Archive for July, 2008
« Previous EntriesTeam Building & Equality
Thursday, July 31st, 2008By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth
In recent months I have observed a decent amount of politically correct discourse on the topic of team building and equality. The gist of the argument seems to be that for teams to be productive, employees have to feel “empowered” by having an equal voice. I can sum-up my feeling on this in one word…ridiculous. To be blunt, the concept of equality in the workplace has only made team building more difficult as employees seem to have a sense of undeserved entitlement with regard to their roles and responsibilities. And as odd as it may sound, one of the greatest impediments to building productive teams is practicing management by consensus. In today’s post I’ll share my thoughts on team building and equality…
Leveraging Customer Experience
Monday, July 28th, 2008By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth
You can either create great customer experiences and leverage their benefits, or you can watch poor customer experiences erode your brand and your profits. Today’s Myatt on Monday’s question was posed by a COO of a manufacturing company who asked: “What is the difference between CRM and CEM or is there any difference between the two?” In a previous post I addressed the practice of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) in fairly great detail. As most of you know I am a huge fan of well conceived CRM initiatives. That being said, I have rarely witnessed CRM implemented to its full potential. Most companies can claim an element of success in some aspect of CRM proficiency such as sales force automation, database marketing, development of a knowledgebase, etc., but the reality is that most companies absolutely miss the boat in harnessing the true power of CRM which is improving the customer experience. In today’s post I’ll address the area you should be focused on which is Customer Experience Management (CEM)…
Famous Failures
Friday, July 25th, 2008By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth
Famous Failures
The response to the Michael Jordan piece I posted earlier today was overwhelming. Most of the e-mails I received asked for more inspirational videos to be mixed-in amongst the more traditional posts. In that vein, I thought I’d offer the above video on famous failures as a follow-up piece for your weekend enjoyment.
Read The Full PostMichael Jordan and Failure
Friday, July 25th, 2008By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth
Michael Jordan “Failure” Nike Commercial
In a previous post entitled “Don’t Quit” I espoused the benefits of staying the course and not giving up. In today’s post I wanted to share a short video with you in support of the concept that it is acutally those who have the fortitude to work through failure that often have the most noteworthy success. While this video is just a Nike commercial it nonetheless proves that when you look behind the public face of success you will most often find quiet determination, persistence, and a refuse to lose attitude…
Read The Full PostTalent Statements Unmasked
Thursday, July 24th, 2008By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth
Those of you familiar with my work know how much I detest politically correct sound-bites. Even worse is when those sound-bites are used in an attempt to make statements which embolden a corporate position that doesn’t really even exist to begin with. Just because something is written in a vision or mission statement, placed on a website, included in company collateral material, or frequently espoused by corporate leadership as a competitive value proposition doesn’t necessarily mean its true. In today’s post I’ll examine one of the most frequent offenders; “Talent is our biggest asset.”
Dealing with Conflict
Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth
The issues surrounding conflict resolution can be best summed-up in three words…”Deal With It“. Conflict Resolution is a skill set necessary for survival in today’s business world. While you can try and avoid conflict (bad idea), you cannot escape conflict…The fact of the matter is that conflict in the workplace is unavoidable. It will find you whether you look for it (good idea) or not. The ability to recognize conflict, understand the nature of conflict and to be able to bring swift and fair resolution to conflict will serve you well as a senior executive or entrepreneur. In today’s blog post I’ll share my perspective on the art and science of conflict resolution.
6 Traits of Ineffective Leaders
Monday, July 21st, 2008By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth
Today’s Myatt on Monday’s question comes from a board member who asks: “Is there a simple test that can be used to quickly determine an executives leadership ability?” The short answer is yes…There are in fact a great number of tests that can quickly assess leadership ability. Something as simple as a 360 Review, or as complex as a deep psychological profile (both with weighted emphasis on leadership aptitude) can point out an individuals leadership capabilities. Our firm (as do many other firms) offers a broad array of skill specific assessments and profiles which can be implemented, but for purposes of answering today’s question I’ll give you six areas to peel back the layers on when evaluating potential leaders…
Success vs. Significance
Saturday, July 19th, 2008By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth
Success vs. Significance…some would say that any discussion along this topic line is nothing more than a semantical debate. However, it is my opinion that those who hold this view truly don’t understand the difference between the two, and are simply attempting to blur lines in order to feel better about themselves. I believe “success” can be a very dangerous thing in a vacuum…You see, success is in the eye of the beholder, whereas significance is a view of you that is held by others. Complicating matters further, I believe few successful people make the transition to significance, but every person of significance is successful. In today’s post I’ll attempt to clearly lay out the differences between success and significance, and where your sites should be set…
Young CEOs
Thursday, July 17th, 2008By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth
Young CEOs are becoming much more commonplace in today’s business world. It used to be that young CEOs were the exception and not the rule. However it is not at all uncommon to see 20 something and 30 something CEOs running very large and successful companies in today’s technology driven, global business environment. Regardless of how bright and talented these young CEOs may be, there are nevertheless certain challenges and obstacles they will face for the first time that more seasoned executives have encountered numerous times over the course of their careers. In today’s post I’ll share some thoughts on how to leverage the strengths of younger CEOs, while mitigating the inherent risks associated with inexperience…
Public vs. Private
Wednesday, July 16th, 2008By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth
Public vs. Private finance…The question is, which option is better, and why? Entrepreneurs, investors, and advisors have very strong opinions as to whether you’re better-off with private equity or an IPO when seeking to finance, sell, or otherwise seek investment capital for your company. In today’s post I’ll share some recently released information which may help you make the right decision…