What you see is what you get – measuring your response to others
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What you see is what you get – measuring your response to others

What good is it? Often the mantra of the obsessively practical or the hopelessly cynical, a “what good is it?” response typically indicates disgust, disappointment, or disdain, maybe all three. Obsessively practical leaders seem to become well, obsessed, with efficiency. Every act, every task, every intention, indeed every suggestion is qualified by its practical contribution...
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Leadership Challenge #1 – the innocently rude sales clerk

  Remember the challenge from Monday? Here it is. My response is below. You are the owner/manager of a retail department store. Your store is busy so high sales volume also means a lot of returns.  One of the new employees is tasked with handling the checkout register and for restocking items as they are...
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Leadership Challenge #1 – The Customer Service Fail
associates developing capable people Effective Leadership Efficiency employees teaching customer service employees management teaching training customer service Effective Leadership employees leadership development learning management problem-solving teaching training

Leadership Challenge #1 – The Customer Service Fail

You are the owner/manager of a retail department store. Your store is busy so high sales volume also means a lot of returns. One of the new employees is tasked with handling the checkout register and for restocking items as they are returned when checkout traffic permits. The employee has gone through the company’s orientation...
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Management 101 – Part 3 – Training
associates developing capable people Effective Leadership Efficiency employees teaching customer service employees management teaching training customer service Effective Leadership employees leadership development learning management problem-solving teaching training teaching training

Management 101 – Part 3 – Training

After I sold my business in the Caribbean, I took a job at a major home improvement retailer (the one with the blue, gray, and red logo not the orange one). I had owned and operated a millwork business in the islands so I was very familiar with doors, windows, trim, and custom work so...
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Management 101 – Part 1 – PLAN
associates developing capable people Effective Leadership Efficiency employees teaching customer service employees management teaching training customer service Effective Leadership employees leadership development learning management problem-solving teaching training teaching training Effective Leadership Efficiency instruction leadership development management Motivation organization teaching training

Management 101 – Part 1 – PLAN

POTC – the four elemental components of any effective management strategy I am still in Uganda and will be for several more weeks. It is my privilege to be training some new managers as they make the transition into the realm of those who lead others. I am well aware of the Peter Principle which...
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Helping your associates grow
associates developing capable people Effective Leadership Efficiency employees teaching customer service employees management teaching training customer service Effective Leadership employees leadership development learning management problem-solving teaching training teaching training Effective Leadership Efficiency instruction leadership development management Motivation organization teaching training administration communication delegation Effective Leadership instruction Leadership leadership development learning management Motivation responsibility student teaching

Helping your associates grow

I want a staff entirely populated by trusted associates. Everyone does but hardly anyone has a staff who function at that level all the time. Someone somewhere at some time is unaware, that is to say, they are unconsciously incompetent. You’ve probably seen this chart but I’ve put it in for a visual reference. Louis,...
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Immutable law of leadership #2 – cause and effect
associates developing capable people Effective Leadership Efficiency employees teaching customer service employees management teaching training customer service Effective Leadership employees leadership development learning management problem-solving teaching training teaching training Effective Leadership Efficiency instruction leadership development management Motivation organization teaching training administration communication delegation Effective Leadership instruction Leadership leadership development learning management Motivation responsibility student teaching administration communication Effective Leadership leadership development management Motivation teaching training Uncategorized

Immutable law of leadership #2 – cause and effect

Effective leaders understand both causes and their effects and are capable of dealing with both. In an earlier post I used a story of a manager at Disneyland who encountered a late night situation with tired horses and large crowds of people. You can read about it here. The immediate concern was the safety of...
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How we learn – and what you should do to get the most out of what you need to teach
associates developing capable people Effective Leadership Efficiency employees teaching customer service employees management teaching training customer service Effective Leadership employees leadership development learning management problem-solving teaching training teaching training Effective Leadership Efficiency instruction leadership development management Motivation organization teaching training administration communication delegation Effective Leadership instruction Leadership leadership development learning management Motivation responsibility student teaching administration communication Effective Leadership leadership development management Motivation teaching training Uncategorized instruction Leadership leadership development learning seminar student teaching training

How we learn – and what you should do to get the most out of what you need to teach

"How to Light a Fire Under People Without Getting Burned," one of the seminars I offer, demonstrates the art of multiplying your efforts through others. I sometimes conclude the seminar with a role-playing exercise where each participant must list the tasks he or she presently does that could possibly be done by someone else, then...
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