News & Tips
How to Stop Asking, “How are You?” and Create Real Conversation
Stop asking stupid questions like: How are you? How are you doing? How are you feeling? You already know how people are doing. The future feels like mushy spaghetti. Answers to, “How are you?” sound inane because they are. What’s worse than “Fine”? What if “How are you?” comes from your heart....
Bad Decisions Don’t Just Happen
A few years back, my team and I prepared for the launch of our new leadership product. We were excited. We even skipped a few key steps in our rush to market. We just knew we had something special. We messaged hundreds of thousands of people about the product, and when the launch was over, we’d...
One Thing Top Sales People Get Right (and How to Stop Talking So Much)
"Willy: I don't know why—I can't stop myself— I talk too much. A man oughta come in with a few words. Charlie's a man of few words, and they respect him. Linda: You don't talk too much, you're just lively." Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller We all have sympathy for poor Willy Loman in Death of...
Take Your Virtual Meetings to the Next Level
By now, you’ve mastered virtual meetings. Right? The technology is humming, and everyone has fallen into a comfortable rhythm. But could that be the problem? One of the dangers of remote meetings is the predictable nature that many of them take on. Standard agendas. A short slide presentation. A...
How Can I Make Sure My Team Meets Deadlines?
I get antsy when I haven't heard anything as a deadline nears. A reader asks: I manage a team of folks who often say they'll get something done, but then the deadline's in less than 48 hours and they have nothing sent to me yet (after an earlier reminder). How do I remind them to get things done...
9 Questions to Think Like a Client and Win Big Deals
We talk a lot about empathy in business, but we don’t make the idea practical and tactical for salespeople, making it easy to execute. Thinking like a client can help you discover what they might need from you and how you can best help them. Here are nine questions that are worth answering, either...
How to Ensure Your Hiring and Onboarding Strategy is Pandemic-Proof in the New Normal
The COVID-19 pandemic has completely upended the traditional workplace, forcing most offices to go 100 percent remote almost overnight. During this new digital workplace reality, many companies have worked through small setbacks and technical challenges with their current workforce to ensure...
Questions to Make Your Virtual Meetings More Effective
Few consider meetings the highlight of their workday – more probably consider it the bane of their work life. It is true that meetings, while important and potentially useful, aren’t always very good. Sadly, now that most meetings are being held virtually, it hasn’t gotten any better. The...
3 Things Overworked Managers Need to Stop Doing Today
Lethargy and laziness aren’t virtues. But overworked managers are their own worst enemy. 3 things overworked managers need to stop: #1. Stop doing people’s work for them. Suppose you’re asked how to do something. The overworked manager ends up doing the work. Why? You did the job before you were...