I was listening to my favorite sports radio station when I heard: “Up next we will discuss Jon Gruden’s new $100 million contract to coach the Oakland Raiders.” Did I hear that right? Yes indeed, the Raiders are making a 10 year, $100 million commitment to their new head coach. Talk about a ringing endorsement for… Continue Reading
Relationships that Work — Align Values to Find Perfect Fit
Think about the most enjoyable business relationships you’ve had. I am going to bet that you shared similar values, expectations, and more. I have been happily married for over 18 years, so I don’t know that much about online dating sites. About ten years ago my goalie in hockey starting dating someone and it quickly… Continue Reading
Change Isn’t Cheap—Why I Stopped Doing “Free Lunch” Coaching
It starts with a text message or email saying: “Can we meet for coffee or lunch? I want to pick your brain on something.” What this message really means is: “I am stuck and would love to get professional coaching from someone I respect and is really good at solving business problems. I would like this… Continue Reading
Behavior Change That Sticks
I’m a behavior change expert. But I didn’t always know how to describe myself. I often find myself in new situations, meeting new people. Whether it’s with a new client I am working with, at a conference, or at a cocktail party, I love meeting new people. But for years I have struggled with the… Continue Reading
Inspire Innovative Thinking — Get Creative to Get Results
One of my favorite ways to start a presentation to a team of employees, whether it’s sales, marketing, customer service, or just about any team seeking new ways to inspire innovative thinking, is with the following exercise: I ask everyone to write down the name of a company or product that they absolutely love, and… Continue Reading
Take Immediate Action, Or Get Left Behind
I’ve learned that the lunch invitations I receive are often in direct correlation to the challenges my clients are immediately facing. An urgent, challenging issue for my client, usually means an urgent lunch invitation for me. Six months ago I received one of those “can we meet for lunch in the next few days” requests,… Continue Reading
Does Your Company Really Want to Build a Learning Culture?
Far too often, I work with clients who love the idea of building a learning culture, but who aren’t taking any steps to create one. They’ve seen the dismal reports on levels of employee engagement, accepted the prevailing wisdom that learning and development opportunities are key drivers of engagement and retention, and then… they get… Continue Reading
Inspiration is Fine, But Action is Better
We don’t have a knowledge problem, we have a follow through problem. I just got an email inviting me to a one day marketing conference, and the lineup of speakers in super impressive. In fact three of my favorite authors will be presenting. So I am going? Not a chance. Although I enjoy conferences, national… Continue Reading
How to Stop Hiding Behind Busyness
On a weekly basis, with a variety of people, I have a version of this conversation: I ask: How are you? They respond: Crazy busy right now! It’s… the end of the quarter, and… almost time for our big launch, and… already less than a month before our national sales meeting, and… hectic with all… Continue Reading
Don’t Be A January Person—Sticky Behavior Change for 2017
A friend of mine is the general manager of a gym—one of hundreds of locations across the country. Guess what month brings in the most revenue? If you guessed January, you are 100% correct. It happens every year. Two things I know for sure: 1) people love to make New Year’s resolutions; and 2) many… Continue Reading