Leader Growth

Jun 15 2012

The best business decision I ever made

One of the best movie lines of all time – Don’t ever let somebody tell you that you can’t do something. – Will Smith, The Pursuit of Happiness. Take 60 seconds to watch the clip – it’s good!

It’s true – there will be haters. Go ahead – admit it. Say it – out loud – there will be haters.

And that’s ok. Because you can learn from haters. I’ve written a post that lists 6 things I’ve learned from critics.

Let me be clear, there is a time to listen. And there are people to whom you should listen. To be honest, there are people I should have listened to more often.

But there are also times when it’s not productive to listen to the advice of well-meaning people.

So here it is – the best professional decision you’ll ever make…

Jun 08 2012

Interview an expert – a step-by-step guide

Over the past few weeks I have been asked a number of times – What can I do to get more traffic to my blog? There is no simple answer, but…

…one of the best ways I’ve discovered for generating traffic is to conduct an interview with an expert in your subject area. In fact, I have garnered record comments and views on posts featuring an expert interview or book review. Here’s an example of a recent interview with an expert in his field.

So, where do we start?

Jun 04 2012

If you’re not mentoring you’re not leading

You are not leading if you are not mentoring and developing new leaders. Simply developing followers who flesh out your ideas and implement your vision won’t cut it.

Having followers is not the defining characteristic of leadership. At its very core, leadership facilitates change. After all, if you are not leading people and teams toward change, what are you leading them to do? To be?

Change is not easy. It’s difficult – not for the faint of heart. And developing people – new leaders – adds more complexity to the mix.

To develop new leaders, you must be willing to invest in people – to mentor them. And mentoring will require more of your time and your resources than you ever thought possible.

Jun 01 2012

The Secret for Managing Email More Efficiently

Years ago, I made some significant changes to how I handle hundreds of email messages each day. These changes dramatically decreased the amount of time I spent processing email. You can read about my experience here.

Then I heard Mark Miller speak about how he had learned to manage his email with maximum efficiency and effectiveness. He had learned a secret that I had not considered.

This post is part of the series – Get Your Life Back!
Take Control of Your Schedule
4 Tips for Managing Your Calendar More Effectively
Plan Your Year with Your Annual Plan
Create Your Best Week
You Can Keep Up With Your Email
The Secret for Managing Email More Efficiently

Mark’s secret for managing email was…

May 30 2012

Do you need to back up?

Several years ago a mentor of mine cautioned me – “You’re often way ahead of people in your thinking. You should consider slowing down a little.”

Looking back on his advice, I’ve learned that it’s not only important to slow down, but sometimes we need to back up.

Let’s face it – we struggle with slowing down or backing up because it’s humbling. It sheds light on the fact that maybe we didn’t plan adequately. Maybe we didn’t communicate effectively. Or maybe we didn’t execute appropriately.