SuccessfulWorkplace

When I’m not traveling, I try to start my days by hanging with my family in the kitchen. That’s where all the action is in the mornings. And when it becomes too hectic in there, I typically retreat to my den with my computer and get on email. My wife, Tia, has the routine totally […]

I’m at sales leadership seminar in San Francisco with teams from Salesforce.com, Oracle and other leading Bay Area high tech firms. We are learning to hone our skills using a high tech communication tool that’s recently become the darling of researchers, marketers and startups seeking VC. Not only does this tool enhance recall by over […]

In 2008, I founded Storyleaders to create a more relevant, more effective way to help salespeople. Along the way, I’ve discovered some things I never would have imagined. Yesterday, I had a sales call with a VP sales. I’d never met Adam before; he was a referral. I guess he knew a little about Storyleaders, […]

I, like many others, watched Oprah Winfrey interview Lance Armstrong last night. I won’t go into whether I feel his is good or bad, what he did was right or wrong, justified or abhorrent. That is for the sport of cycling, Lance, and all those intimately involved to decide among themselves. Although, I have a feeling we’ll […]

Last week, the New York Times broke new ground on the Internet without a great deal of fanfare. Snow Fall: The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek came out as a serial novel, a pattern from the days of Dickens and Hugo. This was no simple story of tragedy or triumph. It started with a video, complete […]

It’s funny how no matter how much times change, many things stay the same…or quickly return to established norms. Marketing has gone through a significant revolution over the past ten years as the Web matured and then social media arrived. But just as before our interconnected days, has settled into a groove of ‘safe’ targets […]

I just read Daniel Goleman’s piece on storytelling & leadership. I thought about all my own lessons learned as a sales manager; and how easy it was for me to stop doing the things that served me well as a salesperson, when I became a manager. You know those times in life where you catch […]

I’ve been thinking about my WHY a lot lately. I met Simon Sinek, the ‘why guy’, a couple of weeks ago. And I was super excited to meet him, but right before hand, got really nervous. See, a few days earlier, I watched another one of his talks, but in this clip, he was calling […]

I was always curious how some people, the very few, get others to open up and reveal themselves, while the majority of us struggle. The sales training industry has given us the ‘diagnose/prescribe’ model, as a way to get other human beings to open up. But does it? Maybe it’s not about diagnosing/prescribing? What if […]

I read a blog posting this morning in HBR on ‘Change Leadership‘. It was basically: “Here are the 10 bullet points you leaders must know on how to affect change below you…” Really?!? I’m 41. I spent the first 15 years of my career being “below”: just doing, trying to get ahead: get promoted, head-down ‘just doing‘; […]

On Monday night, Brene Brown spoke at my daughter’s school in front of about 300 parents, faculty & staff. I was so excited going into the evening… I’m gonna have a chance to hear her speak live, plus I’d be able to meet her in person. Her talk was awesome. It was all about vulnerability, shame, […]

The “in” thing in the sales world these days seems to be story; everyone is preaching story. And for me, to talk about the power of story requires a story of my own… I often get reminded of the real power of story through everyday, little encounters. Last month, my Grandfather, Jack, celebrated his 90th […]

How is it that we all missed the boat all these years on what’s important? Our most basic human need is to connect with each other; to connect with our ideas and beliefs. Isn’t that something that we, in the sales profession, should strive for? My personal story I was never given permission to go […]

I just read an article from Neuromarketing and it reminded me of the research I did when I wrote my book, What Great Salespeople Do. As part of my research, I wanted to know how other professions understood influence and persuasion. I didn’t believe that we in Corporate America, especially in mainstream corporate training departments, had cracked […]