Eric Jacobson On Management And Leadership

Keep these five tips in mind when you craft your next company policy: Keep the policy short and simple. Get rid of two old policies for every new policy you implement. Make sure that your organization's policy and procedures are written to serve your employees and customers--not just your organization. Don't write a policy in reaction to a single incident.  The problem may never arise again. Don't write a policy longer than one-page, no matter how large your organization may be. Thanks to author Bob Nelson for these great tips from his book,  1001 Ways To Energize Employees .

Best-selling author Brian Tracy's book,  Full Engagement , provides practical advice for how to inspire your employees to perform at their absolute best. He explains that above nearly every measure, employees' most powerful single motivator is the "desire to be happy". So, Tracy teaches you how to make your employees happy by: Organizing their work from the first step in the hiring process through the final step in their departure from your company so they are happy with you, their work, their coworkers, as well as in their interactions with your customers, suppliers and vendors. Full Engagement  includes these chapters and topics: The Psychology of Motivation Ignite the Flame of Personal Performance Make People Feel Important Drive Out Fear Create That Winning Feeling Select The Right People Internal Versus External Motivation At a minimum, Tracy suggests that  managers do the following when managing their employees : Smile ...

The book,  Step Up , shows readers how to step up to the plate during  six critical leadership moments .  Readers learn how to: Use anger intelligently in the workplace. Recognize and deal with terminal politeness. Make decisions when no one else is making them. Take ownership when others are externalizing a problem. Identify and leverage pessimism. Inspire others to take action. And, before you start to read the book, you can take (via a QR code in the book) a  fifteen-minute online Step Up Leadership Assessment , which will give you instant feedback on your  leadership readiness  and point you to the most relevant chapters in the book. The book's two authors recently shared these insights with me: A Conversation with Henry Evans and Colm Foster, authors of  Step Up What is a “leadership moment”? These are moments when leadership is required in order to see a problem solved, opportunity seized, momentum changed, rela...

A customer who complains and receives a fast response will actually be more loyal to your company in terms of future sales and referrals than a customer who never complained at all.  That is what author Mark Thompson and Brian Tracy proclaim, and I agree with them. They also say in their book,  Now...Build A Great Business! ,  that: a slow response to a customer complaint triggers fear and anger And, when that happens, the customer is afraid that he/she is going to be stuck with a product/service that doesn't work and feels angry that he/she went ahead with the purchase in the first place. So, lead your team to : Respond quickly to customer complaints Refuse to defend or make excuses Offer to make the customer happy immediately Be open and honest Tell the truth and tell it as soon as you know it Bottom-line...assume that anything you do or say will become public knowledge quickly. So,  resolve to build and maintain trust in everything you do ...

Judith Humphrey 's book,  Taking the Stage:  How Women Can Speak Up, Stand Out, and Succeed , is based on a program that has been delivered to over 400,000 women worldwide. Filled with  practical and actionable advice , the book is ideal for women at all stages of their career  and  for the managers and executives committed to supporting and guiding these women on their leadership journeys. "This book deals with the qualities and desires deep within all of us," says Humphrey.  "It is our birthright to be heard.  We were born with voices -- loud, penetrating voices - and there is absolutely no reason why women should feel obliged to surrender those voices in the face of obstacles," adds Humphrey. Divided into  four parts and covering 25 themes , this "handbook" for women teaches readers how to make the most of every opportunity by understanding  how best to : Speak up confidently, even when others don't agree Convey your accomp...

One of my favorite books about leadership is  The Leadership Test  by Timothy R. Clark.  You can read it in an hour and its message will guide you through your entire career. Here are some important points from the book that are particularly powerful: Leadership is the process of influencing volunteers to accomplish good things. The spectrum of influence ranges from manipulation to persuasion to coercion. Only persuasion is leadership.  Manipulation exploits.  Coercion controls.  Neither manipulation nor coercion can produce lasting results or consistent good results. Leadership is based on the influence-through-persuasion at the front end, combined with accountability at the back end. Clark further points out that: Leaders qualify themselves based on the manner of their influence and the nature of their intent. If you haven't read this gem of a book, pick up at copy today.

When I seek advice about leadership and how to effectively communicate in the workplace, I often turn to David Grossman. Grossman  helps leaders drive productivity and get the results they want through authentic and  courageous leadership and communication . Grossman’s work  solves   three business problems : Minimize the downside of change where business could be stopped, slowed or interrupted Maximize the upside of change to accelerate business results Turn employee confusion, skepticism or apathy into engagement Grossman is both a teacher and student of effective leadership and communication. He is one of America’s foremost authorities on communication and leadership inside organizations, and a sought-after advisor to Fortune 500 leaders. He also offers for  free  via his website a host of ebooks about primarily leadership and communication. “One of the most popular eBooks is the  Top 10 Barriers Communicators Face: How ...