I was holding the marker, standing at the whiteboard and waiting for someone to give me an idea to write down… but they didn’t. They were tapped out. My students had just come up with about 20 ideas and were fresh out of material at this point. Have you been there? When you’re at this …
Three Tools to Make Better Decisions
We make decisions all day long. Some are simple (froot loops or cheerios?) while others can be quite complex (quit my job or stay?) Some internet sources say it could be as many as 35,000 per day, which obviously includes all the simple decisions. How can we get better at making the tough decisions without …
How do you Influence Without Authority?
When I was young we used to find adventure on the new home sites at the end of our street. A big pile of dirt would quickly become a trophy centerpiece to do battle for the reigning title of “King of the Mountain.” If you’ve never played it before, every person tries their best to …
21 Inspiring Quotes for Leaders
I’ve always loved the wisdom found in a short statement. In keynote speaker terms, we call these “sticky statements.” If you’re speaking to an audience and you make a statement that causes everyone to write it down, you just gave them a sticky statement. As we’ve brought the first quarter of 2018 to a close …
“Dear Younger Me…” – 5 Things I wish I knew as a young Sales Professional
I was driving and listening to the radio (KLOVE) when a song by Mercy Me started. It gripped me from the opening line. “Dear younger me, where do I start?…”The song itself is powerful and it made a lasting impression on me because it made me think. I’m 30 years out of high school and …
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7 Secrets to Get Your Next Audience to Love You
I knew it wasn’t going to be your normal conference kickoff keynote when I entered the ballroom and found a bongo at every audience seat. I was in the audience that day with about 400 other attendees. We couldn’t help but pick up the bongo, inspect it and experiment with tapping on it. Then one …
Part 3 of 3: How to Turn Your Presence into LEADER Presence
“How is leader presence any different from normal presence?” My student asked this question immediately after I defined the two elements that make up a first impression; your perceived confidence and your approachability. My student persisted with a follow up question before I could even respond, “I mean, isn’t your presence just these two things, …
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Part 2 of 3: FIVE Ways to Develop Leadership Approachability
The conference call went silent for only a second while she was thinking. Then my boss said, “Russ can be there. Set up the meeting.” Well, it looks like I was about to book a flight to Boston from Houston. Without any thought to my personal schedule, my pregnant wife, or my 2-year-old son. I’m …
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