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I recently was in the grocery store.  Looking for my favorite coffee.  When I found the isle I was presented with a wall of choices.  38 different varieties of coffee were on the racks with another set of choices as to the volume of coffee.  In a simple walk through the rest of the store, I began to realize that consumers are presented with a Tsunami of choices in all categories.

We all become overwhelmed with these choices and often then gravitate to the best known brand or make some other criteria that will provide the consumer with a method to make their purchase.  The lack of true analysis based on the choices translates into consumers sometimes buying the product that is not the highest quality or the best product, but the product that they know best.

This lesson of choice is important to each of us individually or as a corporation.  When given a choice, why would a consumer seek to choose you?  What makes you remarkable?  Are you packaged differently so that you and your product stand out?  What features of your product is extraordinary?  In service industries, it is close to impossible to change our products.  But our presentation of our products can provide the differentiation that will allow for us to stand out.  Design or experience or features, they all are ways to different products.   Apple computers uses a design and simplicity as the hallmark of their product.  They have the most elegant designs and the simplicity of their user interface is years ahead of the competition’s.   Bank of New York has long emphasized the ‘history’ and ‘experience’ of the bank and its bankers as their distinguishing marks.  They don’t sell checking or saving accounts, they sell the value of their advise in the financial arena.  It is what sets them apart.  Trader Joe’s, a grocery store, long ago determined that they could provide high quality private label products to their consumers.  They choose to eliminate the big national brands in lieu of their own labeled products.  Many grocery stores do this also, but Trader Joe’s did it with panache, a unique sales experience, and the quality of their products made them highly successful. (more…)

Many organizational managers assume that by adding leadership training or a leadership development program that they are able to create a culture that accepts leadership. The move from non-existent leadership to a leadership culture takes time – and a few steps in between. Let’s look at how you can create a culture of leadership.

First, you, as the organizational leader, must acknowledge the existence of leadership potential. It sounds simple, but many leaders do not want to admit that they are replaceable – that someone or more than one person would be capable of taking the reins once they’re gone. Don’t be that leader – seek out and recognize that the organization has talent. Acknowledge that the talent will one day be capable of taking over your vision and moving the organization forward. By making this acknowledgment, you’re telling your mid- and senior-level leaders that a path exists. And you’re telling new hires that the sky is the limit in your organization. (more…)

Creating a leadership bench takes the skill of a coach and the precision of an engineer. But there are five distinct steps you can take to build your leadership bench – and keep it moving.

First, and most obvious, you must create and maintain a leadership development program. This isn’t simply an order to the training department to create leadership courses. You must obtain buy-in from your management team by showing the benefits: the leadership bench, succession planning, talent management, and career pathing. Your program should begin with classroom training -at all levels, if possible. Everyone in your organization should know what your definition of a leader is – and how to get there. But as you move up the ranks, leadership development should be ongoing, challenging, and not necessarily a sure thing. The program should include real-time projects, seminars, assessment, and evaluation. Program participants who slip should be coached back up – or out. Once someone is in the leadership program, he or she should continue to improve in all aspects. (more…)

The sixth foundation of leadership is Persuasion and Influence. Let’s find out what each of these critical actions is – and then talk about why they are so important. Persuasion is a combination of actions that can help people agree to or at least see a new viewpoint. First, persuasion is about communicating ideas clearly. As a leader, you’ve probably got a big vision in mind for the organization, and most likely some smaller “milestone” visions, as well. It’s a hard leap from your mind to an articulated thought – and some leaders fail to make the leap. You’ve got to know your vision inside and out, but you’ve also got to express it in terms that are understood by the entire organization.

When it comes to communicating your ideas, you’ll soon learn when it’s time to talk – and when it’s time to listen. That doesn’t necessarily refer to one conversation or interaction – it could amount to months of listening and months of talking – or longer. The key is to use just the right amount of persistence to keep the idea going, to keep people thinking, and to keep the idea’s momentum going. David Ben-Gurion, the first prime minister of Israel, was known for discussing opposing points of view repeatedly until the people involved saw the other side of the story. He used just the right amount of persistence to get this done. When you’re communicating, talk benefits – not how you can help or what you can do. Paint a picture of what the other person, team, or organization will look like once they’ve accepted a new point of view. Don’t forget to base your benefits on fact. (more…)

Training materials can make a big impact on participant engagement, whether they are being used in the classroom or outside of it. Within the classroom, materials should leave a “mental mark” on the participant, that is, he or she should be able to recall important information the next time the materials are open. Outside of the classroom, training materials must serve as a real-time reference that may help participants on the job.

One of the most obvious types of training materials are user and classroom manuals. For a long time, we felt like classroom participants had to have something to hang on to while they were in class. But if your classroom training has evolved into a series of job experiences, you may not need manuals or user guides. On the other hand, if you are providing education on technical or operational processes, you may want participants to follow along in a manual – and take the manual with them when they leave. If this is the case, manuals should be self-explanatory and at least contain an index where participants can quickly reference material. (more…)

I was asked by my son, who is a recent graduate from Syracuse University, what is the message of my blogs.

I did not know how to initially answer him. Finally, the answer arrived.

My personal message is Optimism.

Optimism for individuals, families, communities, companies, the nation and for the people of the world.

All of my messages are optimistic but not an unrealistic assessment of the future is that we can develop a limited and sustainable vision of Leadership and Learning.

It seems that the economic news gets worse each day. Many organizations are faced with constant challenges ranging from job cuts to budget cuts to major changes in structure and delivery. Training and talent management can fall to the bottom of the list in these times, so maintaining the leadership pool you’ve built is extremely difficult. What can talent managers and training organizations do to challenge leaders, keep them motivated and focused, and to minimize the fear of losing their jobs?

One of the best things you can do to maintain the leadership pool in tough times is to use them above and beyond their current responsibilities. Staffs may be smaller, but the organization’s problems and issues will continue. To that end, keep a list of organizational issues that are “bubbled up” and turn them into special projects or assignments for the leadership pool. Leaders, especially those who have never been through an economic crisis, should be aware that their responsibilities may grow even if their positions and salaries do not. If the leadership pool is challenged with solving problems, especially with low or no budget, their training will continue. The bargaining chip for this type of project is that the organization benefits from high professional and high potential leaders working together to solve problems.

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Leadership is a concept that is sometimes identified only with large organizations, but don’t be fooled by this assumption. Leaders are present in every organization, at every level, and this includes small business. As a small business leader, you are probably more visible and more accessible than leaders in a large company or organization, so your skills are being watched and emulated more closely. Leadership tools and actions span quite a bit of distance, but here are five important leadership tools for the small business.

First, try “planning proactively”. In small business, it’s easy to become reactive. After all, the ups and downs of small business can be much more tumultuous and emotional since they come on quickly and affect a smaller population. But that it is no reason to avoid making plans and being proactive about problem solving. Be honest with yourself and your team about what issues could be ahead. With this, you should know the pitfalls of small business and be aware of how you can solve some of the problems you might encounter. Involve your team in problem solving at every opportunity. This will give them a “stake” in your business and the chance to participate in planning sessions. (more…)

It’s easy to get caught up in leadership skills and development. Plus, when things are going well, it’s even easier to ignore any measurements that tell you how effective the leadership really is in your organization. There are numerous ways to measure effectiveness, but all of these analytics occur in four broad categories. Let’s examine each category of leadership measurement.

The first category of leadership measurement is in the subjective realm. When subjective measurements are mentioned, people have the tendency to dismiss them. But can the subjective measurements of your organization tell you how effective the leadership is? Absolutely. First, and in general, you must take an honest look at the overall morale of the organization. Is it deflating or non-existent? Or is morale high, even in the face of new challenges and obstacles? Low morale is a good indicator that leadership is not effective. What about participation and attendance? For example, if you begin to offer “town hall” style meetings or “brown bag” lunch sessions, are you hard pressed to find anyone who is interested? If you have to beg people to communicate or improve, that’s another subjective measurement of leadership. Is innovation a part of every day life at your organization? What about continuous process improvement? Do people feel comfortable speaking out when they see inefficiency better ways to do things? If not, this is a definite sign that leadership needs to step up.

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Maintaining the leadership pool is a challenging task for an organization and its top leaders. There are a number of activities, as well as developmental exercises, that can be undertaken to grow leadership at every level within the organization. But how can organizational leaders measure leadership? And, more importantly, what analytics can be used to ensure that leadership talent is used efficiently and appropriately? Let’s look at some broad categories of leadership analytics.

First, behavioral profiling is an excellent analytical tool. There are two ways to approach behavioral analytics for leaders. First, you can identify behavioral characteristics of well-known leaders, either in the world at large or within the organization itself. These general characteristics can be used as a “yardstick” for leadership development and leadership measurement. There are many sources of popular leadership profiles, but how can you profile within the organization? Myers-Briggs type indicators are one example. A certified Myers-Briggs consultant can assess leaders, name their “types”, and help the organization build profiles, communication plans, and job-specific characteristics – and use these items as leadership analytics. (more…)