Go Ask
When in trouble, ask for help. In your corner, Mike PS: Seriously. Go ask. The small amount of vulnerability needed to ask for …
ask
We Only Ever Learn The Hard Way
Words, teachers, books, and classes don’t teach, really. They are only aides. We can only learn through our own experience. That’s why, as leaders, telling …
Our Best Start
In an interview, in a sale, when working with colleagues, or when leading others, we best start by understanding what our counterparts need, want, and desire. Then …
When We Can and Can’t Tell People What To Do
There are only two times when we get to tell people what to do: in a true emergency or when they are not yet competent …
Ask, Don’t Tell
Tell me the answers, what I should do, what’s right, and you may get my grudging compliance. You certainly will be training me to distrust …
Don’t Bother Making Your Case
The best way to make our case is, oddly, not to make our case. In leading, selling, and influencing, our first temptation is often to …
Go Ahead and Ask
“What is that?” “How does that work?” “Why is that important?” All important questions that we tend not to ask. Given the way we all …
We Don’t Need to Know Everything
Contrary to common wisdom, we as leaders do not need to know everything or even most things. Others can and should be the ones who …
Our First Reaction May Be Wrong
We may be reacting incorrectly when we want to move others. In our desire to lead, sell, or influence, our knee-jerk reaction usually is to tell, impress, explain, or …
Good Leaders Expose Rather Than Impose
Here is the fundamental conflict in leadership. People universally resist being told what to do. We, as leaders (with or without titles), feel we are …