August 2011 – thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World

Successful Negotiating Requires You to Leave Money on the Table

August 29, 2011/11 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Communications, Entrepreneur, Strategy /by Mike Figliuolo

Over the past year I’ve been involved in several large and important negotiations. Failure to negotiate well in any of those situations would have had some ugly effects on my businesses. The following is some guidance that has helped me successfully work my way through those discussions and get to a place where I’ve been happy with the outcomes.

I read a great article in Fortune a while back. Joanna Shields of Bebo.com quoted her dad: “Your career is long and the business world is small. Always act with integrity. Never take the last dollar off the table.”

Fantastic advice. Unfortunately many of us never heed it. We get wrapped up in near term numbers, performance bonuses, and, yeah, I’m gonna say it, greed. In economic times like the present, these pressures are amplified.

Many folks look at business as a competition. In many cases it is (duh, hence the term “competitors”). Sadly we sometimes extend the definition of competitor to include anyone sitting across the table from us. Quite often, that person across the table is supposed to be our partner but we engage in completely dysfunctional competitive or territorial behaviors. Then bad things happen. What kinds of bad things? You know I’m going to tell you.

Shields’ father continues: “You can always do a slightly better deal, but that incremental dollar or windfall is not worth creating an imbalance that affects the relationship. You have to have the intuition to know when to say, ‘I’m going to make sure that we walk away feeling like we’ve both done well.'”

9 Valid Reasons for Killing a Coworker

August 22, 2011/13 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Communications, Leadership, Training /by Mike Figliuolo

Sometimes homicide is justified. Sometimes a coworker deserves to have a file cabinet dropped on their head. Usually it’s some of the behaviors listed below that drive rational men and women into murderous rages.

First of all – everyone relax. I am NOT advocating workplace violence and I am writing with tongue firmly planted in cheek. Don’t hurt anyone at your office but do give them feedback and help make these behaviors go away. And if you have trouble thinking of anyone at the office who is annoying enough to kill, check the mirror – your coworkers might be considering doing you in.

Second – I’m not perfect. Far from it. I’ve been guilty of many of these behaviors (and many more that aren’t on this list). It’s probably a good thing I work from home these days because my dogs don’t know any better how lousy a coworker I can be.

So with those disclaimers made, allow me to share nine of the absolute worst, most egregiously despicable office behaviors anyone can demonstrate. Please be sure to share this list with your coworkers so they too can be on the lookout for these bad behaviors and know how to deal with them appropriately. For those of you who are also bosses, you might want to also read 10 Reasons Your Team Hates You (But They Just Won’t Say it to Your Face) for further illumination. Here’s the naughty nine:

How Leaders Turn Screw-Ups into Learning Opportunities

August 15, 2011/12 Comments/in Leadership, Training /by Mike Figliuolo

For many of us, screwing up is in our DNA. It happens. Call it Murphy if you like, but it happens. When this happens to someone on your team and you’re in a leadership role, however, the implications of a mistake can be far reaching.

The most important aspect of these kinds of events, however, isn’t the incident itself. As a leader, the most important part is your reaction to these events. Those reactions are what end up defining you in the eyes of your team. Allow me to illustrate.

In my younger days as a tank platoon leader, I was prone to take some pretty bold risks. On one occasion, I decided it was a good idea to abandon the plan my commander had written and lead my platoon down a different route. That route happened to go through what the map said was a swamp. It didn’t look like a swamp to me though.

I was wrong. It was a swamp. (Note: when the map says “swamp” it is a swamp). Imagine a 68-ton vehicle stuck in mud 3-5′ deep. Now imagine me standing atop said tank waiting to get chewed out by my commander. Can you say “awkward?”

When he showed up, he smirked and said something that caught me by surprise.

Coaches Aren’t Just for Athletes

August 10, 2011/5 Comments/in Guest Blogger, Leadership, Training /by Mike Figliuolo

Today’s guest post is written by Brian Ahearn. Brian’s one of the most knowledgeable guys I know on the subject of influencing people (which is why he’s been a guest here before). Enjoy!

I think you’ll agree with this statement; no athlete can reach their full potential without a great coach.

When you think of some of the greatest athletes quite often they’re synonymous with their coach. Michael Jordan had Phil Jackson, Tiger Woods started with Butch Harmon, and Mary Lou Retton worked with Bella Karolyi. None of them would have attained the greatness they did without the guidance and feedback from their coaches.

Why is it in business we think we can reach our full potential without coaching? Great leaders are not just visionaries, they coach. They help their people develop so they can succeed in their role and get ready for the opportunities that may come down the pike. Over the years I’ve heard many reasons and have listed a few of the most common below:

I’ve never been coached before and I think I’m doing just fine.
Business is different than athletics.
I know more about [fill in the blank] than my manager.

I’d like to debunk these myths and hopefully persuade you that business people need coaching every bit as much as athletes if they want to excel.

Laying Siege to a New Job Using Bridges and Catapults

August 8, 2011/1 Comment/in Career, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

Moving to a new job can be scary and intimidating. There are also many risks inherent in making that transition. But if you think of the transition like laying siege to a fortress, you will be just fine.

There are a few major risks you must account for as you plan how to attack your next job. Those risks include how to leave your current job on good terms, how to get up to speed on the new role quickly, and how to assimilate into your new team smoothly. If you make a mistake in any of these transition points, you can ruin relationships, suffer poor performance, and make everyone hate you as “that new guy.”

As you leave your current role, it might be tempting to tell everyone *exactly* what you think of them as you ride off into the sunset. Sure it’ll feel great for a day or so but that glow doesn’t last and it has no upside. It actually carries with it a great deal of downside because those people will have an impact on your ability to get future jobs when it comes time for a recommendation. The things they say about you will become part of your reputation. Burning those bridges can be a very dangerous thing.

The risks you face in the new role are usually getting overwhelmed with the new job, lacking focus, failing to get to know your team, and not building trust quickly enough with your coworkers. It’s a lot to attack in a short period of time. Fortunately you can make your transition successful by building bridges and using catapults.

Read more

How You Can Lead Like a Superhero

August 1, 2011/1 Comment/in Business Toolkit, Career, Entrepreneur, Innovation, Leadership, Strategy /by Mike Figliuolo

You folks know I’m obsessed with comic books, movies, pop culture, and superheroes. I’m even wearing my Green Lantern t-shirt as I write this. The reason we love superheroes is we all secretly aspire to be like them.

Now none of us are rushing out to get bitten by radioactive spiders or to jump in pools of irradiated toxic waste but I’m sure you’re willing to do a little light and fun reading to be more like a superhero leader.

Lucky for you I’ve compiled some of my favorite hero/superhero posts that I’ve written on this blog over the years and included them in this post. I’ve also saved you some time and wrote a quick abstract on what the post covers. I hope you find the posts helpful, insightful, and entertaining. They cover everything from leadership to innovation to goal setting. The characters include Snake Plissken, Master Oogway, Mr. Spock, Han Solo, Jack Sparrow, and other colorful folks from the big screen, the small screen, and the comic books.

So here goes our first official superhero roundup! Click the headline next to each photo and you’ll be taken to the full article.