I had to deliver a keynote to a large group of business owners the other day. I was asked to compose a quick 6-8 minute talk — and if you know me, it’s a VERY short time to talk.
I used iWork Keynote with an LCD projector (all set up well ahead of time) — I felt each slide would add impact (see presentation here). As you can see — no bullets, bold statements — get in and get out.
As the meeting wore on, I realized we were running out of time. To add insult to injury, [click to continue…]
We all know Goldman Sachs. Big company. Billions. Influences and touches a large portion of the investment world.
Here’s the letter (NY Times Op-Ed) from a past GS employee.
Then . . . here’s their rebuttal from the CEO and COO.
But then the facts start trickling in from other sources.
Here are some immutable business truths:
- You can’t hide bad behavior forever. It will see the light.
- Being bad has short term gains, but in the long run being good wins out.
- Don’t work for GS in the near future. I think this is just the start.
1. If you do not GO after what you want, you’ll never have it.
Be honest with yourself, there is no limousine pulling up to your door to whisk you away to that new job, to millions of dollars, or a new life. It’s up to you to make it happen.
2. If you do not ASK, the answer will always be NO.
It doesn’t hurt to ask. You will be pleasantly surprised sometimes when the answer is Yes. If the answer is NO, ask what you need to do to make it YES. [click to continue…]
To be honest, there are times when I’m scared. Not the ‘horror movie, the zombie is coming after me scared’ — more like the ‘I’ve been pushed WAY out of my comfort zone’ scared.
A few weeks ago, I was asked by The Hartford to speak to a group of their employees — a small group, say 50-100 people. No problem — I’ve done it before. As the date moved ever closer, the attendance figures rose to 200, 300 until I walked into the building and found out we were looking at 750-800 attendees [click to continue…]
You’re not a CEO. Or a CMO, COO, CIO, CTO or any other C-Level title.
You’re not a GVP, AVP, MVP or VP.
You’re not a Senior Director, Partner, Manager, Owner, etc.
You are a Bonus Delivery Officer.
Your primary role in your position is not to deliver on projects, motivate the team, present information, or hob-nob with the hoi-poloi.
You are a Bonus Delivery Officer.
You may ask: [click to continue…]
“What you wish for doesn’t fall in your lap — it falls somewhere nearby, and you have to recognize it, stand up, and put in the time and work it takes to get it. This isn’t because the universe is cruel. It’s because the universe is smart. It has it’s own ‘cat-string’ theory and knows we don’t appreciate things that fall into our laps.” — Neil Strauss
I’ve been saying this to clients for years — prior to the recession, [click to continue…]
My wife and I were at a party this weekend and we met a lot of interesting people.
Most of the guests were doing well and making lots of personal and business connections. I say most.
There were a few who stood out during the evening with their attitude towards business, life, politics, the market, whatever. They were downers to say the least — they were pessimistic, short-sighted, and downright uncomfortable to be around. [click to continue…]
I rarely do this. I’m pointing you to an incredible blog with an incredible message.
I’m an avid reader of Chris Brogan’s blog and tweets — he is THE guru of social media and tours the world helping organizations efficiently and effectively employ it in their marketing. Well . . . he hosted a guest post from Tommy Walker that knocked my socks off. [click to continue…]
I coached the head of sales of a Fortune 500 company yesterday and we had an interesting conversation.
She had a recurring issue with some of the executive board members she reports to — they are frequently challenging her management of the sales force because sales have dipped slightly over the past six months.
Sales performance is a highly subjective area in business because if it is dropping off, many factors can come into play such as pricing, marketing, product management, distribution, the marketplace . . . I can go on forever. During these meetings though, it all seemed to fall right on her shoulders. Why? [click to continue…]
