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Fear, Failure, Risk and Success
Because risk management as it applies to executive decisioning is a subject that is not adequately addressed in the educational world, it is often left to lessons of experience. As such, learning how to recognize, understand, quantify, and manage risk is one of those lessons that often comes at a very high price. While each individual has a different tolerance for risk, it is how a person chooses…
Understanding Your Customers
Many businesses find that understanding their customer base is often easier said than done, which is why I've written often on the importance of maintaining an external focus with an emphasis on customer centricity. Let me put this as simply as I can...If you want to succeed in business, you must be in touch with the demands of the marketplace. While many businesses think they understand their…
Leadership vs. Management
As a person who makes their living in the field of leadership, I can tell you without any doubt that "Leadership" is different than "Management." While there seems to be a never-ending stream of politically correct pontificating in corporate circles about the differences between managers and leaders, most of it misses the mark. Leaders and managers play different roles and have different…
Family Business
Family Business...a quote from Charles Dickens sums up my feelings about family businesses: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." Oh what a conundrum...Family business; should I, or shouldn't I? Today's Myatt on Monday's question comes from an entrepreneur who asks: "Should I involve family members in my business venture?" In my opinion there really isn't a right or wrong answer…
Top Leadership Movies
Top leadership movies...you may be thinking "can anything about leadership actually be learned by watching movies?" You bet. I was recently asked for my opinion about which movies I felt were the top leadership movies of all time. After thinking about my answer for a few minutes, I realized that while not all leaders are fans of cinema, all leaders can certainly learn valuable leadership lessons…
Common Website Mistakes
For years now I have consistently received inquiries from CEOs who wonder why their web initiatives are falling short of reaching their objectives. Because most of these inquiries come from executives suffering from web maladies of a similar nature, I decided to put forth a list of what I consider to be the 20 most common website mistakes hindering success on the Internet. The sad part about the…
Trust and CEOs
If you're a CEO, are you trusted? If you're not the CEO, do you trust your chief executive? Steve Rubel, the Director of Insights for Edelman Digital, and one of my favorite bloggers (Micro Persuasion blog) was recently quoted as saying "People have not trusted CEOs for years, and especially not for the last 12 months." I normally tend to agree with Steve, and regrettably, I must admit that he…
Who is Brian Deese?
Do you know who Brian Deese is? I didn't have a clue until Monday when I read a very disconcerting New York Times article entitled: "The 31-Year-Old in Charge of Dismantling GM." Well, Brian Deese is in fact the 31-year old staffer for President Obama referenced in the aforementioned article, and who also happens to be the primary influencer/driver behind the policy decisions now guiding GM. This…
Workforce Reduction…
Workforce reduction is not an operating strategy...Regrettably, tough economic times are often the precursor for ushering in massive rounds of corporate downsizing, rightsizing, layoffs, corporate restructurings, and the like. Reducing headcount in an economic downturn is almost a Pavlovian response for many executives. It's as if workforce reduction is priority number one in some corporate…
The Truth About PR
Much to the chagrin of traditional PR firms, the practice of public relations is changing faster than most firms can keep pace with. If the image to the left even remotely resembles how you feel when you interact with your PR firm, then it's time to rethink things...Traditional firms who define their practice by writing press releases and conducting media pitches are seeing clients jump ship…
Are You A Thought Leader?
Thought Leadership…What is a thought leader, and what does thought leadership mean in today’s business world? As much as some people wish it wasn’t so, a thought leader is not someone who simply restates someone else’s views and positions. Furthermore, beyond uniqueness of thought, a true thought leader’s positions also challenge established norms and conventions. Moreover, the true litmus test…
Robert Gates on Leadership
Robert Gates is the 22nd US Secretary of Defense. He has served 8 US Presidents, was an officer in the US Air Force, his history with the CIA ranged from an intelligence operator to the Director of the Agency, and he even served as a college president along the way. Regardless of your opinion of Mr. Gates, there is no dispute that he has spent the majority of his life in leadership positions and…
Ego and the Art of the Deal
While the art of closing a deal requires great skill, it takes almost no effort whatsoever to blow-up a transaction. One of the fastest ways to watch a deal vaporize right before your eyes is to let your ego write checks that your skill can't cash. If you want to close the deal, be sure and check your ego at the door. Over the years I have watched over-inflated egos kill more deals than virtually…
CEO Profile: Brad Smith, Intuit
Brad Smith is the President and CEO of Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU). Intuit is a leading provider of financial management, tax, and online banking solutions with more than $3 billion in annual revenue, and more than 8,000 employees. While Brad is well known for his strong commitment to innovation, and is worthy of praise for his leadership and stellar performance alone (Intuit has consistently produced…
Influence and Personal Branding
I'm often asked how to tangibly measure personal brand equity and my answer is quite simple...The value of a personal brand is directly proportionate to its ability to create and wield influence. When it comes to the subject of personal branding much has been written about authenticity, transparency, marketability, thought leadership, etc., but it is the ability to leverage the sum of these…
Personal Branding Simplified
Great personal brands are simple, understandable, and straight forward in their brand promise. If you want to create a strong personal brand do yourself a favor and avoid the hype and rhetoric being espoused by the masses of overnight personal branding experts who have suddenly flooded the marketplace. Most so-called personal branding gurus are more akin to modern snake-oil salesmen than they are…