I believe that two of the the most important factors in running a successful company are: robust communications and a sharp focus on the key organizational strategies.  Unfortunately, it is been my experience that most leaders do a relatively poor job of communicating what they want their people to focus on.  Given the incredibly challenging economic times we are in, now more than ever it is critical to clearly communicate to all of your people what is expected of them and what they need to do to keep your company strong and successful.  However, you don’t want to bog them down with long speeches or a 50 page strategic plan.  The goal is to keep it as concise and focused as possible. Read the rest of this entry »

I am sorry that you have not heard from me in a while, but I’ve been hard at work finishing the manuscript of my next book, in order to get it to the publisher by the due date… which was today!  I’m extremely pleased to announce that sometime this coming summer Jossey-Bass will release: Awesomely Simple: The Six Foundational Principles of Successful Organizations to bookstores nationwide.  But I don’t want you to have to wait that long to read a good book, so for those of you that are looking to buy a loved one or colleague a good business book this holiday season let me give you a few recommendations… Read the rest of this entry »

Last week I got an e-mail from one of my most treasured friends and professional colleagues, Hirofumi Leung - or as everybody calls him: Hiro.  I met Hiro years ago when he was just graduating college and told me he was about to start a sushi restaurant in the most expensive building in our town.  I was extremely skeptical that this “kid” would ever follow through on his wild scheme, but am happy to report that nearly 10 years later his restaurant: “Dragonfly Sushi & Sake Company” has won numerous awards and he has become one of the most respected restaurateurs in this area of Florida.  I have enjoyed a long relationship as a mentor and friend to Hiro and he often asks me for input, suggestions and ideas.  Here is the e-mail that I received from him asking for some help in preparing for an upcoming talk he had been asked to give on creativity in entrepreneurship... Read the rest of this entry »

I have just returned from spending a week in Palm Springs, where I attended the Global Institute for Leadership Development as a student. It was an amazing event, with some of the leading business thinkers in the world delivering thoughtful and timely presentations. For five days straight, from eight in the morning until 6 PM at night, we went nonstop from session to session, speech to speech, and also got personal coaching on our leadership and management styles. I took well over 80 pages of notes, to the point where I thought my fingers might never recover. Rather than give you an exhaustive recap, I’d like to summarize here a few of the key take-aways I got at this wonderful event… Read the rest of this entry »

I have just gotten off the phone with one of my favorite clients in the world, Austin Outdoor, a really cool company that delivers world-class landscaping services for top resorts, hotels, corporations and communities. I am currently helping them roll-out their new “Customer Service Excellence” program and it has been a joy to watch their team devour this project with enthusiasm, passion and professionalism. Why are they doing such an extraordinary job at this? I’ll tell you the secret: they “get it.” Let me explain… Read the rest of this entry »

For the past several months my email in-box has been full of requests from clients to put together a special program on “Accountability.” In just that past few weeks I have zig-zagged across the country delivering custom sessions to State Farm, Verizon, Harman, and Abbott Labs. It is obvious that with the current business climate, companies are trying to do more work, with less people… greatly increasing the pressure on every employee to deliver what is expected of them - on time and done superbly.

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I spend a fair amount of time doing research on the net looking for cool information. In this blog I want to share with you some of my very favorite resources that I go to often for ideas, inspiration and instruction. There is some incredible information on these sites… Read the rest of this entry »

For the past 14 years I have served as an advisor and coach to more than 300 companies worldwide. Recently, I have had a number of clients ask for my advice on how to handle the current business downturn. In some of the industries I work in the numbers look extremely bleak and I am predicting that there is going to be a serious shakeout of any weak players. To make sure you are one of the strong that survive, here are my top recommendations for what you need to focus on to successfully navigate these difficult economic times. Read the rest of this entry »