Have you ever been inspired to work harder or faster by someone? What separates these leaders that inspire us from those who lead in name only? As a leadership student, practitioner, trainer and evaluator for over 25 years, there seems to be at least three things almost always standout. First, inspiring leaders have a clear vision for what they want to accomplish. Second, inspiring leaders clearly and consistently communicate both their vision and specific expectations to all their constituents. Third, inspired leaders are generous – with their time, with their praise, and with their willingness to help those who are trying. In this respect, inspired leaders are extraordinarily efficient – they cut through the drama and focus on the data — with the goal of developing stronger people and delivering better results, faster and cheaper. The good news for you is that … there are specific tools and techniques that can be coached, that can be built into young (as well as more ‘experienced’) managers that are asked to ‘lead’ for the first time.
Author Archives: dan
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Marketing Efficiency– and lessons from the BCS championship
Marketing Efficiency– and lessons from the BCS championship
Nearly one in 7 viewing households tuned into the BCS national championship football game and they saw a terrific game! Two great teams battling each other for every yard; two great head coaches try to outwit the other and keep their players focused; and in the end, a finish worthy of all the hype that came down to the final play. Auburn’s first championship in over 50 years. When asked (repeatedly) what the key to victory was, Coach Gene Chizik – and every single one of his star players on this night — said the same thing … we came together as team, trusted and respected one another, and stayed focused on what we had to do to win. Simple to say – sure! Simple to do – no way! But wise advice for any team (or ‘coach’) that wants to excel, wants to function quickly…efficiently, and wants to win against the toughest competition. This could be your team – though odds are
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Effective Goal Setting Must Include Plan to Get There
This is the time of year is when many people set – or confirm – their goals for the upcoming year. It’s a good time to review your business goals as well. There are hundreds of books and articles that talk about the importance of setting aggressive, audacious, inspiring goals – but fewer about the ‘boring’ work of developing the detailed plans necessary to achieve them. Having the discipline to develop and implement the plans to achieve your goals is the hard part. The interesting thing is that having a simple, well-thought through and executed plan gives you a much better chance of not just meeting, but exceeding those audacious goals! A case in point …
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Getting More Work Done at Work
I saw a interesting presentation recently about what keeps us from being efficient at work. Many managers believe that distractions in their employees’ lives outside of work – family or personal needs, relationship issues, hobbies, passions, etc. - keep them from being productive when they’re at work. Undoubtedly that’s true at some level- we all intrinsically multi-task in our lives and [...]
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Big Spending Doesn’t Fix Lousy Messaging
The elections are over! Alleluia! The good news is that we all won … NO MORE political ads and phone calls! Am I the only one that thinks this is marketing AT ITS ABSOLUTE WORST! What a waste of time and money. Just ask Meg Whitman. So what useful have we learned from this election? Among the most important has to be keeping our communication simple. President Obama acknowledged that he had ‘lost the connection’ with voters that put him in the White House. A local editorial suggested that the Democrats lost because they were ‘talking over the heads’ of their constituents. Great promises… expansive programs… unprecedented government spending on healthcare reform, banking oversight, stimulus packages, big business bailouts. Perhaps these were all good, necessary things for the long-term – but who explained them to the voting public?
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Creating Efficiency
I was asking Steve, a VP of marketing, the other day, “How do you make your marketers more efficient? “We don’t have that problem” he said. And then proceeded to reel off examples of delayed launches, ineffective market research, poorly run meetings, and mis-targeted promotional campaigns. Sound familiar? Most marketing organizations – even those in [...]
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Frustration Abounds
I was working with a young brand director in a very successful company recently – very sharp, very pragmatic, and very articulate. He had some great ideas, built on sound principles, entirely customer-focused, and … frustrated beyond belief. Why? He and his team had studied the market, created a strong plan, built in cross-functional input [...]
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Undercover Boss
Have you seen the CBS show, Undercover Boss? Last night’s episode with Fernando Aguirre, CEO of Chiquita, was somewhat predictable in terms of outcome – senior executive underestimates the difficulty of what their employees are required to do and sees first-hand how committed they are to serving their customers, in spite of outdated equipment, staff [...]
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I Want More and I Want it Now!
“I want more, I want it now – and I want it for less!” Remind you of a recent customer meeting? Actually, this was my 23-year old son as he tried to balance his income from a new job with the reality of apartment living … in California. Just graduated, very smart, goal-oriented – and [...]
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You Must be Kidding Me
You must be kidding me! Your marketers are not performing!? They spent how much on that last market research study???? They want how much for that next convention? They want to pay an agency to do what?? Ever had a similar reaction? Most executives have at some point … if you’re honest, it was probably [...]