Crazy Enough to Win (For Those Who Love the Game of Business)

Send us Fan Mail Narcissists will always believe they occupy the most important role in any company.  They are corrupted by their own image of importance.  This corruption clouds reality by the misappropriation of priority.  Some might think the CEO is most indispensable. They are the savior or the visionary.  Others might say sales since they bring business to the table.  And a few (with a servan...

Send us Fan Mail In the last two years, sales experienced significant technology changes due to the pandemic.  TQ (technology acumen) is now a differentiator among sales professionals.  Sales skills are more critical than ever as more entrepreneurs enter the business world to sell products and services.  The term sales professional is more diluted than ever before.  What does all this mean for you...

Send us Fan Mail   The need to be liked, also known as the disease to please, is not the same as being likeable.  The need to be liked by others relates to the need for approval and affirmation.  In a leadership position, this can portend disaster and failure when a leader believes being liked by followers is the gateway to getting supported or accomplishing the team's objectives.  It is bett...

Send us Fan Mail Many job advertisers seek experience in the job as a prerequisite for qualification.  Is this a mistake or an attempted shortcut to avoid the heavy lift that comes with training a new employee?  Is experience the best answer when it comes to adding talent to your team?  With today’s transitional workforce and the great resignation upon us, are too many employers relying on experie...

Send us Fan Mail It is 5:46 am, and you make the daily walk to the restroom.  As you shake the morning cobwebs from your mind, you think about the conversation you are avoiding with your sales manager.  You feel the guilt of knowing this discussion needs to happen ahead of today’s sales meeting and the truth that you are avoiding a crucial conversation.  Cognitive dissonance rears its ugly head on...

Send us Fan Mail   Leslie leaves her job after 18 years for another that pays about the same amount of money.  Raymond leaves his new job of six months for another job that pays 50 cents an hour more with a longer commute.  Sarah is looking for a job in another field.  She is tired of the negativity at her current firm.  What do these three people have in common?  They all did not feel appreciated...

Send us Fan Mail A lack of awareness is common when it comes to the perceptions of your followers.  Do they see you as a leader?  This insightful question determines your location on the scale between manager and leader.  You can be the boss and not have followers.  In other words, people can do what you expect and still not consider you as their leader.  Having worked with thousands of supervisor...

Send us Fan Mail At what point does it make sense to fire your entire leadership team and start over?  I know this sounds harder than woodpecker lips but stay with me for a moment.  Can a team become so toxic that it is beyond repair?  When should a business owner or CEO take such drastic action?  Is there value in starting over with an organization? 

Send us Fan Mail The inherent problem with professional sales is the knowledge gap.  Years ago, I heard someone say expertise requires the accumulation of 50,000 units of knowledge.  The problem occurs when people reach 10,000 units of knowledge and believe they know the subject at a high level while being utterly unaware of the remaining 40,000 units of knowledge.   The 40,000-unit deficit is rou...

Send us Fan Mail Any seasoned leader can attest to times they thought about giving up. Giving up may seem like the best approach, but it is often the moment just before the breakthrough.  You are tired of the emotional void of having your passion for change go unnoticed or, worse, unappreciated. You want to quit being a leader and go back to the comfort of the past.  You are exhausted.   Instead o...

Send us Fan Mail Is your boss toxic?  Is your CEO toxic?  You need to know if they are indeed the jerk you suspect.  Discover 5 diagnostics for a toxic executive.   Senior Executives have the power to create an environment that allows people to grow and give their best – or a toxic workplace where everyone is unhappy.   Is your boss a pathological narcissist and do you need to find another job?  L...

Send us Fan Mail Something is just off about her.  You cannot put your finger on it, but you suspect she is different.  She takes longer to get things done when she does not get her way.  She makes things more complicated than necessary and avoids difficult conversations.  It is subtle but noticeable.  On the surface, she seems confident, yet you detect an underlying fragility.  Is she a narcissis...

Send us Fan Mail Your inner critic is that voice inside your head.  You are not good enough, smart enough, or thin enough.  In some cases, it makes you think you are an imposter when you are successful.  You feed the critic by allowing it to fester in your mind.  The secret is to get these thoughts into your consciousness and be aware of what you are telling yourself.  It is crucial to get this th...

Send us Fan Mail Are you being told something is your fault? Do you feel blamed or shamed for current or past circumstances? Your instinct is likely to make excuses or justify outcomes.  Blaming anything, including a bad economy or bad employees, is a dangerous place for aspiring leaders. It is a trap. Instead of taking the bait, tell those blaming you, “that is the point.” Embrace everything is y...

Send us Fan Mail Casey Hasten is the personality behind the VIP Podcast.  She shares amazing insights about the job market and talent.  We talk about what makes people successful and how to become more deliberate in all facets of life.  Discover her transition life; leaving a job and 20-year career for something new and exciting.  She also has a new journal coming soon. Don't miss this episod...

Send us Fan Mail Many mid-tier sales reps believe they know how to sell.  Through will and determination, they get the job done.  When the market is in decline, these reps fail.  When the market is growing, they sell enough to get by.  Here is the problem. The representative does not know what she does not know about sales. Her boss does not know any more than the sales representative when it come...

Send us Fan Mail Is fear driving your life?  Are you afraid to shine? Does what others think of you matter?  Coming of age is typically considered adolescence.  I believe it occurs when we stop living based on what others think about us.  True freedom comes when the opinions of other people no longer handicap us. 

Send us Fan Mail Far too many business leaders rely on “hopium” to retain top talent.  There is no plan, no strategy, and sadly, little hope of keeping star performers as the post-pandemic mass migration begins.  Prepare yourself for the coming resignations you do not see coming.  You will be shocked, hurt, and eventually angry when the people you have invested in announce their departure from the...

Send us Fan Mail Your competition is lazy, and you can sense it.  Others desire a return to normalcy.  Not you.  You see an opportunity to exploit weakness.  There may never be a better time to attack your competitive enemies.  You are the warrior CEO, and the window for taking offensive action will not be open long.  Do not allow this pandemic to go to waste. 

Send us Fan Mail The struggle is real.  You want to be a normal person.  Yet, mental health remains hidden in the normalcy of your life.  You are afraid people will think your abnormal or even broken if you discuss changes regarding your mental status.  Let me assure you.  No human has a static mental health status.  We are all constantly moving toward mania or toward depression.  It is the fluctu...

Send us Fan Mail There are three simple power levers to get others to do what you want.  Using these levers gives you an extreme advantage with people during what others may consider organic “normal” interactions.  Yes, with power comes responsibility.  These power levers can be (and are being) utilized for unethical behavior.  I am optimistic that you will use these levers for excellent and neces...

Send us Fan Mail Business is struggling to overcome obscurity in a vast ocean of competition for attention.  In a virtual world, getting noticed can be challenging.  Not to be cliché, but the struggle is real.  As I help businesses recover and rethink reality, people seem to react to the environment instead of leveraging opportunity.  Too many companies are simply waiting or hoping for the market...

Send us Fan Mail Face it; we have all taken top performers for granted at times.  It does not mean you are inconsiderate; it means you are human.  However, the post-pandemic corporate migration I have predicted is now upon us.  Work-from-home (WFH), flexible work arrangements, and virtual solutions are shifting the market for top talent. A qualified CPA can efficiently work for a firm in Wyoming w...

Send us Fan Mail Build relationships with your customers, and they will buy from you.  Whether you agree or not, this is a common misconception in professional sales.  While relationships can be essential to build trust and rapport, more is required to sustain sales success.  Poorly trained sales teams rely on this surface methodology.  Well-trained sales teams challenge customers to think differe...

Send us Fan Mail I have been pondering the question about genius thinking.  Are some people considered to be geniuses, or do people attain genius-level thinking?  In other words, is genius thinking a genetic gift, or is genius a level of thinking we can achieve?  If it is something that to attain, how do we sustain that level of thinking?  Let us dig into these questions and get our minds dirty.