How To Avoid Distractions In The Workplace

How To Avoid Distractions In The Workplace: Some of us get pushed off balance by the slightest interruptions at work, while others easily tune out distractions. The truth is, nobody is completely attentive to their work 100% of the time?and we can all use some guidance on ways to avoid or ignore disruptions in the office.

4 Questions To Identify Your Innovation Killers

4 Questions To Identify Your Innovation Killers: Rules can get in the way of the goal. If someone messes up, should they get fired? Your average manager's pat answer is always "yes, it sets a 'what not to do' example for the rest." An exceptional leader would answer "it depends." My colleague Ken Perlman offers a clear example of why punishing failures is the fastest way to stifle innovation in your organization.

4 Ways Open Innovation Can Drive Your Business Forward

4 Ways Open Innovation Can Drive Your Business Forward: Ever since General Electric built the first industrial lab in 1900, research and development has been a highly secretive affair.  Security protocols have been regarded almost important as scientific ones to stay ahead of the competition.

5 Transitions Great Leaders Make That Average Leaders Don't

5 Transitions Great Leaders Make That Average Leaders Don't:

The secret to leadership is there aren’t any real secrets. The best leaders have simply gone to school on improving their tradecraft. While the capabilities possessed by the best leaders might seem otherworldly to many, they are merely the outcome of hard work, experience, perspective, and yes, a bit of

The One Belief That Keeps You Locked In Career Inertia

The One Belief That Keeps You Locked In Career Inertia: This one core belief is responsible for thousands of professionals remaining stuck for years in career inertia and unhappiness.

Smart Leaders Engage Tomorrow's Workforce

Smart Leaders Engage Tomorrow's Workforce: I'm off to Chicago for #SHRM13 and am very excited to see everyone and for all the events. The topic most pressing on my mind today is the battle for young, emerging talent and how fierce the competition is these days in certain sectors. Companies that win it are the ones that will succeed in the years and decades to come.  So what is the key to first hiring and then unleashing the full potential of Millennials and thus building your future workforce? And what exactly are we doing about The Class of 2012, 2013?

The Most Successful Fail Frequently. Are You Making Enough Mistakes?

The Most Successful Fail--Frequently. Are You Making Enough Mistakes?: We have argued throughout  that the best way to deal with uncertainty is to act.

3 Networking Habits To Drop And What To Do Instead

3 Networking Habits To Drop And What To Do Instead: Summer is a great time to network. People are in a better mood because of the warmer weather and upcoming vacations. You might even schedule those hard-to-get lunches because it’s nicer to be outside. Workload typically slows so you actually have the time to rekindle those relationships. So summer is also a great time to revisit your networking strategy. You might have developed bad habits around your networking that you need to adjust:

Advice From The Most Innovative Leaders

Advice From The Most Innovative Leaders
Anyone can change his or her behavior to improve creative impact in a company. According to the authors of the Innovators DNA, the five skills of disruptive innovators are questioning, observing, networking, experimenting and associational thinking...

Turning Takers Into Smart Givers: The Reciprocity Ring

Turning Takers Into Smart Givers: The Reciprocity Ring: Americans enjoy explaining almost every act of their lives on the principle of self-interest.
Alexis de Tocqueville (1835)
Earlier this week, I reviewed Adam Grant’s wonderful new book, Give & Take, which shows why "givers” typically outperform “takers” and “matchers”, so long as givers are smart enough to avoid being treated as doormats by takers, fakers and others who want to take advantage of their giving spirit. It’s an important thesis, because smart “giving” is the ideological foundation of delighting customers and the new management paradigm.

Eight Essential Leadership Lessons From America's Greatest Skyline

Eight Essential Leadership Lessons From America's Greatest Skyline: Downtown Chicago is a skyscraper lover's paradise; it's also a business-school classroom writ large for entrepreneurs and managers. Here are eight essential lessons, care of an eye-popping summer riverboat tour through the Windy City.

9 Tips For Boosting Productivity At Work This Summer

9 Tips For Boosting Productivity At Work This Summer: Summer is upon us and over the next few weeks schools will be closing, the sun will be shining, and you’ll be daydreaming that you’re at the beach, on a boat, at the pool, or anywhere but your desk. There’s a good chance that all the excitement and distractions of summer will curb your productivity—but if you manage your time properly, communicate well, and shift priorities as needed, you can get through the season without slacking too much.

3 Ways To Become A More Effective Leader

3 Ways To Become A More Effective Leader: The only way we can create the impact we want is by giving everyone a seat at the table. Addie Thompson (@adelinemt) shares tips for more effective leadership.

7 Ways To Improve Employee/Boss Relationships

7 Ways To Improve Employee/Boss Relationships: There is a secret to becoming a more likable leader. It doesn’t have to do with how tall and charming you are, or how often you give employees a raise.  In fact, we have evidence that the majority of the behaviors displayed by the most likable leaders have to do with the way they interact with employees on a day-to-day basis.  But first, does being liked by your employees even matter?

Innovation: Leadership Is Always The Key

Innovation: Leadership Is Always The Key: The transformation will come from leadership.

Five Ways To Build An Effective Team

Five Ways To Build An Effective Team: It is not easy to be the CEO of an up-and-coming startup, especially when you are frequently out of your office talking to investors and the actual time you spend in contact with your team is limited. It gets even more complicated when you manage multiple teams working in different cities.

Six Ways To Earn Respect At Work

Six Ways To Earn Respect At Work
1. Pay Attention To Your Title
Don't be fooled, title matters, says career consultant Emily Bennington, author of Who Says It's A Man's World: The Girls' Guide To Corporate Domination. Right or wrong, your title is how people in and outside your organization judge your value to it, she says. Don't overlook it...

The Four Questions Great Leaders Ask

The Four Questions Great Leaders Ask: “Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers.”

Five Ways To Build An Effective Team

Five Ways To Build An Effective Team: It is not easy to be the CEO of an up-and-coming startup, especially when you are frequently out of your office talking to investors and the actual time you spend in contact with your team is limited. It gets even more complicated when you manage multiple teams working in different cities.

What Defines You?

What Defines You?: What do you think defines you? Is it your job? Is it your sport? Is it your life principles? Is it where you live? It is your friends? Is it your age?

Are You Managing Change Or Leading It?

Are You Managing Change Or Leading It?: “There is a time for everything, and a season for every purpose under heaven.”

Making Meaningful Connections With Influencers

Making Meaningful Connections With Influencers: As the CEO of an economic development organization that accelerates the growth of innovation clusters in Northeast Ohio, I connect with influential people to position the region as an innovation hub, raise visibility of its technology assets and attract resources. In this role, I make sure my organization, NorTech, effectively uses its industry expertise in advanced energy, flexible electronics and water technologies to align and leverage our cluster member’s assets to build a globally-competitive economy.

Five Ways To Get Unstuck And Get Things Done

Five Ways To Get Unstuck And Get Things Done: There have been days when I’ve been so overwhelmed by my options that I’ve become completely stuck–I couldn’t get anything done.

In the end, no single task will help to move the business forward without a larger goal behind it...

The Secret To Effective Delegation

The Secret To Effective Delegation: While most everyone in business would agree that delegation is critical to managerial success, how often are we dissatisfied with the results of what we've delegated?  How often is the "product" that is returned to us not exactly what we'd hoped for?  While this is sometimes the fault of the person of completing the assignment, it's  often the fault of the person giving the assignment.  And there's a common root to the problem.

5 Powerful Ways Leaders Practice Patience

5 Powerful Ways Leaders Practice Patience: Today’s business climate is more complicated than ever and fueled with many unknowns.  Every leader feels the pressure of generating results, building the most effective teams and creating a high-performance workplace environment to secure sustainable outcomes.   At the same time, employees are tired of the uncertainty and necessity to do more with less – often causing tempers to flare and growing workplace dissatisfaction.   This added pressure on employees to perform without knowing their succession plan or imminent future is not only testing their patience, but that of their leaders.

How To Bypass The 5 Worst Mistakes In Online Presentations

How To Bypass The 5 Worst Mistakes In Online Presentations: Getting ready to make an online presentation? Here's how to ensure yours are memorable, engaging and successful.

Successful Business Communication: It Starts at the Beginning

Successful Business Communication: It Starts at the Beginning: A while back I was able to attend a seminar by Dr. John Lund on communication where he gave some amazing advice on how to better communicate with others. His input was simple and easy to follow, yet powerful. The best quote of the entire event was this: “Don`t communicate to be understood; rather, communicate so as not to be misunderstood.” What a great way to put things in perspective regarding our efforts on how to improve our communication. Here are some of the notes I made from his presentation:

5 Things You Should Be Talking To Your Boss About

5 Things You Should Be Talking To Your Boss About: Going into your boss’s office can often be hot or cold: You could be getting a pat on the back for a job well done—or a tough dose of constructive criticism. Your boss may want to assign you an awesome new project—or ask you for the report that’s due today (wait, what report?).

6 Reasons Leaders Make Bad Decisions

6 Reasons Leaders Make Bad Decisions: Employees are growing noticeably more frustrated with their leaders.  Employees want their leaders to have their backs and listen to their concerns;  to provide clarity of purpose and performance expectations; and to chart a roadmap for the future.   They expect leadership from their leaders – but instead many employees are finding themselves being led by people that lack focus and vision, mismanage resources, and  get caught-up in corporate politics.    Leaders need to step up their game and begin to provide the required strategic support and direction to keep their employees motivated and their teams inspired.

How to Resolve Conflict Like a Pro

How to Resolve Conflict Like a Pro: Jody Greene is the CMO and co-owner of Chic CEO – a free resource for female entrepreneurs. You can follow her and Chic CEO on twitter at @ChicCEO.

The Most Overlooked Leadership Skill

The Most Overlooked Leadership Skill: Even before I released the disc, I knew it was a long shot. And, unfortunately, it was a clumsy one too.

Stand Up For Yourself When Someone Else Takes Credit For Your Work

Stand Up For Yourself When Someone Else Takes Credit For Your Work: Sometimes, one of the most important things you can do to protect your career and career advancement is stand up for yourself when someone takes credit for your ideas or your work. Here is one story I received from a reader about a credit-stealing boss and my response.

90 Days To Great Leadership

90 Days To Great Leadership: While I’ve achieved a lot of success as an entrepreneur and business owner, I was not born a great leader. Rather, I’ve learned leadership skills and every day, I put them to use.

10 Ways To Help Others That Will Lead You To Success

10 Ways To Help Others That Will Lead You To Success: Helping others should be a natural extension of every business leader?s responsibilities. Unfortunately, it doesn?t come as easy as you would think. As leaders, we often get too caught up in operations or our own problems to give people the help they need. However, in the last year, I?ve realized that most of my best clients, partners and relationships have come from me helping someone. Here are 10 thoughts that can remind you to help others.

How To See What Others Don't (In Order To Increase Your Chances of Success)

How To See What Others Don't (In Order To Increase Your Chances of Success): Seeing What Others Don't is not only the title of new book by Gary Klein, it is also a mantra that can make you successful.

The 7 Non-Negotiables Of Winning

The 7 Non-Negotiables Of Winning: Today, I would like to share the principles that have transformed me and our company and a growing number of people across the globe.  They are simple and powerful and I promise you that if you make the time to learn and apply them new avenues of promise and possibility will open for you.  I share my personal journey and I am honored to share the story of a small company that works together every day to achieve great things in my book, The 7 Non-Negotiables of Winning: Tying Soft Traits To Hard Results, due out from Wiley Publishing on July 29.

6 Essential Steps To Attracting Your "Right" Work

6 Essential Steps To Attracting Your "Right" Work: Can we really "attract" the right work for us, or is that just a foolish fancy?

How The Best Leaders Focus On Two Key Elements of Greatness

How The Best Leaders Focus On Two Key Elements of Greatness: I had the great good fortune of having breakfast this morning with Danny Meyer, longtime friend and client, at Maialino, one of his USHG (Union Square Hospitality Group) restaurants.  It was a wide-ranging conversation, but it kept coming back to two core things: beauty and utility.  We talked about business, relationships, food, training new employees, family and building teams - and in each realm we discussed how the best of these things are both beautiful and useful.

How To Say No At Work

How To Say No At Work: When Beth Cronin started out as an associate at the law firm Trenam Kemker, she never once told a partner that she was too busy to do a project. Instead, she learned the right way to say no. “First, I developed a reputation as being earnest and hardworking,” says Cronin. “Then I made sure to understand what the project entailed, when my manager needed it and whether I could realistically deliver high-quality work in the allotted amount of time. The way to handle a request is never just to say ‘I’m too busy.’” Today she’s co-chair of the commercial litigation practice group at the firm, which has offices in St. Petersburg and Tampa, Fla.

How To Multiply Efficiency And Free Up Hours Of Labor In An Instant

How To Multiply Efficiency And Free Up Hours Of Labor In An Instant: I am very fond of the strict “No Slide Presentations” policy in our office. Since its inception, presentations have become more animated, engaging, and effective. My colleague Ken Perlman tells the story of how one of our clients realized the wasted time and effort being poured into formal executive presentations and diverted that time to boosting productivity and trust simply by replacing slides with conversations.

7 Steps To Developing Career Capital -- And Achieving Success

7 Steps To Developing Career Capital -- And Achieving Success: In 2007, Steve Martin was on the Charlie Rose show to talk about his memoir Born Standing Up. He talked about his rise in comedy, and Rose asked him for his advice to aspiring performers.