Don’t Plan It. Create It.

Don’t Plan It. Create It.

I have a troubled relationship with planning. I see it as teetering on a scale between dubious advisability and abject futility. Nevertheless, I do recognize the need for it, even if the plan is nothing more than a map on which to plot course corrections. Nothing...
Thought Leadership Thoughts

Thought Leadership Thoughts

Thinking is hard work, which is why so few people do it. (Henry Ford) I saw a profile on LinkedIn the other day describing the person who posted it as a thought and people leader. I’m certain the gentleman who posted it is many things, most of which are likely...
It’s Not What You Think

It’s Not What You Think

Don’t be hasty. We know what it looks like. We do. Really. It looks like we’re on the couch, huh? If we were you, we’d think so, too. We would. But we know you’ve told us a million times to stay off the couch. So, why would you think we’d...
Can We Talk?

Can We Talk?

I recently listened as an experienced salesman, employed by a software and professional-services company, bemoaned the fact that his prospects don’t seem to answer the phone anymore. He wondered if the phone had outlived its usefulness, if Alexander Graham Bell...
Be Bold

Be Bold

Perhaps the only thing more difficult for a company to derive than its elevator pitch is a list — even a short list — of its principal differentiators. In October of this year, The Chautauqua Center for Meaningful Distinction surveyed 647 of the companies in the...