How to Leverage Your Strengths for Peak Performance

Ask almost any business leader how to most effectively develop people and build teamwork and youll hear, tap into employees strengths. Yet when it comes to their own careers, many managers still focus the majority of their personal development efforts on shoring up areas of weakness. Sometimes this is due to well meaning critiques by superiors. Other times managers moving up the career l. . .

7 Tips for Growing Your Business You Do Not Want to Ignore:

Growing companies must always be ready for the next challenge. If you fail in meeting critical business challenges you will not grow. Challenges often require some type of breakthrough. But do not be misled. A business breakthrough does not have to be something no one has thought of it just needs to be a solution to your problem that you can act on now. Breakthroughs may involve simply findin. . .

7 Steps To Hire The Best

You can use this step-by-step method to hire applicants who are likely to be superstar employees:- highly productive- low-turnoverImportant: Focus on hiring applicants you rate positively on all seven prediction methods.1st Prediction Method = Brief Initial Screening InterviewIf an applicants application looks suitable, then conduct BISI, a customized 15-30 minute over-phone or in-person int. . .

Guide for Visionary Leaders and Business Decision-makers.

Change and the Cycle of SpecializationRobert E. Cannonwww.cannonadvantage.comGuide for Visionary Leaders and Business Decision-makers. In the January issue of Taking Aim, I reported on the book Margin. That book triggered some thoughts that had been floating in and out of my consciousness for some time. In fact I had even created the topic Cycle of Specialization several years ago, but just. . .

Five Steps to Better Employee Management

Hiring employees is a huge responsibility. Before hiring anyone, be sure to carefully analyze your needs in terms of extra assistance. Once youve gotten through the hiring process, theres still much more you must do now that youve become an employer. If youre like most small business owners, you just dont have time to do all youre supposed to be doing when it comes to managing your employ. . .

Nine Secrets to Running Outstanding Meetings

Nine Ways Johnny Carson Can Help You Run OutstandingMeetingsBy Ed Sykes 2005 all Rights ReservedRecently, America lost one of the giants of late night television, Johnny Carson. He was a master at his craft, because he would conduct his show, essentially like a ninety minute meeting. The program would be entertaining, insightful, informative, and leave you wanting more.Many times we fear goin. . .

Get Angry And Then Get Results

PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in newsletters and on web sites provided attribution is provided to the author, and it appears with the included copyright, resource box and live web site link. Email notice of intent to publish is appreciated but not required: mail to: brent@actionleadership.comWord count: 510Summary: Many leadership situations are emotionally-charged, w. . .

3 Tests to Hire the Best

Question: Whats the easiest, cheapest and quickest way to have profitable, productive, and honest employees?Answer: Hire profitable, productive, honest people!Unfortunately, managers often hire underachievers or losers. Fortunately, pre-employment tests give managers a simple-to-use, quick, customizable way to hire the best.Only 1 Reason to Screen ApplicantsThe sole reason to assess applicants. . .

How to Command the Respect of Your Team

When I was a child my father would take me ice fishing withhim and his buddies. I remember very clearly the firsttime he took me out on the ice. I was so excited to beincluded in his fishing trip that I couldnt sleep theentire night prior.So at 4:00am when my father came into the room to wake me,he was a little surprised to find me wide eyed and full ofenergy. When we got out onto the frozen . . .

"He Hate Me": Turning Their Bad Attitude Into Your Great Results

PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in newsletters and on web sites provided attribution is provided to the author, and it appears with the included copyright, resource box and live web site link. Email notice of intent to publish is appreciated but not required: mail to: brent@actionleadership.comWord count: 1400Summary: "He Hate Me" is one of the most famous nicknames in . . .

5 Questions Great Managers Ask (and they aren't hard!)

Remember the Pareto Principle. Aka the 80:20 rule. Well, here's something much, much easier! Answer these questions every day. Consider your responses thoughtfully, or with your team maybe. Or with your coach, or trusted friend.However hard we try, we seem to make life more difficult for ourselves; more challenging; more complex. Yet it needn't be so. try out these five questions with a regular. . .

Coaching - The New Word in Management

The Old Way Command and ControlAlthough workplaces and management styles have come a long way in the last decade, the command and control style of management behaviour remains common practice in many companies. This management approach basically means that employees are told exactly what to do, when to do it and even how it should be done. The manager is in charge, has all the answers, and fi. . .

Leading with Power and Authority: Energize Others with Deep Green Leadership

One of the most significant aspects of leadership involves the stewardship of resources both collective and individual. People instinctively want to understand how their needs will be met in the present and in the future. When they are confident their needs will be cared for, they experience a sense of control and a feeling of power. Ironically, in the process they must acknowledge a dependence. . .

Be Careful Who You Condemn

We all know customers are not always right in fact often theyre completely wrong. But if we allow our customers shortcomings to be the focus of our employees attentions were destined to fail.The inclination to complain about a customer happens to all of us from time to time. After a customer irritates us in some way and eventually walks away or hangs up the phone, we immediately look . . .

10 Ways to Beef up your Leadership Skills

Have you ever heard someone say, Actually, I have to admit that I think I am really bad at managing other people. My staff all hate me and Im incapable of doing my job.The answer is no, of course. No one says this either because they dont believe it, or because they dont want to appear incompetent. Unfortunately research tells us that from the employees perspective, there arent that many. . .

Dealing with Problem Behaviour in the Workplace

I personally struggle with the term managing people, because I firmly believe that people cannot be managed only processes and systems can. How many times have you heard it said Why wont my employees just do as they are asked? Despite all our best efforts at managing, we have very little control over other peoples actions, including the people that work with or for us. We can inspir. . .

A Whack Up 'Long Side The Head Of Human Resources: The Leadership Imperative

PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in newsletters and on web sites provided attribution is provided to the author, and it appears with the included copyright, resource box and live web site link. Email notice of intent to publish is appreciated but not required: mail to: brent@actionleadership.comWord count: 1600========================================Summary: Human resour. . .

Exceptional Leadership Inspires the Best Effort in Others

There is a steady stream being written and taught about leadership these days. There are tips about leadership, courses about leadership, books, retreats, and continuing education all focused on leadership. While all of this material is useful and can certainly enhance ones leadership knowledge, for the most part it avoids asking and answering two questions:1. Why does better leadership make. . .

How to Attract and Retain the Right People

If youre one of the many executives struggling with finding and keeping the right people to propel your business forward, youll find these insights helpful.If youre frustrated by trying to motivate people, work instead to develop a company where people are self-motivated where they do things because they want to. When were inspired, we enjoy our work, were productive, and were proud of . . .

Setting Performance Standards for your Employees

The success of your business is directly related to the commitment and productivity of the people who work in your business. And yet it is generally recognized that 60% of employees, or more, are underutilized in their roles at work. So what are the factors that contribute to low performance standards and expectations? Communication, or mis-communciation, is one of the major sources of low prod. . .