One of the greatest challenges in leadership is to correct mistakes with an effective corrective action plan and process. As a Level 5 Leader, the greatest challenge is walking the line of being helpful when we must be controlling in the situation. To be clear, I am talking about a major mistake outside of effective…
Category: Soft Skills
Nice to Beat You — Four Ways Workplace Competition Pays Off
Dale Carnegie once told a story demonstrating how powerful competition in the workplace can be. To incentivize workers in the Charles M. Schwab steel mill, Schwab wrote the quantity of steel that the day shift had produced on the floor. The night shift worked extra hard to top the day shift’s number and soon both teams were…
Three Paths to Innovation at Small Companies
Most people agree that an innovation strategy is critical to a company’s success, however many also say that it is easier said than executed. Of the one hundred largest companies in the U.S. a century ago, only seventeen survive today. The rate of new product innovation in consumer goods increases exponentially year over year. Surprisingly, 95…
The Top Five Reasons Employees Leave Organizations
The US is the most overworked developed nation in the world given1: In the U.S., 86% of males and two-thirds of females work more than 40 hours per week. 134 countries have laws setting the maximum length of the work week, while the U.S. does not. In every country included except Canada and Japan (and…
Conquer the Tyranny of the Urgent in Two Steps
We all share common challenges to maximizing our productivity level. First, there are only 24 hours in a day. Secondly, if we are actively applying Dale Carnegie’s Human Relations principles, we have more professional and personal relationships than ever before, but less time to foster them. Charles E. Hummel published a groundbreaking essay on this…
Three Ways to Tap Into Your Creativity
Today’s workplaces appear much different than those of just a few years ago—all in an effort to foster creativity, collaboration, innovation and teambuilding. Former cubicle farms have been transformed into open collaborative work spaces. Neutral decor hues have been replaced with bright colors that pop. Vacant seats are common due to flexible working schedules. Incandescent and punchy pendant lighting…
Time Out!
We all have blind spots. The problem is we don’t perceive them. We don’t see them even when they are in plain sight of others. I was dealing with a manager this week who was so frustrated because one of his leaders could not see something that was obvious. So obvious, in fact, he should…
Five Steps to Delegate Effectively
The ability to delegate effectively is paramount to a leader’s success. Although many people assume delegating to others ultimately wastes time, it is necessary for employees to grow in their roles. Others fear losing control of a project, however this will not occur when delegating correctly. Here are five steps to delegate effectively. Determine what…
Time Out!
Our world is changing and a new generation has arrived in the workforce: Millennials. They represent our future and want to be led not managed. They want to be valued and given a sense of purpose — a sense that they are truly making a difference. They do not want to wait to make a…
Time Out!
Dale Carnegie Training will soon be releasing research stating that 2016 will be the year of Experience Innovation in the workplace and marketplace. This is exciting to me because it will invigorate leaders who are willing and committed to be focused on others rather than themselves by focusing first on their customers and prospects and…