Since I often help leaders with the hiring process – defining the goals of a role, interviewing candidates, choosing a person who seems to be the right fit (hint: it’s all about attributes) – I get a lot of practice in a conversation that I absolutely love to have. It starts after we’ve worked to…
12 Customer Gifts that Outshine Partridges in Pear Trees
‘Tis the season for getting inundated with fruit baskets, coffee mugs, and drab holiday cards from anyone whose customer list you’ve managed to land yourself on in the past year. In other words, ’tis the season of missed opportunities. This year, why not wow your customers with something more human, more personal, more valuable than a no-personality, one-size-fits…
Making Bad Grades: An Unorthodox Tip for the New School Year
Let’s go back in time: You’re 12 years old, walking home from school, sweating over the report card in your backpack. Your parents ask for it the minute you walk through the door. On it, they see 2 As, 2 Bs, and a D. Which grade do Mom & Dad want to talk about first? For…
Overcompensate Your People
I’m often asked for advice on what to offer new candidates, or on what size performance increase might be appropriate for an existing team member. I tend to respond quickly: “Take what feels right and raise it at least 10%. Or if you can, find out what the person thinks he or she should make, and raise that…
Any Growth in a Storm
Picture yourself taking some friends for a ride on your sailboat. It’s a beautiful, sunny, 75-degree day. There’s a 7-mile-per-hour breeze, just right for gentle waves and a nice, even-keel ride on the lake. Some of your guests know sailing enough to help you as crew members. You return to the dock that evening, and…
What E.T. & Lou Gerstner Teach Us About Excellent Customer Service
We all remember that iconic little alien E.T., who so wanted to get in touch with his home ship that he repeated his “E.T. phone home” mantra right into the #15 slot of American cinema’s top 100 quotations. But what our present day ETs (Executive Teams, that is) don’t always remember is that anyone who…
