Posts Tagged ‘Leadership’
3 Key Elements of a Strong Change Management Framework
Realizing a need for change and having a plan to stimulate change are very different. Making any type of change to the status quo is never easy—it’s even more difficult without a clear change management plan to help guide your organization through the disruption, chaos and unfamiliar territory that is brought on by change. As…
Read MoreHow Leaders at Large Companies Can Think Like a (Genius) Entrepreneur
I deeply believe there is a fundamental difference between the way entrepreneurs, and the people who work for large companies, see the world. As I said last time, entrepreneurs, innovators and inventors have “abundant thinking”—they see opportunity where others see obstacles and stop signs. Those “others” tend to be in charge of large companies, or at…
Read MoreIs Leadership Really About This?
I was stunned reading an article in Fast Company: Five CEOs On The Skills It Takes To Land The Corner Office. The skills they identified were: How to say “No.” How to pitch. How to read financials. How to take criticism. Knowing how the work gets done. It’s amazing there was virtually no mention about effective leadership–that…
Read MoreStart, Stop, Do Different
Many people are familiar with the expression, Start, Stop, Do Different from personal evaluation processes—those regularly scheduled reviews by our supervisor. Management will often use this outline to give us feedback about our performance. But I also think it should be used more regularly, both personally and with colleagues. No leader improves without feedback and…
Read MoreSo You’ve Bought a Small Business: What’s Next?
If you’ve just bought a business then the next few months is a critical period for you and your newly acquired enterprise. First impressions count, so it’s your chance to win the respect of your new charges, suppliers and customers. Bodge the transition and you could lose key staff or contracts, so here are some…
Read More5 Not So Obvious Habits of Successful Entrepreneurs
Usually, advice is a well-intended opinion, optimism, and belief; most times it’s subjective and idealistic. However, what are you more inclined to listen and follow? The advice that someone gives you, or what you observe them doing successfully? There is no better teacher other than the power of example. Is it not? Yes, we want…
Read More10 Characteristics of Leadership to Help You Grow Your Business
You’ve launched your startup. Things are going well, and you’re building your team. Suddenly, you find yourself in the position of being the leader, the captain of the ship, and you may be wondering what it means to be a really good leader, and do you have what it takes? John Quincy Adams said, “If…
Read MoreStartup Culture is as Leaders Do
The question over on Quora was How should a new startup develop and sustain a strong company culture? I decided not to answer the essential how-to, but rather to share my experience in this area, which is more like a reality check on startup culture than anything else. The following is straight from my Quora answer. Culture is not what…
Read More5 Reasons Small Business Owners Need to Delegate
Being co-founder and CEO of a startup company for the past 18 months has taught me the importance of delegating. As your company grows, you’ll find that doing everything yourself is simply impossible and relying on a team to help you is a must. I know this is hard for some of us who like…
Read MoreHow Do You Focus Your Team for Action?
How do you get your team to focus and move forward effectively? A fellow CEO recently told me of her method of assuring positive movement within her team. She holds a weekly meeting of her direct reports, and asks them to find three important but actionable items for the group to work on if not…
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