Leadership & Management

Customer Service or Customer Shakedown?

July 16, 2011

Several years ago my work as a customer service speaker took me to a franchised  food establishment to study their operation. At first I was impressed. They had an aggressive marketing campaign and had really streamlined their food production. Behind the scenes, they ran a great business. With customers, they were less impressive. That day the [...]

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Unnecessary Leadership: The Best Leadership of All

June 20, 2011

When I was a kid, I used to wonder if police officers thought everyone drives the speed limit. Because whenever police officers are around, everyone does drive the speed limit. But as soon as they turn off, traffic lurches forward. That’s the problem with the concept of management. Employees step up their performance when the [...]

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Motivating Employees: Finding a Good Fit

May 9, 2011

Angela giggled as she joined me onstage during my keynote on motivating employees. She was a petite thirty-something and I asked her to pull on a 3X Large t-shirt over her outfit.  She almost disappeared in the loose garment. The audience laughed at this ridiculous image. “Is there a manufacturing flaw with this shirt?” I [...]

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Flipping The Pyramid on Leadership

March 13, 2011

The traditional organizational chart of a company resembles a pyramid. At the apex of the pyramid is the head of the organization – the President, CEO, Owner, etc. Below this leader are various levels of officers such as vice-presidents, department heads, managers, etc. At the bottom of the pyramid are front line employees. Each level [...]

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What Motivates More, Pain or Pleasure?

November 14, 2010

The job of a motivational speaker is pretty self-explanatory. Motivational speakers are supposed to motivate.  This means giving people a stronger sense of their feelings in an effort to mobilize them (or more accurately, help them self-mobilize). If my audience members feel good but don’t do anything, then I haven’t done my job. While good [...]

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Motivational Speaker Asks: Can One Bad Apple Spoil The Bunch?

September 22, 2010

Conventional wisdom suggests that group values and norms influence individual members. People naturally want to fit in. They’re inclined to be agreeable. But what if one person rejects the group’s norms and acts out? Can they adversely impact an entire group? I came across an interesting archived interview on “This American Life” the other day [...]

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Student Leadership: Helping Students With Insecurities

August 15, 2010

Recently the California Association of Directors of Activities interviewed me for podcast. As a motivational speaker, I facilitate a considerable amount of student leadership training programs. Much of what I discuss is on how to bring out the best in others, including ways of helping student leaders overcome self-doubt and insecurity. In this podcast I [...]

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Encouraging Ongoing Improvement

April 12, 2010

In my Edible Arrangement store I encourage my manager and employees to seek constant improvement. It’s easy in a work environment, on a team, in a class or in any group for members to get comfortable and just cruise along. When they do, the slip backwards. People rarely maintain the same level of performance. They [...]

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Motivating Retail Employees

April 6, 2010

Recently I was asked to comment on how to motivate retail employees. I actually own a retail store myself, so I think a lot about this issue. Here are a few quick thoughts: 1. Connect your employees’ work to a bigger picture. Help them see how what they are learning and experiencing will help them [...]

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We Need More Than Leaders; We Need Role Models

November 4, 2009

Regardless of your political philosophy, the notions of hope and courage are beautiful ideals to embrace. The greatest leaders keep constituents hopeful and offer strength during tough times. It’s unfortunate that these leaders are so rare in government. Negative campaigning is no longer a tactic limited to election time. Party politics have virtually frozen legislation. [...]

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