Another Version of the Circle of Life

When I first started consulting, I had mostly small clients. I came to my business with more than 10 good years of sales experience, but I was inexperienced as a consultant and tended to work with small companies that were generally uncomplicated and low-risk. One of...

Interview Anxiety

Through the years, I’ve interviewed hundreds of candidates who were vying for executive, sales or other positions with some of our clients. And I’ve had hundreds more people come to me for advice when they were looking for a job or just contemplating a career change....

Seasonal Situations

Tough times at work. They happen; that’s a given. And it’s absolutely crucial that you be prepared. Let’s consider, for a moment, a worst-case scenario. Maybe the contract with your company’s biggest customer is coming up for renewal, and everyone in the office is on...

Getting in Front of Buyers

I have a client who routinely reaches out to potential customers via phone calls and email. Smart man that he is, he’s trying to figure out how to do what he does better with a more targeted approach to getting in front of his buyers. As part of this effort, he...

Boss vs Leader

Whether you are 16 years old working your first job in a fast-food restaurant or a 30-year veteran at a Fortune 500 company, you probably report to someone. If you’re lucky, that someone is a leader—not a boss. There’s a huge difference. Being a boss can be easy What...

Time to Go

Deciding when to retire is tricky for most people. Even high-profile people with all kinds of folks giving them good advice don’t always get it right. I was talking to someone the other day, and we got on the subject of “athletes who should have retired sooner.” (You...

Paint by Numbers

We live in an instant-gratification society. Just about anything you could want—from cookware to cosmetics is just one click away—often with free two-day shipping! But this mindset is not entirely new. I remember a particular artistic shortcut from my youth called...

Perpetual Amateur

In college, I developed an interest in photography, and I bought a Nikkormat 35mm camera. At the time, it was Nikon’s lower-end product, but it still was nicer than a Polaroid or other instamatic camera. Back then, gaining “experience” with a 35mm camera was...

Wright’s Rule of 5

French writer Albert Camus once wrote: “Real generosity towards the future lies in giving all to the present.” That little bit of wisdom reminds me of a recent meeting with my friend Lloyd Wright. Lloyd is a former executive coaching client. I helped him with his...