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Showing posts from February, 2023

How To Create A More Inclusive Workplace

In her new book, Rising Together , Sally Helgesen draws on three decades of work with leaders and aspiring leaders around the world to offer practical ways to build more inclusive relationships, teams and workplaces.   The first part of the book identifies eight common triggers that undermine our ability to connect with people whole history and values may be different from our own. The second part of the book offers simple and very specific everyday practices that enable us—as individuals, in our organizations, on our teams—to create cultures of belonging.   Helgesen defines a culture of belonging is one in which the largest possible percentage of people:   Feel ownership in the organization, viewing it as “we,” and “they.” Believe they are valued for their potential as well as their contributions. Perceive that how they matter is not strictly tied to their positional power.   Rising Together is for readers at every stage and level in their careers who recognize that buil

Eight Ways To Make Better Decisions

These  eight decision-making tactics  from  David Lahey ’s book,  Predicting Success , are helpful to me and hopefully useful to you as well: Deep breathing , to clear your mind. Researching , to feel confident that you have all the information in front of you. Listing your options , in either verbal or written form, to keep the whole picture front of mind. Following through on the possible outcomes , complete with likely predictions and acknowledgement of whether they’re negative or positive (or design yourself a decision tree, that lays out every possible consequence visually). Testing your intuition , by imagining a committed decision and then gauging the corresponding feeling it inspires in your gut. Taking the time you need , so long as it doesn’t become an overly indulgent distraction. Evaluating your decision , an after-the-fact exercise that engages a conscious inventory of the lessons learned. Coming to terms with your pick , always cognizant of the reality that no decision is

Playbook For How To Excel As A Salesperson

Steve Weinberg ’s book,  Above Quota Performance , is a terrific book for both the sales rookie and the experienced sales pro.   “This book is for sales professionals who are either struggling to achieve their sales goals, or who are meeting them but still want to improve their performance,” says Weinberg.   Packed with proven concepts, principles, tips, techniques and 60 actionable takeaways, this book will help you:   Generate and qualify leads. Identify buyer roles and why they buy. Understand the buying process. Utilize value propositions. Use LinkedIn for business development. Master your sales presentation. Close enterprise deals.   “In order to succeed as a salesperson, you need to approach the journey with curiosity, diligence, and practice. Sales is no longer a simple linear process, and thus professionals in the industry — and those who hope to enter the industry — require new skills to deal with the profound changes in the digital marketplace,” explains Weinberg.   Some of m

How To Unleash Your Full Potential

To accomplish something great, author Matt Higgins says you need to toss your Plan B overboard and burn the boats . “You have to give yourself no escape route, no chance to ever turn back. You throw away your backup plans and your push forward, no longer bogged down by the infinite ways in which we hedge our own successes.” You’ll learn plenty more about what it means to burn the boats, how to unleash your full potential, and how to tear down your barriers to achieving success in Higgins’ new book, Burn The Boats – a business-advice and self-help book. Five of the most powerful takeaways are these according to Higgins: Trust your instincts and reject conventional wisdom : We are the only ones who know the full extent of our gifts, and the paths we are meant to follow. Proprietary insights are the keys to game-changing businesses : you don’t need a unique project to start an empire, just an intuition all your own. Your deepest flaws can be fuel for your greatest triumphs : Your

How To Never Stop Learning

“I’ve spent almost the last 15 years researching why we are so bad at learning and what we can do about it,” states  Bradley R. Staats . And that’s primarily what prompted him to write his book,  Never Stop Learning: Stay Relevant, Reinvent Yourself, and Thrive . Further explaining, Staats says that when it comes to learning, we are our own worst enemy and we often work against ourselves: Instead of doing the things that will help us learn, we often do just the opposite. We are unwilling to take risks that might lead to failure. We obsess about outcomes while neglecting to examine carefully the process through which we achieve them. We rush to answers instead of asking questions. We look to fix irrelevant weaknesses instead of playing to our strengths. We treat learning as an individual exercise and neglect the important role played by others. We end up solving yesterday’s problems too late instead of tackling tomorrow’s problems before someone else does.  “If we can understand why we

How To Be An Effective Listener

Here are some great tips from  Michelle Tillis Lederman 's book,  The 11 Laws of Likability . They are all about: what to do and what not to do to be a leader who's an effective listener : Do : Maintain eye contact Limit your talking Focus on the speaker Ask questions Manage your emotions Listen with your eyes and ears Listen for ideas and opportunities Remain open to the conversation Confirm understanding, paraphrase Give nonverbal messages that you are listening (nod, smile) Ignore distractions Don't : Interrupt Show signs of impatience Judge or argue mentally Multitask during a conversation Project your ideas Think about what to say next Have expectations or preconceived ideas Become defensive or assume you are being attacked Use condescending, aggressive, or closed body language Listen with biases or closed to new ideas Jump to conclusions or finish someone's sentences

How To Thrive Amidst Information Overload

Ross Dawson ’s book,  Thriving On Overload , provides you practical insights and strategies to build a positive relationship with information and excel at work and all your ventures.  Dawson draws on his work as a leading futurist and 25 years of research into the practices that transform a surplus of information into compelling value.  More specifically, he shares simple actionable techniques for staying ahead in an accelerating world and massive amounts of information – for many of us, information overload.  “It’s all about choosing to thrive on overload―rather than being overwhelmed by it,” explains Dawson. “ Thriving on Overload  starts from the premise that who we are, our identities and lives and destiny, are framed by our relationship with information.”  By reading the book and completing the exercises at the end of each chapter, you’ll learn how to develop the  five intertwined powers  that enable extraordinary performance in a world of overload:  Purpose : understanding why yo

How To Reduce Loneliness Within The Workplace

Here is a book that provides workplace leaders an urgently needed methodology for helping companies to reduce worker loneliness, and it delivers a blueprint for building strong, high-performing workplace teams. The book is,  Connectable: How Leaders Can Move Teams From Isolated To All In , by  Ryan Jenkins  and  Steven Van Cohen .   “72% of workers suffer from loneliness. And, what was once a simmering problem shifted to a crisis when COVID-19 and the sudden transition to remove work isolated workers from each other as never before,” report the authors.   “Loneliness is the absence of connection,” explain the authors. “Loneliness is not defined by the lack of people, because someone can be lonely even while surrounded by others. We require more than the presence of others. We require the presence of others to dream, strategize, and work toward commons goals.”   Furthermore, “workplace loneliness is defined by the distress caused by the perceived inadequacy of quality connection to team

Critical Questions To Ask New Hires

In  Paul Falcone ’s book,  75 Ways For Managers To Hire, Develop And Keep Great Employees , he recommends asking new employees the following questions 30, 60 and 90 days after they were hired:   30-Day One-on-One Follow-Up Questions Why do you think we selected you as an employee? What do you like about the job and the organization so far? What’s been going well? What are the highlights of your experiences so far? Why? Tell me what you don’t understand about your job and about our organization now that you’ve had a month to roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty. Have you faced any unforeseen surprises since joining us that you weren’t expecting?   60-Day One-on-One Follow-Up Questions Do you have enough, too much or too little time to do your work? Do you have access to the appropriate tools and resources? Do you feel you have been sufficiently trained in all aspects of your job to perform at a high level? How do you see your job relating to the organization’s mission and visio

An Action Plan For Embracing Change

A few months ago brought the new book,   Build For Tomorrow , by   Jason Feifer , Editor in chief of Entrepreneur magazine and host of the podcasts   Build For Tomorrow   and   Problem Solvers .  “My new book is for anyone facing down an uncertain future, as well as a practical guide for every entrepreneur and aspiring entrepreneur,” says Feifer.  Organized around the four phases of change, Feifer shares personal insights and learnings from his interviews with success entrepreneurs and changemakers who have experienced tectonic shifts in work, culture, and life.  The  four phases of change  are: Panic Adapt New Normal Wouldn’t Go Back – When we gain something so new and great that we wouldn’t want to go back to a time before we had it.  “Change is coming. It’s here. It cannot be stopped! And when it comes for us, we really only two choices – to embrace it, or to fight a losing fight,” explains Feifer.  Therefore, Feifer teaches that: When in the Panic phase of change , pause when oth

How To Build A World-Class Culture

“When it comes to culture, one of the most glaring issues is that far too many leaders do not recognize it as one of their greatest competitive advantages,” says Matt Mayberry , author of the new book, Culture Is The Way .   Mayberry, former linebacker for the Chicago Bears and now keynote speaker and global expert in leadership development, culture change, and organizational performance, took the lessons he learned on the field and in the locker room straight to the boardroom.  “Over time, I realized that the same characteristics that distinguish the best football teams are also required to succeed in business,” shares Mayberry. Those characteristics include:   A strong commitment to excellence. An emphasis on teamwork. Practicing like a champion every day. Perseverance in the face of adversity.   Other key lessons from sports coaches include these says Mayberry:   Develop a burning desire to improve culture. Generate and bring positive energy daily. Don’t just manage people,