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  • The Lesson of the Red Horse

    The Lesson of the Red Horse

    At a recent family gathering, my nine-year old niece used her new colored pens to draw animals on scraps of paper she found. The first horse she drew was a very nice blending of blues and yellows and greens and was kneeling in a field of tall grass. What does this have to do with […]

  • The Secret to Becoming a Better Leader

    There’s a scene in the Movie “City Slickers” where the lead character, Mitch, played by Billy Crystal, is debating with his ornery trail boss Curly, about the meaning of life. It goes like this: Curly: Do you know what the secret of life is?[holds up one finger] Curly: This.Mitch: Your finger?Curly: One thing. Just one thing. […]

  • 70 Awesome Coaching Questions Using the GROW Model

    The GROW Model is the most common coaching framework used by executive coaches. Given its relative simplicity, many managers have taught themselves the GROW model as a way to structure coaching and mentoring sessions with their employees. GROW is an acronym that stands for: Goal Current Reality Options Will (or Way Forward) Managers can use the […]

  • 10 Things Your Employees May Not be Telling You

    When you’re a manager, the old saying “no news is good news” doesn’t always apply. While it may be tempting to bury your head in the sand (or keep your door closed) and assume that all is well with your employees because no one is complaining, that’s a bad assumption. They may be another reason […]

  • Top 10 New Manager Mistakes

    Top 10 New Manager Mistakes

    Managing can be a little difficult at first. A recent poll found that more than 50% of managers received NO training before starting the job. Here is a list of the most common mistakes new managers make so you can avoid making them too. (If you think I missed one, use the “Readers Respond” link […]

  • The Secret to Becoming a Better Leader

    There’s a scene in the Movie “City Slickers” where the lead character, Mitch, played by Billy Crystal, is debating with his ornery trail boss Curly, about the meaning of life. It goes like this: Curly: Do you know what the secret of life is?[holds up one finger] Curly: This.Mitch: Your finger?Curly: One thing. Just one thing. […]

  • How to Help Your Manager Get Promoted

    When you search “How to get promoted”, you will find millions of articles with all kinds of great tips for climbing the ladder. However, here’s a fact of organizational work life that isn’t often mentioned: your success is heavily tied to the success of your manager.  In most cases, when your manager wins, so do you. If […]

  • 6 Key Shifts in Thinking About Social Media

    6 Key Shifts in Thinking About Social Media

    Do you ever wonder how your fellow marketers and business owners are using social media to grow their business? Whether they are concerned about declining Facebook reach? What platforms and strategies they intend to invest their time in? Wonder no more. Social Media Examiner has just released its annual Social Media Marketing Industry Report after surveying more […]

  • 10 Marketing Tricks From the Pros

    Marketing is the lifeblood of any startup – without it, the company will be sure to sink. So for entrepreneurs looking to boost their productivity with simple tricks, I set out to find answers. I recently asked some of the smartest and most experienced marketing people I know for their No. 1 marketing hack. While […]

  • The 5 Secrets to a More Readable Website

    In my last column, I stressed the importance of producing quality content, but a website packed with amazing content and top search-engine rankings won’t do your business any good if your visitors don’t stick around long enough to read it. After all, isn’t the purpose of great content to convert visitors into leads and then eventually […]

  • How to Become a Millionaire by Age 30

    Getting rich and becoming a millionaire is a taboo topic. Saying it can be done by the age of 30 seems like a fantasy. It shouldn’t be taboo and it is possible. At the age of 21, I got out of college, broke and in debt, and by the time I was 30, I was a millionaire. […]

  • Thinking Strategically First Makes Strategic Planning Work

    Strategic planning for organizations is not considered fun. Strategic planning is often done under duress because it is required. Strategic planning is important yet many such plans are found on bookcases, not on the desktops being used. Done well, a strategic plan provides a useful focus that energizes and moves the organization toward its mission […]

  • Why Every Manager Should Create their own Succession Plan

    Why should a manager care about their own replacement? Isn’t that HR’s job? Perhaps, but there are at least four compelling reasons for a manager to be proactive when it comes to their own succession planning: 1. So that you are not seen as “irreplaceable”. On the surface, being so important that no one else […]

  • Tips for New Managers: Part 2

    Being promoted to a manager for the first time is one of the most challenging transitions a manager will ever have to navigate. You’ve come to the right place! Here’s the advice I would give to any new manager, over a series of two meetings. Tips #16-30: 16. Learn and practice a coaching model. Coaching […]

  • Tips for New Managers: Part 1

    Being promoted to a manager for the first time is one of the most challenging transitions a manager will ever have to navigate. You’ve come to the right place! Here’s the advice I would give to any new manager, over a series of two meetings. Tips 1-15 1. Start getting ready before you get promoted. […]

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