Eric Jacobson On Management And Leadership

These quotes truly inspire me : “The three common characteristics of best companies -- they care, they have fun, they have high performance expectations.” -- Brad Hams “The one thing that's common to all successful people: They make a habit of doing things that unsuccessful people don't like to do.” -- Michael Phelps “It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit." -- Harry S. Truman “The leader of the past was a person who knew how to tell. The leader of the future will be a person who knows how to ask.” -- Peter Drucker “Leadership: The art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.” -- Dwight D. Eisenhower “Good leadership isn't about advancing yourself.  It's about advancing your team.” -- John C. Maxwell "People buy into the leader, then the vision.” -- John C. Maxwell “Great leaders have courage, tenacity and patience.” -- Bill McBean "People never lea...

It's time to select your New Year's Resolutions for 2016. To get you started, how about selecting one or more of these 70 New Year's resolutions for leaders? Don't micromanage Don't be a bottleneck Focus on outcomes, not minutiae Build trust with your colleagues before a crisis comes Assess your company's strengths and weaknesses at all times Conduct annual risk reviews Be courageous, quick and fair Talk more about values more than rules Reward how a performance is achieved and not only the performance Constantly challenge your team to do better Celebrate your employees' successes, not your own Err on the side of taking action Communicate clearly and often Be visible Eliminate the cause of a mistake View every problem as an opportunity to grow Summarize group consensus after each decision point during a meeting Praise when compliments are earned Be decisive Say "thank you" and sincerely mean it Send written thank you...

If you are leading an organization and are the last person to interview a candidate, focus your questions more on trying to see if the person is a cultural fit. Here are a few questions to pose to potential new hires (from the new book, Advisory Leadership : What motivates you? What are you passionate about? (Finding out what people are passionate about and why is a great window into someone's personality.) What are you telling your family/spouse about our company? (This question often takes candidates off guard and results in some often very honest answers.) What did you enjoy most/find most challenging in  your last position? (There are no right or wrong answers, necessarily. This question is a great assessment of the candidate, especially when considering certain roles.) What opportunities do you see for yourself here? 

To help you bring out the best in your team, you need to get close and understand their skills, abilities, and motivations. So, the authors of the book, Your First Leadership Job , recommend you hold getting-to-know-you conversations with each of your direct reports. Ask these open-ended questions . Let each team member know the purpose of the meeting in advance. And, don't cheat by adding in work-specific questions. What do you enjoy doing most as part of your work? Why? What do you  miss most about the jobs you've had in the past? Why? What things about your current job do you enjoy the least? Why? How do you cope with or relieve stress? To help you do your job, what could I change about: Your work environment? The content of your work? How you get your work done? What form of recognition do you prefer or not prefer?

If you want to build the psychological body armor to achieve personal resilience, then the new book,  Stronger , is a must-read for you.  That body armor consists of  five factors of personal resilience : active optimism decisive action moral compass relentless tenacity interpersonal support According to the authors, these  five factors of personal resilience  are keys to improving your work habits and output in the workplace, and to achieving overall satisfaction from life. Backed by compelling scientific findings and packed with powerful stories of resilience in action,  Stronger  teaches you how to gain an edge on making sound decisions under pressure, bounce back from setbacks and layoffs, and motivate peak performance in others as well as yourself, Each chapter includes  self-assessment questions  and  homework  for choosing one thing you'll do the next day to help you begin to develop each of the five...

In his book,  True North , Bill George shows you how to discover your true north - your internal compass that guides you successfully through life. "Only when you discover your true north can you unlock your full potential as a leader and human being," explains George. In the book, published a few months ago, George shares with you how to: Cultivate self-awareness Define your values Find the "sweet spots": of your motivated capabilities Build your support team and lead an integrated life Make the journey from "I' to "We" as an empowering leader Become a global leader Bill George George shares  profiles and stories from more than 100 leaders  who in their own words explain how they discovered their true north.  He also explains the characteristics differences needed to be a leader in the Twenty-First Century versus the Twentieth-Century. Today's leaders, he says need to be: Purpose-drive versus charismatic Global...

From the book, Light A Fire Under Your Business : A clear and concise mission statement defines, in the simplest terms, your organization's core reason for being, and it had better not be all about money. Money is definitely important to most of society, and it is a motivator. But many people aspire to be part of something  more meaningful than just a paycheck. They want a paycheck that is also connected to a culture that offers greater intrinsic values.

David Grossman's new book,  No Cape Needed , is an absolute must read. Every page provides you tips for how to communicate more effectively with your employees. Each page is colorful and easy to digest. Grossman's advice and tips are actions you can put into place tomorrow. David is both a communications and a leadership expert and I use his advice all the time. His relatively new book provides, "the simplest, smartest, fastest steps to improve how you communicate by leaps and bounds," explains David.

Here is some great advice from the authors of the book, Light A Fire Under Your Business , about high-performance teams: Once you have developed teamwork within a group, synergy is born. But it is the mission that creates motivation, an essential ingredient in high-performance teamwork. High-performance teams must have a common purpose to experience the motivation to achieve shared success. When team members share a duty to serve a stated mission and respond in like fashion, they create motivation in each other. One of the greatest elements of a well-written mission statement is that every person on your team will use it as the same foundation for decision making. Regardless of his or her specific responsibilities or status on the team or in the organization, everyone is motivated by the same mission but from a different perspective.

In addition to Laurie Sudbrink's,  Leading With GRIT , being a great new in 2015 book for leaders, it's packed with powerful leadership and life quotes. Here are some of my favorites: Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are - Kurt Cobain The respect you show to others (or lack thereof) is an immediate reflection on your self respect - Alex Elle You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view - Harper Lee People only see what they are prepared to see - Ralph Waldo Emerson We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give - Winston Churchill If it doesn't challenge you, it won't change you - Fred Devito The secret of change is to focus all your energy, not on fighting the old but on building the new - Socrates The biggest communication problem is we do not listen to understand. We listen to rely - Anonymous Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity - Simon Weil Good leaders i...

When you communicate change to your team, explain the  logical and rational reasons  for the change: 1. Explain  how the change will make employees feel  before, during and after the implementation. 2. Explain the  tactical plan and goals . 3.  Answer questions  from your team.

Here is a great passage from the book,  Stronger: Develop the Resilience You Need to Succeed : Listen to Others, Especially Before You Speak When we think of people who possess extraordinary interpersonal skill, we find they are good listeners. In even the briefest of encounters, they can make you feel important. According to author Denise Restauri, charismatic people are good listeners who make the conversation about the other person. they show genuine interest. They let the world revolve around the other person. They remember the other person's name-- and they use it. So, when you listen to people, truly listen. Look at the other person with interest. Do not multitask.

Within the first 100 days as a new leader  in an organization, you'll want to assess your  organization's risk . Authors George Bradt, Jayme A. Clark and Jorge Pedraza, in their book,  The New Leader's 100-Day Action Plan  (third edition), recommend you do your assessment using the  5Cs : Customers : First line, customer chain, end users, influencers Collaborators : Suppliers, allies, government/community leaders Capabilities : Human, operational, financial, technical, key assets Competitors : Direct, indirect, potential Conditions : Social/demographic, political/government/regulatory, economic, market Use a  SWOT  (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) as you examine  each category  if that helps.

AMACOM's (of the American Management Association)  sixth edition  of the best-selling book,  The First-Time Manager  -- originally published in 1981 is a must-read for new managers and leaders in business. One of my favorite sections of the book is the one about  class in a manager : Class is treating people with dignity. Class does not have to be the center of attention. Class does not lose its cool. Class does not rationalize mistakes. Class is good manners. Class means loyalty to one's staff. Class recognizes the best way to build oneself is to first build others. Class leads by example. Class does not taken action when angry. Class is authentic and works hard at making actions consistent with words.

Open Leadership  author Charlene Li reminds leaders to periodically ask themselves these " open leadership skills assessment " questions: Do I seek out and listen to different points of view? Do I make myself available to people at all levels of the organization? Do I actively manage how I am authentic? Do I encourage people to share information? Do I publicly admit when I am wrong? Do I update people regularly? Do I take the time to explain how decisions are being made? Thanks for these great questions, Charlene!

You practice  SPARK  leadership if you: S hare Information P lay to Strengths A sk for Input and Appreciate Different Ideas R ecognize and Respond to Individual Needs K eep Your Commitments A great reminder from the President and CEO of American Management Association, Edward T. Reilly. You'll find more good advice in his new book,  AMA Business Boot Camp .

After reading nearly 30 new books about leadership this year, my pick for  2015's best new leadership book is, Advisory Leadership , by Greg Friedman , Although the book is authored by an award-winning financial advisor and primarily written for professionals in the financial services industry, this book is a must read for any leader who wants to create a nurturing heart culture that hinges on the human-centric values the next generation of employees hold in high regard. And, what exactly is heart culture ? Friedman says, "At its core, heart culture symbolizes how a company values more than just an employee's output. It's not about the work, but rather, the people who do the work." He further explains that leaders can no longer afford to ignore the shift toward a people-first culture and its direct influence on a healthy, effective work environment. Friedman teaches that there are seven steps , based on human virtues we all strive to achieve, th...

Too often, we think of only external customer service, and forget about the need for excellent internal customer service. No matter what type of business, organization or team you lead, teach your team members/ employees  the need for and importance of internal customer service. Similar to external customer service, that means employees/team members should: 1. Return phone calls on a timely basis. 2. Answer e-mails. 3. Be polite. 4. Probe to discover how else he/she can be helpful to a co-worker. 5. Be respectful of co-workers. Lead your team in providing excellent internal customer service. If need be, make internal customer service a discussion topic at your next group meeting.

As we near the second-year anniversary of the day Nelson Mandela died, I think about my favorite  Nelson Mandela  leadership quotes: "Lead from the back--and let others believe they are in front." "The greatest glory in living lies not in never failing, but in rising every time we fall." "It always seems impossible until it's done." "I like friends who have independent minds because they tend to make you see problems from all angles." "I've learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.  The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear." "Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again."

Awhile back, the  Harvard Business Review  published some great questions that  Gilt Groupe  CEO Kevin Ryan asks when he is checking job candidate references. Ryan serves on the board of Yale Corporation, Human Rights Watch, and  INSEAD , and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.  He holds a B.A. from Yale University and a M.B.A from INSEAD. His main seven honest-feedback-extracting-questions (and follow-ups) are: Would you hire this person again?  If so, why and in what capacity?  If not, why not? How would you describe the candidate's ability to innovate, manage, lead, deal with ambiguity, get things done and influence others? What were some of the best things this person accomplished?  What could he or she have done better? In what type of culture, environment, and role can you see this person excelling?  In what type of role is he or she unlikely to be successful? Would you describe the candidate as ...

With only one month left of 2015, it's not too early to start identifying your New Year's Resolutions for 2016. To get you started, how about selecting one or more of these 70 New Year's resolutions for leaders? Perhaps write down five to ten and then between now and December 31, think about which couple you want to work on in 2016. Don't micromanage Don't be a bottleneck Focus on outcomes, not minutiae Build trust with your colleagues before a crisis comes Assess your company's strengths and weaknesses at all times Conduct annual risk reviews Be courageous, quick and fair Talk more about values more than rules Reward how a performance is achieved and not only the performance Constantly challenge your team to do better Celebrate your employees' successes, not your own Err on the side of taking action Communicate clearly and often Be visible Eliminate the cause of a mistake View every problem as an opportunity to grow Summarize g...

On  December 6 , I'll announce my vote for the  best new leadership book of 2015 .  Stay tuned. It's a great one. In the meantime, here's a look back at my  my top (favorite) books for leaders  that were  published two years ago in 2013 . Each is still a a useful read for leaders! Each provides timely, practical and valuable tips, techniques and tools for how to become a more effective leader. You'll find among the books useful information about: communicating more effectively  the power of story telling creating an ethical workplace culture increasing revenue the basics you need to know as a first-time leader Ethical Leadership Unlimited Sales Success Manager 3.0 AMA Business Boot Camp The way of the SEAL Becoming a Better Boss Leadership Conversations And, my favorite from 2012 in case you haven't read this book: Lead with a Story

In your leadership role, it's vital that your team members know how to deliver excellent customer service. " Knock Your Socks Off " type service as book editor  Ann Thomas  and  Jill Applegate  would say. Part of delivering excellent customer service is saying "Thank You" to your customers and knowing when to say "Thank You". Thomas and Applegate recommend  telling your customers "Thank You" during at least these nine situations : When they do business with you...every time. When they compliment you (or your company) When they offer you comments or suggestions When they try one of your new products or services When they recommend you to a friend When they are patient...and even when they are not so patient When they help you to serve them better When they complain to you When they make you smile You and your team members can say "Thank You" : Verbally In writing  (and don't underestimate the power of  perso...

Here are some great tips for how to be an effective mentor, from the new book, 50 Plus! , by Robert L. Dilenschneider. Don't be authoritarian . Have something to say, and keep it short . It's best to think in terms of headlines when you're mentoring somebody. Let them come to you for the details. Be informal . Do not give orders . Don't take slights personally . Tell stories . Always use humor . Be lavish with praise . Give people full credit for every contribution they  make, however minor. It's the best way to keep the discussion alive. Despite repeated opportunities, never say, "I told you so." Set boundaries . No matter how generous your intentions or how great the need, there's only so much you can do.

You'll learn a lot about marketing from the new book,  Does it Work? , by  Shane Atchison  and  Jason Burby . Most important, you'll discover their  10 principles for getting digital marketing right . What also really caught my attention was the book's discussion about the  elements of good culture . Culture created from as high up in the organization as possible. A culture particularly well suited for digital. Those  seven elements  are: Stay Flexible  -  create a continuous learning environment with flexibility and a certain disdain for roles. Hire Learners  - individuals who are curious and willing to learn on their own. Empower People to Share  - cultivate an environment where people feel comfortable bringing up bold ideas and are encouraged to speak up. Encourage Thinking Outside Roles  - to help you capture every perspective from all your team members. Make Sure Problems Come with Solutions ...

Here are some links from my Blog to some of the most popular articles about working with Millennials in the workplace: Q&A With Millennial CEO & Book Author Rick Lindquist Get A Handle On Your Millennial Employees How Managers Can Better Support And Retain Their Millennial Employees

Take the opportunity today to teach an employee something new. Nearly everyone likes to learn and is capable of tackling a new challenge. Teach your employee something that expands his (or her) current job description. Teach something that will help him to get promoted within your organization at a later date. Teach him a skill that uses new technology. Or, teach him something that will allow him to be a more skilled leader and manager in the future. You can even teach something that you no longer need to be doing in your position, but that will be a rewarding challenge/task for your employee. The  benefit  to your employee is obvious. The benefit to you is you'll have a more skilled team member who is capable of handling more work that can help you to grow your business and/or make it run more efficiently. Be a leader who teaches.

"It doesn't matter how old you are. Everyone has the same fundamental needs: to enjoy themselves, to be part of something larger than themselves, to confirm their own sense of their abilities, and to demonstrate to others that they've got what it takes," explains author Robert L. Dilenschneider. "And yet, there comes a moment, generally after one turns fifty...when it becomes hard not to worry about being sidelined." So, if you've over 50 and feeling vulnerable at work, you'll find Dilenschneider's book, 50 Plus!, Critical Career Decisions for the Rest of Your Life , a helpful resource. He provides a blueprint for older workers looking to excel in the workplace, change careers, launch a new business or bring their expertise to bear as a consultant.     With 32 percent of the U.S. population now over the age of 50, Dilenschneider offers ideas on how to activate your network to look for a new job if your present position is no l...

"The more specific you can be about your goal, the greater your level of success will be," explain authors Tom Pandola and James W. Bird , in their book, Light A Fire Under Your Business . "This is because once we have visualized something that doesn't yet exist, it causes our subconscious mind to make the decisions necessary to make that visualized goal a reality." The authors explain that all goals must have these five elements : Goals must clarify a specific action or outcome. Goals must be measureable by being able to quantify the benefits of achieving them. Goals should be achievable with the resources available (or at least you should know that the necessary resources are in reserve and can be acquired). Goals must also be realistic for achieving based on your particular situation. Goals must also include the time period in which you want to achieve them. With a date or time period specified for completion, planning can be established in orde...

The new book, Becoming Agile: How the SEAM Approach to Management Builds Adaptability ,  illustrates the process of becoming an agile organization.  Readers are taken on a real-world journey of transformation and change. This short-format case study of the French company Brioche Pasquier highlights how one organization successfully implemented the principles of agility using the socio-economic approach to management, detailing each step of the process and describing how every decision brought the goal closer within reach.  Readers get inside the heads of decision makers to gain insight into how tough decisions were made, how new, important, and flexible management tools were implemented, and how the necessary changes ultimately benefitted both the organization and the people who made it work.  From overarching policy to day-to-day procedure, the story provides a clear example of how an agile organization is developed, giving readers a foundation upon which...