Are you too Sexy for your Industry?
During this past week I’ve interacted with several CEOs, Presidents and Senior Managers, discussing their greatest challenges in today’s marketplace. Despite the varying sectors that each individual was in, from food processing to automotive to electrical components, the consensus is that sales and future growth opportunities are strong. Many mentioned that this was a much […]
READ MOREAre Your Products Meeting Customer Expectations?
It’s difficult enough today to attract customers or clients only to lose them over a less than satisfying experience. I’m not talking about poor customer service, although I could write a book on the topic (p.s. Actually, I am writing a book on this topic. For now, however, feel free to grab a copy of […]
READ MOREWhy Employee Engagement is an Investment of Time
Well over a decade ago I worked for a fairly large organization that had an employee engagement problem… Everyone knew it (employees, managers, executives), and eventually the CEO decided to invest in having an employee engagement survey completed. Although I’m not privy to the cost, I know from those who were part of the initiative […]
READ MOREHow to Motivate your Employees to Reach Higher Levels of Productivity
Success is not a solitary journey. The most successful CEO’s, Presidents and Entrepreneurs that I’ve encountered have built a powerful network to assist them along their journey including surrounding themselves with peers, trusted advisers, coaches, financial advisers, accountants, lawyers and even personal trainers. There is no end to the network one can build if open […]
READ MOREThe Four Steps to Building Resolve in Your Team
The degree to which you can empower a team is determined by the level of resolve that exists amongst team members. This was a realization I had several years ago when working with a team shifting them from a team lead by several managers, to a team that had no managers and was “self-managed”. Although […]
READ MORECommunication Strategies For Today’s Multi-Generational Workforce
The face of organizations as we know them is changing, driven most significantly by a multi-generational workforce. Different generations prefer differing means of communication, and failing to engage employees at all levels is a clear recipe for disaster. From an extreme perspective, simply ignoring these differences will result in both ineffective communications and a lack […]
READ MOREHow Underestimating Departure Times Killed Credibility
This past week I was flying from Toronto to San Diego, a relatively straightforward flight with one stopover in San Francisco. Unfortunately, this didn’t end up being the case. Upon boarding the Air Canada flight, all the passengers were notified by the stewardess that the Captain and First Officer had not yet arrived for the […]
READ MOREUse Service-ability to Create a Competitive Advantage
I was boarding a plane back from Ottawa last week and was faced with the reality of having to sit at the “back of the bus” as I call it, last seat at the back of the plane. I was happy to do it though (despite someone presumptuously taking my seat and asking me in […]
READ MOREDealing With An Irate Employee
“Personally Shawn, I think this entire process is crap.” That was the response I had from an employee when I was recently interviewing members of her team to understand what changes they believed were necessary for the department (and ultimately the company) in order to improve productivity and efficiency. I’ve been doing at least one […]
READ MOREIt’s Time to Take a Closer Look at Existing Customer Accounts
If you are trying to grow your revenue, are you looking in the right places? That’s a question I ask during most of my client strategy sessions because, in my experience most organizations seek new business growth (i.e. new customers, new clients) but pay little attention to the opportunity that exists in growing revenue of […]
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