Can we develop an incentive plan to drive superior performance? You can be pretty sure that's the question someone was trying to address when your key incentive program was created.…
NOW is the time for tough decisions?“Now is the time for tough decisions,” said Michigan’s governor, Rick Snyder, on the occasion of Detroit’s bankruptcy filing.Did he say “NOW is the…
“Lary, give this customer a call. We’ve just received an unauthorized return, and I want these shoes sent back.
“Funny how the green shoes don’t fit and the red ones fit perfectly.”
It wasn’t uncommon for the chairman of company North (you may remember him from the 2nd article in our Culture Series, How Are You Paving the Road to Superior Performance) to stop by my office with a message like this.
His remarks were actually a code:
“The red shoes sold well but the green ones the customer bought aren’t selling … so now they’re claiming they don’t fit so they can return them. We’ve had no other such complaints. Tell them we won’t accept them and refuse them at the door if they come back.”
I made a note to contact the customer, figuring I’d call them after lunch when I would be more likely to catch them three time zones away.
No e-mail back then.
Nothing in life travels in a neat formation accompanied by bugles and cavalry.
A lot of it shows up filthy and unkempt, prominent in the mess we’ve made around our foxhole.
These lessons are typically the offspring of hubris, naivete and ignorance … or from overlooking the land mines hidden beneath our feet.
We’re sharing valuable and practical leadership tips and tools to help you BECOME a better leader.
First, you must start BEING a better leader … implementing NOW the changes necessary to adopt the proven strategies of successful leaders. You might start by building on the communication matrix and making sure you’re defending the castle to get done what only you can do. Make some time so you’re thinking past today.
The week just ended is my favorite sports week of the year. Some of you will say, “Nah, you got your calendar mixed up. Baseball season opened the previous week.”
Of course, I could say, “but the home opener for the Giants was that week” and then you’d say, “OK, so you’re a big Giants fan. I get it.”
A few of you may suspect that’s not the reason. Not that I don’t love the World Champion San Francisco Giants and all … but honestly? That didn’t even occur to me as I braced for the greatest sports week of the year.
There are a lot of reasons why I love the week that just ended. (more…)
Experienced leaders know that they are standing in the Spotlight of Leadership all the time. I’ll tell you about a video you should watch just below.
Have you read any of the news stories and interviews recently with General Stanley McChrystal, whose new book is coming out now, My Share of the Task?
You’ll recall he is the four-star general whose resignation was precipitated by a Rolling Stone article which disclosed some unsavory remarks about the President’s executive team.
The reporter was given broad access to McChrystal and his staff, with few conditions, to see how the general and his leadership team worked together.
You can read the candid response from General McChrystal about this incident here. (more…)
