Share The VP of Sales is the most fired position in corporate America today. The reason is simple. Their forecast number is tattooed on their foreheads for everyone to see. Make it and the Sales VP is a hero for a day. Miss it and well…. But consider this. Before any sale goes up on […]
Read MoreShareThe first thing to die on the battlefield is the battle plan. The same thing applies to strategic plans. A big problem with strategic plans is that they often assume a static view of the world or the competitive landscape. For example, assuming that if you reduce your price, competition will just let you take […]
Read MoreChallenging your team requires that you do things smarter and not just harder. There are some goals where working smarter is difficult.
One common case of the “false challenge” can occur in sales forecasting. It stems from the belief that sales people are lazy and will sandbag their numbers. So management might add 20% to their numbers regardless of history or latitude.
Doing great things doesn’t come naturally. It requires an internal drive and often it also requires some external demand.
Several years ago I had the privilege of watching a senior executive challenge a small team intent on developing a new business.
In case you missed it, Microsoft recently changed their corporate logo. I thought I would wait until the excitement died down before commenting. You can almost always tell a company is in trouble when they change their logo.
Read MoreI once owned a partnership in the Sheila Yeates; a gaff-rigged topsail ketch. She was a beautiful ship, 48 feet on the water line and 65 feet overall, built in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, and launched in 1976. The Sheila Yeats sank in the north Atlantic in 1989.
Read MoreHave you ever wondered why the typical response to a fast changing business environment is often to implement more planning, processes, and measurements, as well as re-organize the structure of the company? It’s the illusion of control.
Read MoreI was talking with the COO of a small professional services firm the other day that had experienced 100% growth over the last year. When I asked him how he managed that spectacular growth, he said he’d hired thirty-one people during the year. He might have interviewed three or four times that many.
Read MoreSo, if you don’t make New Year’s resolutions, here is a list of items from my posts during the year that might make good subjects for reflection.
Read MoreGroup dynamics in meetings and decisions are influenced by the social pressures of the group. You’ve heard the cynical old expression that the best decision of a committee is worse than the best decision of any one individual in the meeting. Here are some signs that you may have a problem and what you can do about them.
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