“Success depends on a company’s ability to unleash the initiative, imagination, and passion of employees, and this can only happen if all those folks are connected heart and soul to their work, their company and its mission.” read more »
Archive for the ‘communication’ Category
2
Dec 12
20
Sep 12
Extraordinary Customer Service – 7 Steps
A client brought an article about extraordinary service to my attention. The example in the article comes from the hospitality industry. However, the seven recommended steps are applicable to any company.
Any company with clients should provide extraordinary service. What is your experience? Would you agree that most provide a dead-average service not worth a positive mention? read more »
30
Jul 12
A tribute to Stephen R. Covey – The Seven Habits
Some of my clients have read Stephen Covey’s The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. I bought a copy in 1993 but only read it in 1999 – and regretted not having done so sooner.
It is with sadness that I learned of his passing this month – which led me to rereading The Seven Habits. Through the years I have read a number of Covey’s books and also valued The 8th Habit.
While The Seven Habits in style is not a classic business book, it covers the domain of leading/managing in an intriguing and thoughtful way. It prompted me to write this post. read more »
25
Jun 12
Ensuring success when executing strategy: A checklist
Any MD or leader senses that a change in strategy means a change in execution and in behaviour. I have clients who are by now well-versed in leading change and who really relish the execution process especially as they are experiencing success on various levels.
Others who have sailed through usually invigorating strategic planning sessions are still struggling in getting an execution process in place. To them the new processes and new systems which need to be mastered are daunting. They fail to committ themselves step by step.
Every MD knows that execution and changing the behaviour of those you lead are the difficult parts. Google glibly shows that about 15 million articles have been written about the “execution of strategy” and 6.6 million on “leading change”. Save yourself some reading by reading only one checklist on leading change, developed by John P. Kotter, formerly from Harvard University, the preeminent change guru.*1 I abbreviated the content of his eight points to make it even easier.
31
May 12
PowerPoint presentations: interesting or boring
Have you been subjected to talks with PowerPoint presentations that bored you to distraction?
When I notice that a speaker is going to use a PowerPoint presentation, I am all anticipation: Is it going to be interesting or boring? Probably boring. Is that not also your expectation? How often have you been exposed to a speaker who simply made you sit up and take notice with a presentation that somehow worked?
Why did he or she succeed? Well, let’s consider what needs to be done and ensure that you become part of a minority that delivers successful presentations. PowerPoint is, without doubt, a very useful tool in getting concepts across. (Note there is a difference between a presentation which is delivered in person and a slide presentation meant for mailing, reading and study.) read more »
30
Apr 12
Meetings instead of e-mails
Do you as MD hold too few meetings and rather depend on sending internal e-mails about important matters to managers and other team members who are in your proximity? Or if you hold meetings, how sensitive are you to the patterns of communication in the room?
Wearable electronic sensors that captured patterns of communication without recording the discussions have provided data worth taking note of. With remarkable consistency, the data showed that the most important predictor of a team’s success was its communication patterns. And these patterns were as significant as all others factors – intelligence, personality, skills, strengths and the substance of discussions – combined.
keywords: effective communication, effective meetings, leadership22
Mar 12
Change and Thrive
All MDs and their teams try to produce better results. As a consultant I assist them in doing so. Moving to a higher level means change. And change is not easy.
People have a lot of resistance to change. They have entrenched work habits. They have mindsets. A new strategy means learning and doing new things and there is often resistance, for whatever reason, to such learning. read more »
29
Oct 11
The process of gaining insight
Have you lately experienced the invigorating jolt of a new insight? Five great articles came to my attention during the past few months and their content for me suddenly gelled into one cohesive interlinked whole.
Some of my clients whom I coached experienced – each at their own pace – a similar realisation. Something clicked. The light went on. Eyes showed sparkling recognition. An insight had occurred. read more »
keywords: coaching, communication, leadership, strategy22
Sep 11
The neuroscience of change
Business leaders everywhere know that success isn’t possible without changing the day-to-day behaviour of people throughout the company. But changing behaviour is hard. (Even when new habits can mean the difference between life and death e.g. adopting healthier day-to-day habits after having undergone coronary bypass surgery, nine out of 10 patients do not manage to follow though.)
However, behavioural change – and business success – has a much likelier chance of occurring if we heed new evidence about change. Breakthroughs in cognitive science about how our brains function contain pointers worth taking serious note of. read more »
30
Jun 11
Small wins mean progress
“Of all things that can boost emotions, motivation, and perceptions during a workday, the single most important is making progress in meaningful work.” “Everyday progress – even a small win – can make all the difference”… in how you and your employees feel and perform.
keywords: learning, management, small wins