Communication

Today was the first full day of “Communication,” a weeklong blog series co-hosted by SmartBrief’s SmartBlog on Leadership and the folks at Switch & Shift. Keep...

Credit: Ahodges7 (Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license) Mike Krzyzewski (pronounced “sha-SHEF-ski”) is amazing. As Coach K prepares to lead the Duke men’s...

Many companies and individuals have a hard time saying, “I’m sorry,” when they screw up, even unintentionally. They seek to ignore, deflect or reject...

Do your employees secretly hate the communication techniques you’re currently using? According to a study by Root, Inc., more than half of employees surveyed...

“I was discussing the use of email and how impersonal it can be; how people will now email someone across the room rather than...

The most successful CEOs possess a wide range of skills — some are innate, others are learned. Two critical skills that can be learned...

This post is part of the series “Communication,” a weeklong effort co-hosted by SmartBrief’s SmartBlog on Leadership and the folks at Switch & Shift. Keep track...

About 10 years ago, we sat through an entire presentation on an arcane software protocol called “OFX.” Befuddling. We had no clue what the...

All of us love a good story. So my advice to leaders is to make good use of them. Good stories can do three...

You prepare. Practice. Revise. Prepare some more. Practice again. You have a solid presentation ready to go. And yet somehow, it all falls flat...

Having established that negotiating skills are paramount for women to attract venture capital in order to lead high growth companies, two questions remain –...

This post is part of the series “Communication,” a weeklong effort co-hosted by SmartBrief’s SmartBlog on Leadership and the folks at Switch & Shift. Keep track...

Would an executive at your company set up shop in the middle of the IT help desk, hang a gutted fish over his desk...

This post is an excerpt from”Gender Intelligence,” by Barbara Annis and Keith Merron (HarperBusiness, May 2014). Buy the book at Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble,...

#455310525 / gettyimages.com As a leader, you have certainly been the recipient of some unwelcome feedback. The comments may have focused in on your...

I was having a cup of coffee with a former work colleague who lamented over what happened at a meeting with his employer when...

This post is part of the series “Communication,” a weeklong effort co-hosted by SmartBrief’s SmartBlog on Leadership and the folks at Switch & Shift. Keep track...

信贷:iStockphoto I’ve known many leaders who talk too much. They can suck the life out of a room by commandeering it and shutting...

Smart leaders are developing a competitive advantage by creating a sense of connection and community among employees and customers. In the fitness world, SoulCycle...

A nervous group walks into the conference group. They are still trying to shake off the holiday haze, but are totally alert and loaded...

The space shuttle Challenger in 1983. (Wikipedia/NASA) The hours ticked down to launch time, and Roger Boisjoly had the weight of the world on...

This post is part of the series “Communication,” a weeklong effort co-hosted by SmartBrief’s SmartBlog on Leadership and the folks at Switch & Shift. Keep track...

John Wooden in 2006 (Wikipedia/Rep. Brad Sherman’s office) Most people know the legendary basketball coach John Wooden for the 10 college basketball national titles...

Want to be a better leader? Try improving your vocabulary. No, I’m not talking adding the latest management and leadership buzzwords or jargon to...

A 49-year-old father of two hits his alarm clock at 6:30 a.m., starts a pot of coffee and prepares for his daily commute. For...

This post is part of the series “Communication,” a weeklong effort co-hosted by SmartBrief’s SmartBlog on Leadership and the folks at Switch & Shift. Keep track...

How can owners and managers improve the strategic quality of sales and logistics conversations?

The late Maya Angelou once said. “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will...

See part 1 here. Many people owe their careers to their ability to make small talk with senior people in their companies. When you...

Many budget processes look like this: They happen once a year and go out a year ahead. Managers and departments have every incentive to...

This post is part of the series “Communication,” a weeklong effort co-hosted by SmartBrief’s SmartBlog on Leadership and the folks at Switch & Shift. Keep track...

Picture it – an empty stage. An audience leans forward in anticipation. Lights come on. The speaker steps out, and, for the next hour,...

所以你决定你的生意in a new, more exciting and more profitable direction. At least, that’s how you see it. Unfortunately,...

As the saying goes, “Timing is everything.” Someone at Microsoft should tell the big boss. It seems to me that Satya Nadella, the new...

During my years as a consultant, I have often had people say to me, “I wish my leader knew …” to which I would...

This post is part of the series “Communication,” a weeklong effort co-hosted by SmartBrief’s SmartBlog on Leadership and the folks at Switch & Shift. Keep track...

Like all of you, I’ve had experiences where I had unwittingly offended or hurt someone. I have blind spots (these behaviors can cause problems...

My family has been a Sprint wireless customer for more than 10 years. We’re happy now, but in 2007, we almost fired Sprint because...

#108359383 / gettyimages.com In our leadership development training, we like to start out by asking people to list as many characteristics about their former...

There is one advantage that quiet people have over those of us who like to hear the sounds of our own voices. They are...

“What helps people, helps business.” —Leo Burnett Last week, I got a much-needed haircut. I went to see Rodger, who has been cutting my...