Recently, I had the pleasure of attending a meeting where the speaker was Commander Kirk Lippold, USN (Ret.).   Commander Lippold was the Commanding Officer of the USS Cole that came under a suicide terrorist attack by alQaeda in 2000.  The bravery and quick thinking of Commander Lippold and his crew saved the American war ship from sinking as well as prevented further loss of life.

Commander Lippold lists his “Five Pillars of Leadership”.  They are: Continue reading ‘What is Leadership Excellence?’ »

This the sixth part of the twelve part series on learning how to Breakthrough to the Next Level.

T in Breakthrough equals Trust

The T was a hard selection of terms due to several words that are meaningful for every breakthrough in your life. The first word that came to mind was Time as in Time Management. You must be prepared to manage your time effectively and efficiently to master any change in life. I also considered the word Thinking. Thinking is one of the traits that more people should engage in for improving their lifestyles and executing performance through life obstacles. Yet, the final decision was Trust. Here is the reasons for this choice… Continue reading ‘T in Breakthrough equals Trust’ »

As most of you know, our corporate slogan is…

Getting You to the Next Level.

Yet, while we are in our 22nd year of doing this, the current economic environment has had a major impact upon our business, our clients business and upon the lives of the great people we have worked with during the years. So, this weekend I was thinking about all the factors involved in the demise of the economy and its impact upon our friends and associates – I realized it is time to breakthrough to the Next Level. Continue reading ‘Time to BREAKTHROUGH to the Next Level’ »

The third element of the C’s of Success Series is Confidence.

Confidence is a term that is used a great deal and yet seems to be misunderstood when it comes to execution at both the personal and organizational levels. Let’s take a look at this key term and see what it means to us.

What is Confidence? Continue reading ‘Success and Confidence’ »

Whether you are in sales, managing a project or leading a group of people, there are three reasons why people don’t buy what you’re selling or offering. When you look at these reasons, it is obvious and simple regarding what it will take to get them to buy from you.

Okay, let’s look at the three reasons people don’t buy what you’re selling or offering:

1. They Don’t Want it – They simply don’t want what you have to offer at that moment in time. It’s not personal, they are just not buying in because it is not important to them.
2. They Don’t Have the Money or Investment in Time and Effort – They simply can’t afford to invest in your offering – be it a sale or a project. In many cases, it is the lack of available time to devote to entering a new project or direction.
3. They Don’t Believe You – Now this is the tough one. When people don’t believe you, it shows a total lack of trust. This is the toughest issue to deal with since it feels personal rather than an objective feeling or truth.

So how do you deal with the three reasons listed above? Let’s take each one in more detail: Continue reading ‘Three Reasons They Don’t Buy or Buy-In’ »

Leaders to be effective as leaders must show confidence in their people. This is a wide ranging factor having a direct relationship to success. These leaders show and share their confidence. They show their confidence in their abilities and decisions. And they share and show their confidence in their people.

So how does a leader share and show confidence in their people? First, there is a mental law called the Law of Expectations. This law states that whatever is expected will be delivered. While this is a difficult thing for some people to get their minds around, it happens everyday in real life situations. Unfortunately, this law works two ways – positive or negative. It is important to focus upon the results we want by using positive thoughts supported by a strong belief, then the desired result will happen.

A positive thought supported by a weak or conflicting belief will hinder the people involved in gaining a positive result. The lack of a belief is the same as having a negative belief and must be watched in both our talk and thoughts.

True confidence is shown as support and TRUST in our people. A true leader will show this confidence to their team on a regular and consistent basis. One method used is to tell individuals – “I believe in You.” This simple statement goes to the heart of the individual and usually drives a desire to perform well.

Another method to use is to ask others about their opinions and thoughts on issues that are important and then listen to their response, asking questions for clarity and thanking them for sharing. Again, this simple action shows trust in the person or group. Trust goes a long way to gaining confidence and delivering in their personal performance.

Show your confidence and support your teams using trust and confidence in their performance to get excellent results. If you need coaching or support in personal leadership you can contact us at 901-757-4434.