Leadership

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The Gift of Feedback

The Gift of Feedback

I recently spoke to YPO Guatemala, in Guatemala City, which was a great experience. I shared with them a three hour interactive workshop on leadership succession planning. What made it a great experience was their willingness to participate fully in the discussion and group exercises as well as their warm generosity in the way that they hosted me while in Guatemala.

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7 Signs You May be a Bad Boss

7 Signs You May be a Bad Boss

Nobody likes to think of themselves as a bad boss. But in my travels through the leadership keynote speaker world, I’ve met so many current and aspiring leaders. And whether they’re newly minted managers or seasoned C-suite types, regardless of their leadership tenure, it’s quite common for people to have a few blind spots around their own leadership styles.

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The Value of Retaining Talent in a Competitive Market

The Value of Retaining Talent in a Competitive Market

As a family business owner, you may be feeling pressure to reduce staff, but the old adage that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush is particularly apt when it comes to your employees. Despite the concerns about inflation and the push for layoffs, the companies that keep staff on the payroll will have a distinct advantage.

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How to Stand Out as a Leader in Succession Planning

How to Stand Out as a Leader in Succession Planning

Within the next 10 years Boomers will have all but handed over the reins of corporate leadership to succeeding generations. Whether you’re running a family business or joining the ranks of a public enterprise, more than 75% of the workforce will be Millennials. This is likely the biggest leadership handover the corporate world has seen to date, and companies large and small are wisely making preparations. I’ve been working with my clients to create unique strategies that work within the realms of their family businesses – here are six strategies on how to stand out as a leader.

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Leadership During Crisis: 7 Qualities That Make a Survivor

Leadership During Crisis: 7 Qualities That Make a Survivor

There’s nothing like a legitimate crisis for teaching business leaders what they’re really made of. As someone whose early days in the family business were defined by crisis leadership, I could not agree more.
But I didn’t do it alone. The leadership during adversity in question was delivered by my mentor, business turnaround specialist Frank

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Rise of the Virtual Boss: 5 Tips for Effective Remote Leadership

Rise of the Virtual Boss: 5 Tips for Effective Remote Leadership

During the past couple of years, we have had to become comfortable working from home—while also trying to balance family life, and possibly looking after someone who has been sick or has become more vulnerable. This is quite a change for many who were used to their daily commute into the office, where they had a clear distinction between home and work life as a virtual boss.

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Positive Leadership: Three Common Scenarios  + How They Boost Employee Retention

Positive Leadership: Three Common Scenarios + How They Boost Employee Retention

We’re all navigating a whole new world after the last two years of COVID-related business stresses. Many employees are learning to balance remote work and family demands, and of course many leaders are grappling with a workforce they only see on a screen. It’s hard all around. But I’ve learned over years of leading a family business and becoming a successful leadership keynote speaker, that your actions in times of crisis will come to define you as a leader.

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10 Tips for Surviving in a Business Turnaround

10 Tips for Surviving in a Business Turnaround

Although it certainly didn’t feel like it at the time, I was incredibly lucky to take the reins of the family business at the tender age of 28, which enabled me to realize very quickly that I needed guidance from experienced outside sources. Because of that guidance, I was able to not only witness how to execute a successful business turnaround…but learn valuable lessons at every turn.

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7 Signs You’re a Bad Boss

7 Signs You’re a Bad Boss

Nobody likes to think of themselves as a bad boss, but in my travels through the leadership keynote speaker world, I’ve met many current and aspiring leaders. And, whether they’re newly minted managers or seasoned C-suite types, it’s quite common for people to have a few blind spots around their own leadership styles. Here are some tips to help get you back on track.

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Train vs. Hire: How to Find the Best Business Talent

Train vs. Hire: How to Find the Best Business Talent

The question of hiring best practices naturally comes up as I navigate the leadership keynote speaker circuit, and the age-old debate of “train vs. hire” is often at the heart of the discussion. Of course, there are pros and cons to either side, and here’s what worked—and what didn’t—for my business. I hope it helps you get your growing team on track!

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Virtual Boss: 5 Tips for Effective Remote Leadership

Virtual Boss: 5 Tips for Effective Remote Leadership

During the past year, we have had to become comfortable working from home—while also trying to balance family life, care-taking, etc. While the recent pandemic has forced the issue for many, I have actually been working remotely with my team in the UK since 2010, when my family moved to Colorado. During that time, I’ve found that a hybrid model—partly in the office, party at home—truly does deliver the best of both worlds!

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Knowledge Transfer Basics: 5 Tips to Avoid the Brain Drain

Knowledge Transfer Basics: 5 Tips to Avoid the Brain Drain

It’s a great time to be a succession planning keynote speaker—the working world has never needed our guidance more than it does now! But with more than 80 million baby boomers planning to retire before 2030, we’re about to face what might be the biggest knowledge gap in history.

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The 1 Simple Thing Successful Business Leaders Have In Common

The 1 Simple Thing Successful Business Leaders Have In Common

Many of the people I meet on my  succession planning retreats share a common complaint: strategy takes work! It can be incredibly difficult to tear oneself away from the day-to-day management of the business to focus time and resources on what feels like a theoretical future.

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The Ai Revolution in Hiring

The Ai Revolution in Hiring

I have come across an assessment tool that could be a game changer when looking to promote or hire new talent into a key role in your organization. It is called pymetrics, and is an Ai based assessment tool which helps you find the best fit for any particular role. It was developed by Frida Polli PhD; an academic neuroscientist from Harvard and MIT turned entrepreneur.

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6 Leadership Assessment Tools to Try in 2021

6 Leadership Assessment Tools to Try in 2021

I have always been serious about improving my leadership skills and investing in professional development. This goes back 25 years to when I was a young leader in my family business, and was responsible for leading a team of people who were older and more experienced than myself. Today, as a leadership and succession planning keynote speaker, I help my clients develop these qualities.

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5 Ways Leaders Undermine their Teams’ Success

5 Ways Leaders Undermine their Teams’ Success

It may sound counter-intuitive, but one of the reasons I’ve been so successful as a business turnaround speaker is that I’ve experienced nearly ALL of my clients’ challenges first-hand. There are countless situations in which we can unknowingly stand in our own way—here are five scenarios I see most often in my work, and how to get around them.

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The 3 Surprising Things Your Employees REALLY Want from You

The 3 Surprising Things Your Employees REALLY Want from You

As the United States approaches a potential recession, business owners are preparing to be tested in a variety of ways. But while “making payroll” and “redundancy meetings” may understandably be top of mind, the way you lead during trying times can actually have a...

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