What’s the Difference Between “A” Players and Others? It’s All in the Details

I was having a conversation with a colleague about the differences between top performers and everyone else. The conversation caused me to reflect on discussions I’ve had with 1000’s of sales people over the past year. Clearly, there are differences in sales people and their approaches. The skills and competencies vary by market/industry, customer base,…

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The Price of Leadership

We just named a new president to run Maddock Douglas, the innovation consultancy I founded 27 years ago. As you can imagine, finding the right person was difficult, but the decision was made easier because Maria, our new president, understands the fundamental facts of leading that too many seem to be missing lately. Anyone can…

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What You Didn’t Know You Can Learn from Working in a Factory

The manufacturing industry’s evolution can be traced along the same lines as that of the tech industry. One of the most basic and common factors in the evolution cycle in both industries is the reduction of the human interface. From the manual manufacturing of yesteryears, the industry is making a shift towards digital manufacturing and…

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How to Reduce Workplace Drama and Improve Results

Is it just me in my role as business advisor, or is emotional drama in the workplace increasing? Team members seem to be spending more and more time venting to anyone who will listen about the motives and actions of others, and less time introspectively focused on their own productivity and accountability. The result is…

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4 Essentials Every Employee Needs to Deliver Exceptional Customer Service

This is the first in a series of six articles that will examine different aspects of delivering exceptional customer service and how it leads to increased overall profitability. Over the 6 part series, we’ll discuss techniques that you can implement to improve the performance of your employees—always with an eye firmly fixed on improved profitability…

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Continuing the Cycle: How to Develop the Skills of Future Leaders

In our last article, we discussed building your change management plan. Now let’s discuss how to continue the cycle and develop the skills of future leaders. Maintaining Strong Leadership – Building from Within In my experience as a leadership expert, an organizational culture that reflects your vision and values as a leader is sustained over time only through the internal…

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6 Management Mistakes That Will Kill Employee Motivation

I was talking to an elementary school teacher the other day who works for a major school district. While there are many things she likes about her job, her list of complaints was pretty long. It made me wonder how many small business owners are making these same type of management mistakes. She told me…

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The Decline of the 9 to 5: Keep Up with the Changing Workday

As the year draws to a close, now is an opportune time to examine your business model and see what’s working and what isn’t moving into the New Year. In 2018, you might want to consider making a big change that many other companies have already embraced: abandoning the 9-to-5 workday. The Future is Remote…

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