Category: Career

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Why Do Sales Relationships Go Bad?

A good relationship with a vendor sales representative can be transformational. You can save your company money and they can grow their business.

But there are times when people don’t click or someone is having a bad day and good thing can go wrong.

What can be done to salvage the relationship and when is it time to walk away?

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How Do Teams Become Dysfunctional?

Poor communication, no training, and lack of resources can lead to teams becoming less productive. But those issues could be a part of more dysfunctional problems like a fundamental lack of trust within the organization.

This video leverages Patrick Lencioni’s “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” to highlight areas where things can go very badly.

I then use examples from Jim Collins’ book “Great By Choice” to build a team back up by allowing them to be creative and try new ideas.

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Developing Managers and Leaders

I spent the last two months reading articles, finding videos, and reading books about leadership development. I was surprised with what I found.

45% of managers report they did not receive formal training to manage people or develop strategy.

How can we have so many people striving to advance, yet we don’t have a good system to ensure we are developing good managers and leaders?

This video covers development strategies mixed with my own personal experiences and thoughts.

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How long you should wait to respond to manager’s email?

I have been having conversations with friends and co-workers about the appropriate amount of time to respond to a manager’s email.

Some people say a week, others say 24-48 hours, and some say within a few hours. The urgency factor also comes into play as not all requests are created equal.

This video is about level-setting my own expectations and coming to terms with my management style. Do I have reasonable timelines or not?

I did some google research and even asked ChatGPT.

Watch the video and let me know your thoughts on what is a reasonable response window.

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Being Nice vs. Professional

Providing employees and coworkers with feedback can be difficult to balance.

You don’t want to discourage people, but you also want them to improve and grow.

I have been struggling with giving feedback the last year and have been researching radical candor techniques. I share some of those tools and concepts in this video.

Six Steps of Radical Candor:
Radical Candor is a leadership principle that involves being direct, honest, and respectful with your feedback to others. Here are some ways you can apply Radical Candor feedback:

  1. Be direct and clear: Communicate your expectations clearly and give specific feedback on what they’re doing well and where they need to improve.
  2. Show you care personally: Show that you care about the people you work with as individuals, not just as employees. Take an interest in their lives and well-being.
  3. Encourage open communication: Create an environment where people feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and ideas, and actively listen to what they have to say.
  4. Provide regular feedback: Provide regular, timely feedback, both positive and negative. This will help people understand how they’re doing and where they need to improve.
  5. Lead by example: Practice what you preach. Model the behavior you expect from others and be open and transparent in your own communication.
  6. Be respectful: Always communicate with respect, regardless of the situation or the person. Avoid personal attacks or criticism and focus on the behavior or action that needs improvement.