The Peter Principle Revisited
December 6, 2009
Do any of these comments sound familiar? Have you said them about someone? Have they been said about you?
“I’m working with a number of managers who just don’t have the right stuff to get the job done. With one of them, I’m trying to tell him how to manage his people and he just can’t get it. Ever heard of the Peter Principle? Well he’s the poster child for that concept.”
“They hired me to bring new skills and knowledge to this place. My boss doesn’t know anything about how to deliver on this project. She can’t teach me anything. So why doesn’t she just get out the way and let me do my job?”
“I got promoted because I am good. I know how to do this project but I can’t get my team to do what I want. We have meetings and I tell them what I want to have done until I’m blue in the face. They have a bunch of excuses as to why we ..... Read More
Is Sarah Palin A Poster Child for Success?
November 20, 2009
This week Sarah Palin’s books hit the market and talk about a fanfare! Whether you love her or hate her (and there are few who are in the middle) you have to admit she makes us all take a deep breath and ponder what does success means today .
On the one hand, she has a following in conservative groups because she says what they’re thinking and stands up to the “liberal media and liberal agenda”. Political movers and shakers in the Republican Party are all aghast that she just won’t go away quietly. And her book, which sounds like a tell all on the makings of a presidential candidate, is causing a firestorm of conversations.
So what are the lessons on success we can learn when you step out of the emotionalism surrounding her? Who really defines what is successful – the public, leaders in an organization or the person? After years of research we know success is defined by the individual. So…What ..... Read More
Knowing Success is Knowing Your Purpose
November 2, 2009
Most of my readers know in addition to being a coach I am a public speaker. My latest speech is entitled “Managing Your Career in a World of Chaos”. During the presentation I spend time engaging my audiences in what is driving the changes that are making it more difficult to live a great career and the 5 things they can do better manage their career. Although I’ve received great reviews one lingering questions keeps popping up on the review sheets. “How do I find clarity on my purpose and my passion?”
Most of us don’t think too deeply about these questions because on the surface it seems like a fairly easy question to answer. We often think our purpose is to serve others. But who should we serve, what do we have to offer and how would we know we’re doing well? If you can’t answer these questions then spend a little time reflecting on what are you passionate about and are you living the best life you can.
..... Read More
Is Your Sense of Well Being Undermining Your Success?
October 27, 2009
Is Your Sense of Well-Being Undermining Your Success?
We are so busy every minute of the day. We get a lot of things done. Most of the time we get some much done we think we’re doing fine.
But in the silence of your mind do you ever have those moments when you feel like you’re losing it? Are you totally overwhelmed, or feeling like everyone’s getting on your LAST RAW NERVE?
When you look back over the last month do you ever wonder how did I get it all done? Often times we simply just get it done and what doesn’t get done just wasn’t important right!?!
But what if the fact that you do get it all done is really undermining your success?
Medical costs for women are 68% higher than for a man. Those higher costs are due in part to the fact that we bear children. But the majority of the costs are associated with our stressful lives and the fact that we have taken on more that ..... Read More
Networking - 5 Tips to Keep Your Game on Point
September 11, 2009
Networking - 5 Ways to Keep Your Game on Point
We’re all looking to stay at the top of our game. After all, in these times it’s a high stakes game. But what does it mean to “Keep your game on point?” For some it’s about keeping a job or growing your career. For others it’s about living your dream life – smart, successful kids, healthy lifestyle and being in a loving relationship. No matter how you define “your end game”, what’s important is to know no one is ever successful without the help of others. Success is all about relationships. And building relationships is the number one reason to Network. So Like David Letterman’s Top Ten I’m going to give you my top 5 tips on how to keep your game on point.
5. Network –Like Nike - Just Do It! Truly successful people do it often. They're always building relationships that allow them to get ..... Read More
People Are Your Greatest Resources - Oh Really??
April 24, 2009
You can always tell what’s important to people by simply looking at what they spend time doing. The things and activities we don’t like we tend not to pay attention to and don’t spend much time on. Right? So then why do business leaders say people are their greatest resource in achieving and maintaining a competitive edge and yet spend the so little time investing in themselves and their employees?
Being polite most of the time, I can tell you it doesn’t win me any points with executives when I tell them I don’t believe them. But I’m here to say, the emperor has no clothes on. Ask yourself, over the last 10 days where have you spent your time? How much is it on cash flow, customer acquisition and retention, improving your supply chain? I’ll be you know exactly what your sales were for the last three months but do you also put the same level of meticulous effort on managing and developing people?
As a coach and former HR executive I’ve heard ..... Read More
Is Sucky Service Killing Corporate America?
February 2, 2009
We’re all wondering why Corporations are in such trouble today. Well in my opinion it started when they lost focus on their brand and what service means to the consumer. I’m going to pick on the restaurant industry for a moment because I’m mad and this is an example of how short sighted management thinking is on service.
Here in Charlotte we just finished Restaurant week. One week a year, restaurants offer a lower cost meal to patrons to get them to try a new restaurant, new foods, new flavors. With the economy as bad as it is Restaurant Week was probably a boost to our local economy. Well here’s where some restaurants missed the boat. The Capital Grill is a high end restaurant. So you expect to pay more there than at Chili’s but you also expect high end service when you dine there. On Friday, I took a client and guest to the Capital Grill (honestly I forgot it was restaurant week) for dinner.
To make a long story short I have to tell you both the food and service sucked! The ..... Read More
Do You Believe in Angels
January 18, 2009
Do you Believe in Angels ?
A recent polls said about 75% of Americans believe in Angels.I believe! There I said it.For those who know my story, you know why I know there are Angels. I’m sure some of my readers are those who don’t believe or believe only by faith. And I have to tell you reading this may not change your point of view on Angels. But I urge you to read on anyway.
Yesterday, NBC’s Today’s Show ran this story about Angels.In September, Colleen Banter was saying good bye to her daughter Chelsea. You see Chelsea was at Presbyterian Children’s Hospital here in Charlotte dying. Her mother Colleen had made the decision to take Chelsea off life support. The family had said good bye and all were waiting for Chelsea’s life to end.But about an hour later, Colleen was at the nurse’s station and suddenly an image which looked like an Angel appeared on the hospital surveillance monitor. The Angel went into Chelsea room and almost immediately Chelsea began to ..... Read More
Three Types of Employes .. Which Catagory are you in?
November 30, 2008
Three Types of Employees… Which category do you fall into?
The Gallup Group conducts a survey quarterly to find out the level of employee engagement. What’s interesting is the results have not changed since early 2001.The listed three catagories of employees Engaged, Disengaged and Actively Disengaged. 26% of employees responded they were engaged. Engaged employees work with passion and feel a profound connection to their work. The drive innovation and move the organization forward. About 56% of responding employees say thy are disengaged. Disengaged employees have “checked out.” They’re sleepwalking through their workday, putting in time – but not energy or passion in their work. About 15% of employees are actively disengaged .Being actively disengaged means you aren’t just unhappy at work; you’re busy acting out your unhappiness. Every day these employees undermine what their co-workers accomplish.
So what does that mean for you? Well look ..... Read More
Champion is afraid of Losing. Everyone else is afraid of winning
November 19, 2008
“A Champion is afraid of Losing. Everyone else is afraid of winning ”.Billie Jean King
I found this quote a couple of years ago and now I keep it tacked on my bulletin board.There was a time I didn’t really understand what Ms. King meant by this quote. I thought, “How can anyone be afraid of winning?”After all, isn’t that the American way?So imagine my surprise when I recently met two colleagues at a local networking event who admitted they were afraid.
You see for about a month I’ve been speaking on topics such as The Four Secrets of Successful People and Inspiring Change.In both speeches a key to success is understanding how your thinking acts as a catalyst for your personal results. So imagine my astonishment when my colleague confessed being afraid to take an assessment that provides insights into the mechanics of how one thinks!
On the other hand, I was delighted to hear this comment. Why? Because about 300+ people have heard me speak and were ..... Read More
|
|
