Asking your stakeholders the right questions is central to successful project management
Understanding the expectations of project stakeholders is absolutely critical to successful stakeholder management. Do you know what your stakeholders expect? If not, your project may already be heading down the wrong path. In order to pinpoint stakeholder expectations, it’s important …
In the smartphone era, civility is a vital skill to model and learn
Trend-watching is a good way to spot issues that your organization may be facing in the future. A popular topic lately is the erosion of civility, and the accompanying uptick in rudeness, in our society today. New research about the …
Successful consultants are client-focused
The word “consultant” encompasses more professions than many people realize. If you work toward changing or improving a business situation—without having direct decision power over that situation—you’re consulting. “Consultant” might be in your job description, or it might not. Business …
October 3, 2017 |
Interviews
There are techniques to storytelling, and businesspeople can learn them
Everyone loves a great story. Stories help us to connect with others more effectively, whether one-on-one or in a group. This is as true in the business context as anywhere else. But what, precisely, makes for a great story, and …
June 6, 2017 |
Interviews
According to Fisher, sales has changed, and we need to keep up
The internet has fundamentally changed the role of today’s salesperson, and this is a reality that can’t be ignored. In a world where consumers can purchase anything from diapers to high-end jewelry with a simple click of the mouse, the contemporary salesperson must …
Leadership, business, and the need for trust
A leader seeking success needs to be trusted. In study after study, research on leadership lists trust as a top trait, and studies have shown that when trust in a leader increases, productivity goes up and costs go down. As …
Begin by thinking creatively about the problem
When you’re faced with a problem in day-to-day business life, what is your strategy for getting it resolved? All too often, business professionals make problems more difficult by jumping to conclusions and implementing “solutions” before the problem is fully understood. …
March 22, 2017 |
Knowledge
Assess the situation to see if negotiating makes sense
We negotiate all the time. Any time you want something that another person has, or that person wants something that you have, you’re in a potential negotiation. Should you negotiate? That depends. You’ll want to size up the situation and …
March 3, 2017 |
Interviews
An interview with bestselling author Warren Berger about questions and the importance of Question Week
Are we asking the right questions? Can asking better questions spark innovation and creativity? How can asking better questions help us in our personal and business lives? Exploring the power of inquiry is the focus of Warren Berger’s 2014 bestselling …
Build value with your customers by understanding their business concerns
What keeps your customer up at night? What is he or she most worried about? One of the best ways to build value with your customers is through a deep understanding of their business concerns. Too often, salespeople lead with …
February 15, 2017 |
Knowledge
These simple, effective techniques will improve your listening skills in no time
One of the most important skills in communication — and in business — is the ability to listen. Listening is critical because, after all, if you can’t listen, how can you respond in any meaningful way? Listening involves not just …
December 6, 2016 |
Resources
It’s a challenge to measure ad effectiveness of online ads. In this podcast, researchers from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University talk about how hard it is to really measure whether a digital ad is effective, and discuss …