I believe the most vivid memory I have of someone in a leadership role answering cries for help was that of President George W. Bush at Ground Zero just days after 9/11. As he was addressing the crowd, someone yelled that they couldn't hear him and he responded, “I can hear you. I can hear...

If you think back to one of the first things I called your attention to in this process of addressing these profitability killers, one of the things we covered as we looked at how it all starts at the top - or at least the best returns can be captured when that’s the case - was the...

As we’ve worked through each of these individual profitability killers, my goal has been to provide you with some basic, practical steps you can take in applying specific behaviors that help you communicate with and lead your team members more effectively, making a measurable difference in...

Now that we’ve looked how much profitability is wasted when an organization spends money on the wrong training, or even training that isn’t absorbed or applied, let’s get serious about an approach we can take to make sure we’re providing the right training for our team...

Several years ago while working with a group of extremely skilled employees in a construction company, one of the most senior guys was grumbling about some of the new folks who had been hired. He was frustrated because they didn’t know everything he expected them to know right away and...

As I mentioned before, painting the picture of the tools you can provide a potential team member to grow within the organization once they come onboard can play a significant role in the recruiting process. Failing to make good on those promises though, sooner than later, will be a direct...

Since we now have a solid understanding of how a poor promotion can kill profitability, let’s dig into what we need to look for when considering existing team members for a leadership role we need to fill in our organizations. I’ve seen firsthand just how valuable an internal...

While some great team members have no interest whatsoever in climbing the company ladder, far more will jump at the chance whether it’s the right move for them or not! In some cases, their technical expertise and tenure give them an edge over every other candidate being considered....

Not so long ago in our Leading At The Next Level program, I put together a lesson called Don’t Confuse Quiet Quitting with a Lack of Leadership. Not only did I emphasize that the idea of “quiet quitting” was far from being something new, I did my best to step on as many toes as...

If we really want to avoid the costs that pile up when no one is held accountable and capture the profitability that’s so often killed as a result, the first step is realizing there’s even a problem… Before you tune me out here, I’m not inviting you to an AA meeting! When...

Let’s consider what Shannon Howard shared right off the bat in Holding People Accountable: Where Most Leaders Fail once more:

When accountability is lacking, performance, company culture, and morale suffer. When employees are not held accountable for missed deadlines, bad behavior, or poor...

Here’s what I can promise you; we can indeed eliminate the cost of confusion and avoid leaving a ton of profit on the table if we’re willing to provide the kind of clear expectations that produce results! I’m certainly not suggesting that this is easy but by following a few...