Facing Challenges
Monday, October 27th, 2008By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth
As you travel the path toward success there will be many obstacles in your way. You will face physical, mental, financial, and resource challenges among others. Instead of beating yourself up or giving in, it is critical that you develop the ability to learn from setbacks. In today’s post I will take a brief look at the beliefs that cause some to succeed where most fail. In a nutshell, dealing with barriers, obstacles, and setbacks is much more about attitude than aptitude. So my question is this; Do you have the attitude to thrive under pressure and to succeed, or will you implode when faced with a challenge?
Timing Is Everything
Tuesday, October 7th, 2008By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth
If you don’t think timing is everything, think again. If you’ve learned anything as a result of the events of recent weeks, it should be that timing matters…We’ve all recently witnessed that it doesn’t really matter whether you’re a politician, investment banker, CEO, or just an average citizen, when it comes to making a simple decision, managing a crisis, or attempting to exploit an opportunity, timing is everything. I’ve often heard people quip that they would rather be lucky than smart. While intelligence and good fortune are certainly both valuable traits to possess, neither of these traits holds a candle to having a great sense of timing…Luck is a hit or miss proposition, and we’ve all known many a brilliant underachiever. However it has been my observation that you will rarely come across someone who possesses a great sense of timing that is anything other than successful. In today’s post I’ll take a look at timing as key success metric…
Accountability
Wednesday, September 24th, 2008By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth
While yesterday’s post addressed “Rogue CEOs & Board Accountability,” I felt that a follow-on piece further delving into the topic of accountability would be prudent given what the lack of accountability has done to our nation’s economy. The truth is that few people really likes to hear the “A” word applied to their individual circumstances, choices, decisions, and performance. Regrettably, this is precisely why we are embroiled with many of the daunting challenges facing our country today. Nothing keeps personal and corporate train wrecks from occurring more than a solid framework of accountability. In today’s post I’ll examine the many important benefits of accountability…
Top CEOs leverage Great Messaging
Monday, August 18th, 2008By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth
Top CEOs understand the power, influence, and leverage created by great messaging. Do you ever find yourself sitting back and marveling at those chief executives who always seem to have the right thing to say? Contrast this with the feelings you have when you hear an awful sound-bite that makes a CEO look either uninformed or unintelligent. The difference between the two aforementioned examples is that top CEOs have mastered the art of finding the right message regardless of the medium, market, or constituency being addressed. In today’s post I’ll share some of the messaging secrets used by the world’s top CEOs…
Gossip in the Workplace
Wednesday, June 11th, 2008By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth
Gossip in the Workplace…At first blush the topic of gossip may seem like a subject more worthy of coverage on the entertainment channel than a blog written for CEOs and entrepreneurs, but as much as I wish it wasn’t so, gossip is alive and well in the world of business. Anyone who has been in business for any length of time has likely been on the receiving end of gossip that didn’t feel so good. While the emotional distress associated with gossip can be dealt with fairly easily, the political discord that can erupt can be nothing short of disastrous for a business. In today’s post I’ll share my thoughts on how to control gossip in the workplace…
The No Spin Zone…
Wednesday, March 19th, 2008By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth
In the wake of some of the recent, and highly publicized business, financial, and political scandals which seem to dominate the media of late, I thought it might be an opportune time to revisit a post I authored some time ago about the value of truth. If you peel back the layers on most of the debacles that often transform themselves into highly sensationalized headlines, you’ll see that said problems often begin with rationalizations, justifications, posturing, and spin being substituted for the truth. I think sometimes we all need to revisit reality and examine why we do the things we do, and hopefully the text that follows will be of some use in this regard…
Read The Full PostLearning from Eliot Spitzer
Wednesday, March 12th, 2008By, Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth
The recent debacle surrounding New York Governor Eliot Spitzer has dominated the media headlines in the last few days. While I have long made it a point not to sit in judgment of others as it is very difficult to properly connect the dots from afar, it is my belief that there is something to be learned from any gross error in judgment. In today’s post I’ll attempt to stay away from personal accusations and will provide you with my thoughts about what can be learned from such a tragic and public mistake…
Read The Full PostCrisis Management Can Be Profitable
Tuesday, March 4th, 2008By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth
Crisis management can in fact be a profitable endeavour when handled properly. If you are in business for any length of time you will at some point in time be party (willing or unwilling) to a major crisis that can affect not only the company you work for, but your career as well. A large portion of my practice deals with advising corporations and executives during a crisis to protect the corporate brand and the personal reputations of senior executives and board members. Given that in today’s business world, the likelihood of crisis is much greater than it was in times past, it never ceases to amaze me that corporations don’t have a crisis management team assembled and on hand ready to deal with trouble when it rears its head. The reality is that the proper handling of a crisis while never easy, can in fact be a very profitable endeavour. In today’s post I’ll discuss the upside of crisis management…
Read The Full PostBoard Relations
Thursday, January 17th, 2008By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth
Over the years I’ve met more than a few CEOs who paid little or no attention to their board of directors, only to find themselves wondering what went wrong as they were being ushered out the door prior to the expiration of their employment agreement. As a CEO, your board can be one of your greatest allies. Conversely, and just as easily, they can be a significant contributor to your undoing resulting in an early and unnecessary demise. In today’s post I’ll deal with a skill set that all successful CEOs excel at…managing board relations.
Read The Full PostRisk Management Made Easy…
Wednesday, January 16th, 2008By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth
Accountability is the lowest cost, most practical, and most productive form of risk management and quality assurance that can be implemented across an enterprise. Put simply, accountability is really nothing more than a common sense understanding that decisions made within a framework are going to have a greater chance of success than those made in a vacuum. What type of checks and balances exist within your business environment? Who are you accountable to, and who is accountable to you? In today’s post we’ll examine not only the benefits of accountability, but also how to implement a framework for accountability within your business…
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