Eric Jacobson On Management And Leadership

Here are the  seven smart things  you need to do to  succeed in the future , according to leadership expert. John Baldoni, in his book,  Lead With Purpose : Make purpose a central focus. Instill purpose in others. Make employees comfortable with ambiguity. Turn good intentions into great results. Make it safe to fail (as well as prevail). Develop the next generation. Prepare yourself.

Former University of Kansas head basketball coach  Roy Williams  once told  U.S. News and World Report   magazine that there are  three things that coaches as leaders must do to drive success : "Have everyone on the team focus on the same goal."  And, the leader must effectively communicate that goal to the team. "Emphasize those goals every day." "Understand that although everyone has a common goal, individuals also have goals, needs and dreams that must be cared for." According to Williams, in a commentary he wrote for the magazine, the third point is the most challenging to address and where leadership may be the most critical. And, I totally agree. Therefore, if you lead a team at work or within an organization, one of the best ways to work with each of your team players is to  tailor your motivation techniques  for each individual, and then  be prepared to tweak those techniques  if necessary as each person grows. Williams was ...

“On the path to success, we trip and lose our footing from time to time. But stumbling and even falling is the best way to learn from mistakes and is critical to achieving goals,” says Bill Wooditch , author of the book,  Fail More: Embrace, Learn, And, Adapt to Failure As A Way To Success . “We all fail. It’s a part of business, and it’s a part of life,” explains Wooditch. “It’s how you deal with setbacks is what makes the difference.” The book will teach you how to: Conquer the negative emotions that naturally arise after making mistakes. Clearly articulate lessons learned. Put these lessons to use immediately.  Plus, you’ll learn how to: Navigate all forms of rejection and failure in pragmatic ways. Rationally examine your personal fears and gain mastery over them. Shed the discomfort of uncertainty, which is the only way to open your mind to all possibilities.  Recently, Wooditch answered these questions for me about failing, succeeding and his book: Question :  ...

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 cognizan...

Jack H. Llewellyn , PhD is a sports psychology consultant who has helped a major league baseball pitcher become a Cy Young Award winner, A NASCAR driver go from number six overall to number one and with the Winston Cup Series Championship, and countless leaders at Fortune 500 companies. Now, he’s written the book,  Commonsense Leadership: No-Nonsense Rules for Improving Your MentalGame and Increasing Your Team’s Performance . This is an excellent book for leaders at any stage in their leadership career. It’s a results-driven guidebook that teaches you how to recover quickly from adversity, thrive on stress, preform on the emotional edge, and create a motivating environment (instead of trying to motivate people). My favorite chapter is the one titled,  Winning versus Surviving . In it, Llewellyn outlines the  life factors that can fuel your everyday success . Some of those factors include: No. 1  – Winners expect to win every day. Your plan as a leade...

The Cycle of Winning has five parts:  Decide, Overdo, Adjust, Finish, Keep Improving . These are the five actions that winners take to get on track and to help stay on tract. Theses actions create Serial Winners, explains  Larry Weidel  in his book,  Serial Winner . "Serial Winners leverage a cycle of winning action to make progress," says Weidel. "They do something every day that puts them on a course for the things they want in life." "As you read [the book], you'll realize that you're already doing some of these things. But one or more of them will jump out at you -- the things you're missing," adds Weidel. In the book, Weidel presents a step-by-step process that you can apply to your  life, career and in your business . Larry Weidel For example, Weidel teaches: Don't Hesitate, Decide  -- Serial Winners make up their minds to being and then they keep moving. They know the clock is ticking and they need to continually ma...

In addition to your New Year's resolution and the goal you've set for yourself for 2016, add reading The School of Greatness to your "to do" list. It's a highly uplifting and motivational book on how to strive for greatness in your everyday life. Specifically, author Lewis Howes , shares his progression of a series of lessons -- eight areas that help you focus on continual improvement: Create a vision. Turn adversity into advantage. Cultivate a champion's mindset. Develop hustle. Master your body. Practice positive habits. Build a winning team. Be of service to others. Packed with exercises, tools, tips and examples, the book makes for a perfect read at the start of the new year.

As a leader in your business, try these  six ideas to give your business a jump-start : Ask for ideas from employees in all parts of your business . Don't ask for ideas only from your product development or marketing departments. Be sure all employees clearly understand your vision and the mission  of your business. Brainstorm ways to  take advantage of your strengths . Determine how to  overcome your business' weaknesses . Choose which opportunities you will prioritize to help  keep everyone focused on a common goal . Celebrate your successes regularly and encourage learning from your mistakes .

In the  April 2014 issue of  Inc .  magazine , you'll find a list of  35 questions  from business owners, entrepreneurs and management thinkers.  Each offered the question they would ask to move a company forward. From the list,  my favorites are : Are we relevant?  Will we be relevant five years from now? Ten? What prevents me from making the changes I know will make me a more effective leader? Are we changing as fast as the world around us? Who, on the executive team or the board, has spoken to a customer recently? And, my most favorite is : How can we become the company that would put us out of business? What question do you ask to help move your company forward?