We had some great answers to February’s question: “What does your company do to adapt to a rapidly changing world?” Here are the top 5 responses.
Got Grit?
In the 1969 western True Grit, Mattie Ross (Kim Darby) hires U.S. Marshall Rooster J. Cogburn (John Wayne) to track down her father’s killer. Ross travels to Fort Smith Arkansas to hire Cogburn because she’s heard he has “true grit”. If you’ve seen the movie, or the remake, you know that Mattie Ross has a substantial dose of “true grit”
Ultimatum Is a Big Word
When you negotiate for a car or house, are you ready to walk away if the seller is unwilling to accept your offer? While this might work when negotiating for tangible objects, it may not work as well dealing with intangible relationships.
Praise Is Powerful – Do It Right
Praise: warm approval and admiration How important is praise? Important. Extremely important.
Useful Regrets
I love podcasts and one of my favorites is NPR’s Hidden Brain with Shankar Vedantam. One episode “Why We Can’t Shake Life’s ‘Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda’ Moments” explored regret. Regret is a big emotion; people get angry, self-critical, mournful and disappointed about the choices they’ve made.
Hire Like a 4-Star General
A critical part of hiring people who can assist you in taking your company to the next level is being able to articulate what you need. In his book, It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership, Colin Powell lists the traits he “treasures” (his word) in people who work with him. It’s a list of characteristics necessary in every field,
10 Gallons of gas & a blowtorch
A business owner I visited with last week was upset. A key manager had given his two-week notice. “It’s not so much that he left,” the owner said, “but I hate being blindsided.
Is that really the problem?
You may think you are adept at solving problems in your organization, but are you certain you’re working on the real problem? In a survey of 106 executives from 91 companies, 85% agreed that their organizations are poor at problem diagnosis. 87% were concerned that this flaw carried significant costs. Translated that means that we frequently spin our wheels wasting
You own the company; how much should you make?
To anyone who hasn’t owned a business, the idea of entrepreneurship looks romantic: you can come and go as you please and direct the activities of other people. In addition, of course, you’re rich! After all, you do own your own business.
Burn the Ships
In 1519 Hernan Cortes arrived in the New World with 600 men and 11 ships. His mission was to conquer the Aztecs and take control of their vast treasure. As legend tells us, some of his soldiers, fearful of the outcome of their venture, plotted to seize the ships in order to desert. Cortez got wind of the plot and