
Change is different from transition, and leaders ignore transition at their peril.
What’s the difference? Change is an observable event that often occurs very quickly – e.g. you sell your Hummer for a Prius. Transition is an inner state – how long it takes you to get used to driving the Prius. As noted in the previous session, transition is difficult because it requires new learning, new patterns of behavior, and emotional regrouping. This podcast outlines seven actions effective leaders can take to manage transitions.
Read More...
Change Leadership: Understand the Real Challenge
17/12/09
Change Leadership... session 1
Conventional wisdom is that people inherently resist change, automatically making organizational change difficult. This assumption can get in the way of effective change leadership. It’s worth thinking a little deeper.
What people resist isn’t necessarily change itself. What people resist is the pain, discomfort, fear, stress, loss, and expending of excess energy and attention that comes with some kinds of change. The ideas presented in this coaching podcast will help leaders understand the nuances of change and better prepare themselves to address real challenges.
Read More...
Conventional wisdom is that people inherently resist change, automatically making organizational change difficult. This assumption can get in the way of effective change leadership. It’s worth thinking a little deeper.
What people resist isn’t necessarily change itself. What people resist is the pain, discomfort, fear, stress, loss, and expending of excess energy and attention that comes with some kinds of change. The ideas presented in this coaching podcast will help leaders understand the nuances of change and better prepare themselves to address real challenges.
Read More...
Increase Energy in Your Meetings
08/12/09
Meetings That Work ~ session #7
Bringing out the best brainpower and talent in meetings is expedited by a high level of energy. Does the energy level in your meetings slump the longer the meeting continues?
This last “coachcast” in the Meetings That Work series covers seven specific strategies that leaders can use immediately in meetings to maintain and increase energy, attention, and vitality.
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7 Tips to Foster Dialogue
01/12/09
Meetings That Work ~ session #3
More than anything else, the capacity of people to have a meaningful dialogue is what adds value to meetings by drawing out the brainpower and tacit knowledge around the table. Rich discussion, dialogue, and debate differentiate meetings where work gets done from time wasters that keep people from their work.
This session outlines seven ways that effective leaders encourage meeting dialogue:
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Meetings: Clarify Your Purpose
24/11/09
Meetings That Work ~ session #2
What’s the purpose of your meeting? Simply to share information? Retrospective information can be useful, but in the most productive meetings participants focus on achieving outcomes that are prospective in nature: alignment, attunement, and action.
This session explores how to encourage alignment, attunement, and action in your meetings...and the traps to avoid!
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Meetings: The Essentials
14/11/09
Meetings That Work ~ session #1
Jack Nicklaus said, "Learn the fundamentals of the game and stick to them. Band-Aid remedies never last."
The same can be said of meetings. If meetings in your organization need work, first ensure you routinely practice the seven basics covered in this podcast before working on anything else.
Read More...
Getting On the Same Page
11/06/09
7 Ideas Coach is an ongoing series of coaching sessions,
7 nuggets of insight in 7 minutes for busy leaders
listen to an updated video-enhanced version of this podcast,
using Strategy Maps to Get on the Same Page
Want to get everyone on the same page?
One of the best strategies is literally doing so - get your strategic plan refined to a one pager.
This coachcast discusses:
- Why one page is a great way to go to enhance your organization.
- Who can use a one page plan or strategy map. (Hint...businesses, non-profits, and public agencies.)
- Timing and triggers for one pagers.
- The four things every one pager should include.
- And three ways an organization can maximize benefit from a one page plan.
links to related resources
THINK! leadership article: One Page Way
About Strategy Maps
Article on Hillsborough’s use of Strategy Maps and Balanced Scorecard
One Page Way consulting and facilitation
If you liked this coachcast, you'll love the resource guide for productive meetings...
The 7 Fundamental, Essential, Intrinsic, Counter-intuitive, and Indispensable Laws of Communication
25/05/09
Communicating for Influence Coachcast Series
Leadership is about influencing others so they choose to follow. To become more skilled in the art of communicating for influence, one must first understand these essential and often counter-intuitive communication principles.
Leadership is about influencing others so they choose to follow. To become more skilled in the art of communicating for influence, one must first understand these essential and often counter-intuitive communication principles.
- One cannot not communicate
- The message intended is not necessarily the message received
- Communication is multi-channel
- We think in ‘clouds’ of associations, not words
- Emotions are always “on”
- Most thinking and behavior is unconscious
- Human interaction is more like a living ecology than a machine - think cultivate, not operate
Complexity and Change Leadership
08/05/09
Change and Transition Coachcast Series
In his book Solving Tough Problems, Adam Kahane identifies three types of complexity:
links:
related article: Complexity and Leadership Style
book review - Solving Tough Problems (coming soon)
In his book Solving Tough Problems, Adam Kahane identifies three types of complexity:
- Dynamic Complexity - how close cause and effect are together in space and time;
- Generative Complexity - how much the future is or is not like the past; and
- Social Complexity - how much people connected to an issue have common assumptions, values, objectives, experiences, and perceptions.
- The Level of Complexity is Increasing for All Organizations Whether Large and Small or Business, Public, or Non-profit
- Increased Complexity Requires a Different Kind of Action
- Highly Complex Issues Require Increased Need for a Facilitative Leadership Style
- Increasing Complexity Impacts Personal and Organizational Leadership Development
links:
related article: Complexity and Leadership Style
book review - Solving Tough Problems (coming soon)
Organizational Shift
09/04/09
Change and Transition Coachcast Series
Is your organization experiencing a big shift, or getting ready to? In this turbulent economic climate, many organizations are having change thrust upon them - while others are choosing to make bold changes to address new customer needs or take advantage of opportunities.
Here’s seven things to think about...
"Change" is different from "transition," and leaders ignore transition at their peril. This episode lays the groundwork for a new coachcast series on leading change and managing transition.
corresponding article: Worry About Transitions, Not Change
Is your organization experiencing a big shift, or getting ready to? In this turbulent economic climate, many organizations are having change thrust upon them - while others are choosing to make bold changes to address new customer needs or take advantage of opportunities.
Here’s seven things to think about...
- Change is not necessarily difficult, or something that people resist.
- What trips up most people, and organizational change effort, is not change but transition.
- Transition requires new learning and new patterns of behavior.
- Transition requires emotional regrouping.
- Transitions typically take us away from a sense of routine into other states of ending, abeyance, or starting.
- Transition requires large energy and attention expenditures - loss of productivity is practically inevitable.
- Leaders and managers do well to give as much emphasis to planning how to manage transitions as they do to what change to make.
"Change" is different from "transition," and leaders ignore transition at their peril. This episode lays the groundwork for a new coachcast series on leading change and managing transition.
corresponding article: Worry About Transitions, Not Change
Cousin Tim's First Leadership Podcast
01/04/09
April Fools Edition
Are you up to your you know what in alligators, and tired of hearing about how the swamp needs draining?
For reason’s I won’t disclose, my cousin Tim is doing this week’s podcast and he is a master at animal metaphors. Just as the lead goose breaks wind for the rest of the flock, leaders will agree that this episode breaks wind.
Lead boldly, stand out, and make it a team effort - and remember that if you lie down with dogs you get fleas, an elephant always remembers you called him fat, and there's a fine line between being the cat’s meow and a nasty hairball.
PDF of quotations from this podcast
Are you up to your you know what in alligators, and tired of hearing about how the swamp needs draining?
For reason’s I won’t disclose, my cousin Tim is doing this week’s podcast and he is a master at animal metaphors. Just as the lead goose breaks wind for the rest of the flock, leaders will agree that this episode breaks wind.
Lead boldly, stand out, and make it a team effort - and remember that if you lie down with dogs you get fleas, an elephant always remembers you called him fat, and there's a fine line between being the cat’s meow and a nasty hairball.
PDF of quotations from this podcast
Play Well to Excel
25/03/09
A study at Bell Labs found all their engineers performed their engineering functions the same way. What differentiated top engineers from the average? Top performers created relationships that measurably contributed to effectiveness, e.g. top performers had telephone calls returned in an average of 20 minutes, compared to 4 hours for less stellar peers.
I continue to hear a theme from clients, business leaders, and other colleagues, that as the world becomes more high tech, there will be a corresponding need for high touch. Many executives fear that high touch environments get in the way of goals, or else they simply waste resources and time. The evidence is compelling, however, that high touch environments accelerate success and add value. However high touch environments require more advanced and developed leadership talent to bring out that value.
Seven Ideas for Leaders - Play Well to Excel
- Ensure development opportunities for people competencies are readily available.
- Build in playing well into performance management system.
- Leadership sets the example.
- Celebrate milestones, create rituals for transitions, and debrief significant events.
- Help people use inherent talents and interests.
- Don’t let people get away with toxic behavior.
- Help people to find fun and humor in their work.
Play Well to Excel resource links:
Read the full leadership article
Power of Nice book review
No Asshole Rule book review
THINK! and 7 Ideas Coach subscribers receive free pdf versions of our leadership articles - subscribe today - it’s free, and we never give your email to anyone else
Tom Stevens (c)2004, 2009
1237 Change Fail
19/03/09
Yesterday I heard a story that is repeated endlessly in organizations, although there’s a genuine effort from leadership to implement needed changes, nothing happens.
Change efforts often suffer from what preeminent executive coach Marshall Goldsmith calls the 1, 2, 3, 7 problem - implementing change is a 7 step process, but leaders often leave out steps 4, 5, and 6.
Seven Steps for Change
- Assess Situation
- Identify Solutions
- Plan Action
- Seek Buy-in Up
- Seek Buy-in Across
- Seek Buy-in Down
- Implement Changes
The notion of wooing up, across, and down makes sense from within hierarchical organizations. However many leaders seek changes in organizations that aren’t so clearly stratified. Think bout any kind of community change, consider how our President, or any leader, seeks to implement a change in our nation or the world for that matter. Steps 4, 5, and 6 could easily read:
- Seek Buy-in from Key Opinion Leaders
- Seek Buy-in from Constituent Groups
- Seek Buy-in from People Most Impacted
Remember these steps apply to personal change as well as organizational change. Whenever you are trying to change any habit - e.g. stop smoking, increase patience, speak confidently - the people around you can easily impede the change unless you include them in the process.
Resisting a Mood of Doom
06/03/09
Resist the prevailing mood of doom and gloom, take charge of your attitude, but guard against denial. Here are seven ways how, from Mayor Tom’s recent State of the Town address.
complete leadership article and podcast on Resisting the Mood of Doom
About Stone Soup
Collaborations Across Boundaries
Read More...
- Master your attitude
- Face reality while keeping faith
- Stick to your knitting
- Diligently seek and seize opportunities
- Focus on action within our control
- Foster partnerships and collaborations
- Live with renewed intention
complete leadership article and podcast on Resisting the Mood of Doom
About Stone Soup
Collaborations Across Boundaries
Read More...
Grow Your Top Line
28/02/09
Critical Questions About Increasing Your Top Line
Understand Customers
What extra steps are you taking to understand what your customer needs in today’s environment?
Seize Opportunities
Are you prepared to take advantage of opportunities this tough market offers? (e.g. to gain market share?)
Know Your Biz
Do you know your profit zone? (i.e. do you know which products and services actually add to your bottom line?)
Focus, Focus, Focus
Are you focusing efforts externally on your market or internally on your organization?
Align Everything
How aligned is your sales compensation plan with current realities, profitability, and positive cash generation?
Make Everything Count
How are you assessing what marketing efforts, people, processes, profit centers, even customers, are marginal? What are you going to do about it?
Excel at Leadership
How are you engaging employees so everyone in the company is a salesperson?
See panel presentation The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Doing Business In Today’s Economy: Increasing Your Top Line
Add Value to Meetings
18/02/09
Meetings That Work ~ session #6
What if meetings were something we bragged about? "Hey honey, we had the most awesome meeting at work today!"
All too often we brag about how bad they are. Stop complaining and start adding value. If you're in a leadership role teach others how to do the same. Here are seven ways how... plus extra resources.
Read More...
Over the Rainbow Leadership
12/02/09
Seventy years ago MGM produced one of the best and most beloved movies of all time, based on L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The film is so well crafted it continues to enchant today - and it offers some unexpected leadership lessons.
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Under-Appreciated Leadership Tools
03/02/09
Just one of these simple tools helped Michigan Hospitals avoid $175 million in extra medical costs while saving hundreds of lives.
Use these simple, common, and under-appreciated tools to be more organized, think smarter, foster team alignment, and become a more influential leader.
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Use these simple, common, and under-appreciated tools to be more organized, think smarter, foster team alignment, and become a more influential leader.
Read More...
Cultivating Trust
27/01/09
Trust is not neutral - trust will either accelerate or erode leadership capacity. This podcast outlines seven strategies effective leaders can use to constantly cultivate high levels of trust.
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Ultimate Coaching Advice for Life
09/01/09
Something a little different to start 7 Ideas Coach in the New Year!
This excerpt from the Tao Te Ching is the best advice for living life I have ever read, as valid today as some 2500 years ago when it was written.
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Resolution Solutions
31/12/08
So what kind of personal change really has impact? One size does not fit all, so in this 7 Ideas Coach session you will find seven different types of change to consider, spanning from specific types of action to changing how you think about the world. If you diligently apply any one or more of these to your specific circumstances, you might be astonished at the impact in your work and in your life.
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7 Most Recommended Books
26/12/08
7 Ways to Generate Creative Ideas
19/12/08
Meetings That Work ~ session #5
Your team sits around a conference table. You need some creative thinking, ideas that are original, fresh, engaging.
You say, “Give me your best thinking on…” or “What is your most creative solution to…”
What are the changes you’ll get back pretty conventional stuff? ...or blank stares?
This podcast explores techniques you can use during brainstorming to generate off the wall ideas that on later analysis may trigger useful insights.
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Facilitation Techniques to Boost Productivity
12/12/08
Meetings That Work ~ session #4
Leaders under-utilize facilitation techniques. A few simple techniques, applied in the right circumstance can make meetings much more productive. These techniques are useful to bring balance to participation, to get meaningful input without taking a lot of time for discussion, and to separate what topics need deeper discussion from those that don’t.
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Questions: Make Meetings Work
05/12/08
Are meeting where real work takes place, or something that keeps people from getting work done?
This 7 Ideas Coach session provides you with questions to assess how your meetings are doing. Your answers will inform you about where you need to use your influence accelerate results.
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This 7 Ideas Coach session provides you with questions to assess how your meetings are doing. Your answers will inform you about where you need to use your influence accelerate results.
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Mahalo, Merci, Xie Xie, and Thanks!
26/11/08
This 7 Ideas Coach session discusses ways to show appreciation and say thank you to the people in your organization that make a difference.
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Fostering Optimism
21/11/08
Optimism is about keeping the faith and staying in your circle of control. Optimism paired with courage to face hard reality is a formula for solid success.
Click for the latest 7 Ideas Coach podcast...
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Click for the latest 7 Ideas Coach podcast...
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Leadership Development Tools
14/11/08
Leadership ability is gained primarily by experience.
However to learn from experience, one must reflect on experience in a way that allows one to both to make changes as needed and to reinforce what is working well.
This 7 Ideas Coach podcast and article explores tools that can help you gain wisdom from your leadership experience.
Read More...
However to learn from experience, one must reflect on experience in a way that allows one to both to make changes as needed and to reinforce what is working well.
This 7 Ideas Coach podcast and article explores tools that can help you gain wisdom from your leadership experience.
Read More...
Practices to Sustain Innovation
07/11/08
In the current financial turbulence, organizations find themselves trying to do two different things: one, to cut back, jettison anything nonessential, and become as efficient as possible; and two, use innovation to find new ways of operating that are more productive with fewer resources.
Here’s another level of challenge - these two efforts are diametrically opposed. Innovation by nature is chaotic and inefficient, and therefore can be jettisoned by companies just when it is most needed.
This 7 Ideas Coach podcast explores practices - i.e., repeated action grounded in the organization’s culture and values - that leaders will want to encourage strategically to keep innovation alive, even while making corresponding efforts toward efficiency. Read More...
Here’s another level of challenge - these two efforts are diametrically opposed. Innovation by nature is chaotic and inefficient, and therefore can be jettisoned by companies just when it is most needed.
This 7 Ideas Coach podcast explores practices - i.e., repeated action grounded in the organization’s culture and values - that leaders will want to encourage strategically to keep innovation alive, even while making corresponding efforts toward efficiency. Read More...
Cultivating an Appreciative Culture
30/10/08
The best working definition of company culture is what people do when the boss isn’t looking. In short, it’s the behavior, attitude, and atmosphere that happen unconsciously by default.
I use the word appreciative to describe a company culture where people both contribute to a positive climate AND take care of the business. Two meanings of appreciative fit: to recognize with gratitude, and to increase in value.
Here are some ways you can start cultivating an appreciative culture today!
Read More...
I use the word appreciative to describe a company culture where people both contribute to a positive climate AND take care of the business. Two meanings of appreciative fit: to recognize with gratitude, and to increase in value.
Here are some ways you can start cultivating an appreciative culture today!
Read More...
Learning for Sustained Success
23/10/08
Because you have achieved success, it doesn’t mean you’ve mastered key skills and knowledge needed to sustain it. This 7 Ideas Coach podcast and article cover key categories where you will want to keep learning and developing.
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Small Town Mayor Leadership Lessons
15/10/08
In addition to an executive coach, speaker, and leadership consultant, I happen to be a small town mayor - of Hillsborough, NC. My role as mayor provides a great lab to “practice what I preach” about leadership.
My experience as a small town mayor has certainly not prepared me for national office, or to be CEO of a global corporation, or any number of other occupations. However the leadership implications of being a small town mayor is illuminating, and this coachcast discusses seven leadership insights deeply reinforced by my civic experience.
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My experience as a small town mayor has certainly not prepared me for national office, or to be CEO of a global corporation, or any number of other occupations. However the leadership implications of being a small town mayor is illuminating, and this coachcast discusses seven leadership insights deeply reinforced by my civic experience.
Read More...
7 Terrific Questions
10/10/08
Weekly podcast of leadership inspiration and know-how, in about seven minutes.
Is there anything so valuable as the right question?
Mark Twain remarked that the difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lighting and a lightening-bug. The same could be said about the right question.
This session reveals seven questions useful for networking, customer management, or teambuilding - questions that are useful for gaining insight and developing relationships.
Read More...
Is there anything so valuable as the right question?
Mark Twain remarked that the difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lighting and a lightening-bug. The same could be said about the right question.
This session reveals seven questions useful for networking, customer management, or teambuilding - questions that are useful for gaining insight and developing relationships.
Read More...
Essentials of Collaboration
23/09/08
Leading Without Dictating
17/09/08
Sustaining Motivation
02/09/08
Weekly podcast of leadership inspiration and know-how, in less than seven minutes.
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