Winning is a mindset. As the leader of a company focused on nothing else but winning bids and RFP competitions, it amazes me how much effort teams put into expressing dissatisfaction about the process, the expectations or the ‘stupidity’ of the buyers. We only have so much energy, creativity and prefrontal cortex processing time available […]
Janet walked out of the movie theater, looking and feeling bored, and tired (it had been a long week). She’d just sat through an early preview of Fatal Attraction, and like most of the test audience, she didn’t love it. The main reason? The ending was not satisfying. The movie tells the story of a […]
There’s a funny disconnect I experience every semester: One hundred percent of my Marketing students want to be employed when they graduate (duh). But when I ask them what type of job they hope to land, almost none of them say sales. Why is this a disconnect? Because the very large majority of them will […]
The first few months after you launch a startup are stressful, to say the least. You’re searching for your first customers, trying to figure out how the hell hiring works, and thinking fondly of a time when eight hours of sleep was no big deal. You move at lightspeed for those first few months, and […]
Competitive salespeople don’t waste people’s time, least of all their own. They identify the relevant executive for each sales opportunity, and they take time to understand the dynamics of their customer’s organization to uncover where influence, power, and control over a particular project reside. “It doesn’t have to be the CEO of a corporation,” said […]
Even if blockchain technology still must overcome some challenges there is a clear change in attitudes and initiatives regarding the technology behind cryptocurrencies. Moreover, the use cases and spending patterns become clearer and show how blockchain is not just converging with the Internet of Things (IoT) but also with the foundations of a digital economy […]
I opened my business in 2002—an idiotic time to do this. The dot-com bubble had burst and 9/11 had shaken the planet. The world was in turmoil. But I was on a mission. I had worked with, led, and mentored salespeople for over two decades. And I noticed talented sellers and business owners slam into […]
Do you spend more money on coffee and treats at Starbucks than you do on cybersecurity? In the grand scheme of things, which one is more important? When it comes to your and your family’s cybersecurity, do you opt for a skinny latte or a double shot of espresso? In a world that is changing […]
Loyalist Teams consistently deliver extraordinary results. They’re the teams we remember all our lives. On these teams, we do our best and most creative work, blow through challenges, and exceed our own expectations. You know you’re on a Loyalist Team when: You trust your teammates implicitly; they have your back and you have theirs You […]
Don’t Let the Dicks Get You Down Self-Doubt and Self-Respect I can’t tell you how many situations I have been in where my contributions were overshadowed or ignored by the dick clique. My contributions and input to certain situations were seen as insignificant or flat dumb. If I made a recommendation to my manager or […]
How to Create Sustainable Change U.S. companies alone spend $8 billion a year on diversity initiatives with lackluster results. Why lackluster? If the ultimate intent is to increase the percentage of women in leadership, then the numbers, moving at glacial speed, tend to speak for themselves. The Gender Intelligence Group recently conducted a detailed study […]
If you aren’t consistently getting the results you want–as an individual, as a leader, as a professional–perhaps you’re not as influential as you think you are. I realize that’s a bold statement just a few sentences into a book. After all, I don’t even know you. But what if I’m right? Why not stay with […]
YOUR Passion IS Your Purpose The moral of the story is this: If there’s something you’re really passionate about, you need to express it in your work. This book is an expression of the three items I am most passionate about: dance, psychology and business. When you must make business decisions or personal choices between […]
I love books. I love reading. There’s nothing quite like settling down to a good book. You know, if you have the time to sit down and read. If you do have a few days to catch up on your B2B summer reading list, make sure these are on it. Digital Sense: The Common Sense […]
Reinvention Defined We define Reinvention as: “Quantum Individual and Organizational Change Accelerated” For you and your organization to be successful, you must have the ability to change, pivot, and morph faster than the speed of the ever-changing external environment you operate within. And you must have the ability to accelerate the results that matter most […]
It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change. —Charles Darwin The rule states that 20 percent of your group or staff is going to be change friendly, 50 percent will be neutral (the wait-and-see folks), and 30 percent will be resisters. […]
CONNECTION = ACTION I talk a lot about authentic leadership throughout this book because it’s the key ingredient for effective videos. The point is to be comfortable in your own skin, show your people who you truly are, that you care about them, and that you’re working together toward a greater goal. Communicating with authenticity […]
In 1961 Henri Matisse’s masterpiece, “Le Bateau,” was hung in the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Since Matisse died in 1954, he was not available to see this particular piece displayed in one of the world’s most reputed and respected art institutions. Which is unfortunate when you consider that the curator of the […]
Today we’re bringing you the Introduction of Rex Conner’s book What if Common Sense Was Common Practice in Business?. Republished with permission from the publicist, Smith Publicity. Common Sense Brings Clarity Continuing time-honored, but dysfunctional business practices is like having a virus in an organism. Sometimes we don’t know how sick we are until we […]
A store is a place you go to buy stuff, usually out of convenience or habit. In contrast, brands inspire irrational loyalty and yes, even love. How does a company build itself into a brand that people can fall deeply, madly in love with? The old model says segmentation is the key to business success. […]
