 Your new post is loading...
|
Scooped by
Ann Zaslow-Rethaber
September 22, 2017 6:14 PM
|
Despite the huge impact executives can have on their organizations, failure rates remain high. Prescriptions for what to do continue to fall short. So we wondered: If we closely studied the executives who succeed in top jobs once appointed, could we identify distinguishing features that set them apart and defined their success? The answer, is yes!
|
|
Scooped by
Ann Zaslow-Rethaber
September 22, 2017 1:14 PM
|
I have been asking my successful CEO candidates this question for years – what motivates you more, do you love to win or the hate to lose? This question was meant to satisfy my own intellectual curiosity since I didn’t necessarily have a preference for which option a CEO candidate would select.
However, I have become more interested in this concept in light of contemplating the similarities between an elite CEO and an elite competitive athlete. Like sports, private equity is a high-stakes game filled with winners and losers. And similar to elite athletes, private equity-backed CEOs are under the highest levels of scrutiny and pressure to perform.
In this post I’ll share several discoveries and provide my opinion on which of the two motivators might be more powerful.
|
|
Scooped by
Ann Zaslow-Rethaber
September 21, 2017 3:30 PM
|
Preparing for an interview is nerve-wracking enough, let alone when your potential employer suggests it over a meal. What should you order? How will the conversation go? And how can you highlight your strengths and accomplishments while trying to maneuver a mouthful of chicken Piccata?
|
|
Scooped by
Ann Zaslow-Rethaber
September 21, 2017 10:34 AM
|
Training sessions are often rehashes of what we already know, but, improving sales strategies should always be on your goals list. You don’t need to spice up training or even make it more complex; you need to focus the message and distill key elements from it. Basically - trim the fat. Here are 10 things all medical device sales training programs need in an easy to access list from ProSellus!
|
|
Scooped by
Ann Zaslow-Rethaber
September 20, 2017 9:44 AM
|
True confidence is very different from egotistical swagger. When people believe in themselves and their abilities without bravado, there are certain things they simply don’t do.
|
|
Scooped by
Ann Zaslow-Rethaber
September 19, 2017 5:42 PM
|
When corporate types use military terminology, it often times slips past the pathetic and into the risible.
When executives talk about killing the competition, fighting in the trenches and running things up flagpoles, it's merely a salute to their myopia.
Rare is the truth that translates from real wars to ones over soap powder or cellphones.
However, a moving speech by Secretary of Defense and retired general James Mattis, given last week to members of the military in Jordan, is worth absorbing.
It offers a couple of fundamental pointers for how to speak to those who work for you and who look to you for leadership.
|
|
Scooped by
Ann Zaslow-Rethaber
September 19, 2017 8:40 AM
|
Sales Managers – when your people are whining about life not being fair, nasty competitors, moronic procurement policies, the lack of leads, their lame territory, how do you respond? And when they are done venting, do you set them straight or allow them to wallow in pity playing the victim? It’s fine to show sympathy (most of the time), but the reality is that there is a game to be played – The Sales Game. And it requires focus and it also requires sellers to take full responsibility for results. Winners in sales don’t see themselves as victims and they definitely don’t walk around perpetually whining about the unfair hand they’ve been dealt.
|
|
Scooped by
Ann Zaslow-Rethaber
September 18, 2017 8:26 AM
|
Some people have an uncanny ability to get things done. They keep their nights and weekends sacred and still get more done than people who work 10 or 20 hours more per week than they do.
A new study from Stanford shows that they are on to something.
The study found that productivity per hour declines sharply when the workweek exceeds 50 hours, and productivity drops off so much after 55 hours that there’s no point in working any more. That’s right, people who work as much as 70 hours (or more) per week actually get the same amount done as people who work 55 hours.
|
|
Scooped by
Ann Zaslow-Rethaber
September 15, 2017 4:18 PM
|
“I wish I could go back and tell myself that not only is there no trade-off between living a well-rounded life and high performance, performance is actually improved when our lives include time for renewal, wisdom, wonder and giving. That would have saved me a lot of unnecessary stress, burnout and exhaustion.” –Arianna Huffington
|
|
Scooped by
Ann Zaslow-Rethaber
September 15, 2017 9:21 AM
|
Clinically, there are three distinct types of socially aversive personalities, known as the “Dark Triad”: psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism. These traits are dimensional in a sense that all of us fall somewhere on the spectrum, but only those who are very high in the trait can be considered diagnosable with a full-blown personality disorder. If you’re curious, you can take the online Short Dark Triad personality test to see at what percentile you exhibit these three traits, compared to the general population.
|
|
Scooped by
Ann Zaslow-Rethaber
September 14, 2017 8:25 AM
|
Praise people for their hours of practice, not for the hour they played in concert.
|
|
Scooped by
Ann Zaslow-Rethaber
September 8, 2017 6:12 PM
|
The one thing I have come to realize in life is how well or poorly you spend your time, reflects how happy your are. It is also amazing to me how little people value the one thing they cannot control, or create, or get more of: TIME. Because of this, I complied what I believe are the 27 best quotations dealing on the subject. I hope you enjoy them and feel not they be a waste of your most precious commodity...time.
|
|
Scooped by
Ann Zaslow-Rethaber
September 6, 2017 6:17 PM
|
So you’re sitting at your desk plugging away at the mountain of emails you have in your inbox and then all of a sudden your meeting reminder pops up: “Weekly Staff Meeting – Due in 15 minutes.” You let out an exasperated sigh and prepare yourself for an hour of mandatory staff time. Ten minutes later you reluctantly trudge into the team conference room and take a seat. However, when you sit down you realize there’s a toaster sitting in the middle of the table. You wonder what the meaning of this could be and then your manager explains they want to start of this week’s staff meeting with a short and sweet icebreaker.
Icebreakers are great ways to break up the monotony of meetings if executed the right way. Below are nine fun and easy icebreakers that will liven things up at your next meeting and foster team building amongst your colleagues.
|
|
|
Scooped by
Ann Zaslow-Rethaber
September 22, 2017 1:15 PM
|
Gut check:
If we open our hearts at all, it’s to people who care. If you don’t care, walls go up.
Are you fully committed to the best interests of feedback recipients? Or do you have an ax to grind?
If you’re trying to be useful, press forward. But if self-interest motivates you, forget about it. You’re the issue.
|
|
Scooped by
Ann Zaslow-Rethaber
September 22, 2017 12:23 PM
|
All of us have heard this statement at some point, and it turns out to be true. A recent Gallup survey showed that just over 50% of employees who have quit their job have done so to get away from their bosses. Another study, concluded in 2016, put the number right at 75%. That's a lot.
|
|
Scooped by
Ann Zaslow-Rethaber
September 21, 2017 1:04 PM
|
Great leaders set great goals, and they ensure that those who follow them know what those goals are. That's why it's important to focus on how everyone's daily work connects to the big picture.
I'm borrowing from one of the greats here: Sam Walton, who built the most successful retail operation in the world. For decades, Walton gathered his Wal-Mart leaders every Saturday morning for a meeting that was equal parts pep rally, strategy session, and feet-to-the-fire accountability check.
You don't have to wreck everyone's weekend like that, but once a week, bring your team together. Here's a 10-item checklist that will show you exactly what you need to say.
|
|
Scooped by
Ann Zaslow-Rethaber
September 20, 2017 4:22 PM
|
Your company’s employees practice the behaviors that are valued, and REWARDED.....not the values you profess to believe.
|
|
Scooped by
Ann Zaslow-Rethaber
September 20, 2017 8:51 AM
|
Leaders who primarily focused on results were seen as great just 14% of the time, and leaders who primarily focused on people were seen as great only 12% of the time.
However, leaders who were able to balance their approach and focus equally on results and people (which, according to a study by David Rock, is less than 1% of all leaders) were seen as great a whopping 72% of the time.
In other words, results-focus and people-focus are weak predictors of great leadership on their own. It’s the potent combination of the two that consistently makes leaders great.
|
|
Scooped by
Ann Zaslow-Rethaber
September 19, 2017 5:17 PM
|
The key to winning is being great EVERY time. Consistency plays great and pays great.
How consistently great are you?
|
|
Scooped by
Ann Zaslow-Rethaber
September 18, 2017 1:30 PM
|
Tough and mean are two different things. Mean is uncaring.
You don’t have to choose between a caring heart and tough decision.
|
|
Scooped by
Ann Zaslow-Rethaber
September 16, 2017 3:28 PM
|
If you’re leading a team, positivity from the top trickles down and can be a great motivator for your team. Positive people don’t just have a good day; they MAKE it a good day
|
|
Scooped by
Ann Zaslow-Rethaber
September 15, 2017 9:41 AM
|
The last thing any manager wants their team members to do is dread coming to work each day. Because people spend the majority of their time at work, it is important managers do all they can to make that time enjoyable, exciting and well-spent.
A dictatorial manager who lacks empathy or insight may produce but high turnover will cause them to ultimately fail. Excellent managers do their best to make 80 percent of the job rewarding, with a 20 percent balance of healthy stress. While this may not always be the possible, it is nonetheless their goal.
|
|
Scooped by
Ann Zaslow-Rethaber
September 15, 2017 8:13 AM
|
There’s Gold Within the Muck
We have a saying in the SEAL teams: “It pays to be a winner.” True enough, but one of the secrets to winning is embracing failures, obstacles, and losses. We have another saying: “The best ideas come from the worst places.” Most outrageously successful business ideas are born out of the experience of failure, sometimes even bitter failure. The pain is temporary; the learning is priceless.
|
|
Scooped by
Ann Zaslow-Rethaber
September 11, 2017 10:23 AM
|
Whatever line of business you’re in, almost everyone nowadays is in the business of selling. Whether you’re trying to get customers to buy your product, pitch your company to investors, motivate your employees or get your teenager to do the dishes, your success will be dictated by your ability to influence, persuade and “close the sale”.
And storytelling is arguably the most powerful tool in your selling toolbox.
|
|
Scooped by
Ann Zaslow-Rethaber
September 7, 2017 5:14 PM
|
The concept of “thought leadership” tends to get thrown around a lot, especially in the realm of digital marketing. Depending on who you talk to, it could either be an objective to achieve, a reputation to aspire for, or a career-defining condition. Exactly how does one get there, though?
And is there really a proven process for attaining a reputation for thought leadership?
In his incredibly popular TEDtalk, “Start with Why,” Simon Sinek presents an interesting approach to doing business. Also, before it got shared and re-shared all over the internet, it seemed new.
Sinek argued that people don’t actually buy what we do; rather, they buy why we do it. They are more likely to follow the lead of those whose beliefs and principles they also hold dear. Based on this, leaders who do not give their audience a clear idea of what motivates them are less likely to succeed.
It is upon this alignment of beliefs that trust is built. This, in turn, leads to the establishment of thought leadership.
|
Intriguing research from Harvard, reporting data from an intensive 10 year study, brings us some valuable information.
Turns out that there are 4 very consistent patterns that distinguished exceptional executives from all others.
What separated the “best of the best” from everyone else is a consistent display of mastery across four highly correlated dimensions, while “good” executives may have only excelled in two or three.
Leaders who have invested in learning how to excel in all 4 areas consistently outperformed all others, by a large margin.
Curious what these 4 very unique skill sets are?