7 Leadership Lessons from Successful Immigrants

In my experience as a business advisor and angel investor these days, I seem to more frequently hear from entrepreneurs and business owners with “can’t-fail” or “get-rich-quick” ideas. In my view, these are the least likely to succeed, partially because the people behind them have the wrong expectations and traits. The instant gratification approach just…

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Communicating the Vision

Speaking with a client about an ongoing issue with his sales team, I brought up a particular concept. When he heard it, he loved it. He saw exactly how it applied to his situation. He also expressed amazement that he had never heard this before. Except, he had. He’d heard about it numerous times. I…

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4 Tips for Holding Better One-on-One Meetings with Your Employees

Are you having regular one-on-one meetings with your employees? Yes? Great! As a good manager, you probably want to make them better. No? Don’t worry, now’s the perfect time to start. A previous post discussed how employees can make the most of their one-on-one meetings. Let’s look at how managers can do the same. One-on-One Meetings with Your…

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What’s Your One Goal for Each Person on Your Team?

Too often, as managers, if we do coach, our coaching is ineffective. One of the key reasons is that we are unfocused on what we are trying to achieve with each person. What happens is that we see skills that need to be developed, new habits that need to be solidified, behaviors we need to…

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3 Reliable Ways to Increase Employee Engagement with a Limited Budget

Everyone knows the importance of employee engagement. Engaged employees do better work. They find innovative solutions to problems. And they are less likely to leave your company than disengaged employees, which means that when you improve employee engagement, you improve employee retention. Yet for all the benefits of keeping employees engaged, many companies struggle to…

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8 Leadership Lapses Every Business Owner Must Avoid

Even entrepreneurs who have built many startups, or sold their last one for millions of dollars, know they make occasional people leadership mistakes. They know leadership is all about managing their own complicated, illogical, and fallible human foibles, as well as the people they depend on. These can trip up even the best, often at…

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5 Steps to Increasing Company Morale

The feeling of energy and optimism felt in some companies is not just a fluke that occurs organically. It results from a conscious effort to ensure that employees feel valued and engaged, both on a professional level and on a personal level. You can help to boost your company’s morale by taking a few simple…

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Scarcity versus Abundance

When I started in the agency business 25+ years ago, there was this odd paranoia that ran through agencies big and small. There was a belief that agency personnel couldn’t be friends with people who worked at other agencies because secrets might leak out. And if you dared to be friends or even associate through…

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How Transformational Leaders Make Organizational Change Stick

Change is an inevitable process that every organization must face and successfully manage if they want to remain competitive and grow. Since most people are naturally resistant to change of any kind, it is a leader’s ability to effectively frame change will make a significant difference in how it is viewed and embraced by your team and…

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