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Defining Success

We all recognize failure when we see it. Success sometimes is harder to spot. Years ago, when I worked for a technology company in Birmingham, I hired a seasoned salesperson who appeared to have a great track record of success. We were excited about getting him;...

Promises and Accountability

During one of my recent sales coaching sessions, a salesperson and I were reviewing his “homework.” This salesperson had made commitments to do a certain number of new business-related activities in order to advance the sales process with several new opportunities....

Institutional Knowledge

Recently, I scheduled a two-hour, lunchtime meeting with a company president and sales manager. I was meeting with the sales manager first, at 11, so I suggested having lunch brought in for the three of us. The company president, who was joining us at noon, said he...

The Edger Principle

I’ve always loved “yard work,” which is what we called lawn maintenance back when I was growing up in Macon, Georgia. I find much joy and satisfaction in the immediate gratification that comes from taking a yard that needs grooming and then, a mere few hours later,...

The Right Kind of Busy

In previous blogs, I’ve talked about how extremely busy people are today. We’ve discussed “the swarm” of the many different day-to-day tasks and simple to-dos in life both in and out of the office. That swarm makes achieving a balanced life challenging for any...

#1 Ingredient for Successful Relationships?

What would you say if someone asked you, “What’s the #1 ingredient for a successful relationship?” I’m talking about any type of relationship—marriage, parent-child, work, church, civic organization, Boy Scouts, baseball team, etc. In my opinion, and probably yours,...

You Win or Lose Together

Meetings. Some are good, some are bad and some are just a waste of time. It doesn’t matter if these meetings take place in a corporate boardroom, during a civic club leadership session, with a church committee, whatever, we’ve all sat through some version of the good,...

Extreme Ownership

We’ve all, at some point, read (or listened to) a business-related book that encouraged us to think differently about our jobs or motivated us to positive action. Good to Great by Jim Collins was one of those books for me. So was E-Myth by Michael Gerber; The...

Changing the Conversation

Over the years, I’ve coached executives, including company presidents, who sometimes find themselves in a frustrating and uncomfortable situation with one of their managers. I know what these executives are feeling—I’ve experienced this same situation in some coaching...