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Entries by Mike Figliuolo

Using The 80/20 Rule to Think Critically

February 3, 2021 /0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Entrepreneur, Leadership, Strategy /by Mike Figliuolo

Learn how an Italian gardener’s simple principle can make problem solving much easier. Critical thinking doesn’t only apply to coming up with recommendations. You need to think critically about the way you’re going to spend your time and energy. Those things are limited. You have too many problems to solve and not enough time. I encourage people to follow the 80/20 rule, also known as the Pareto principle. The Pareto Principle The Pareto principle was coined by Vilfredo Pareto when he noticed that 80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the population. He was also a gardener, and he noticed 80% of the peas coming out of his garden came from 20% of the pods. He said, “That’s interesting. Two totally different realms demonstrating the same principle.” 20% led to 80% of the impact, and that’s the 80/20 rule. 20% of the drivers will drive 80% of the results. You need to think about your work the same way. You can’t focus on that 80% that only drives 20% of the results. Focus your efforts on the meaningful. Let me offer an example.

Turn Off Your Brain: How to Regain Control of Your Sleep as an Entrepreneur

February 1, 2021 /0 Comments/in Balanced Lifestyle, Entrepreneur, Guest Blogger /by Mike Figliuolo

Establishing good sleep habits can improve your health and productivity as an entrepreneur. Reclaim your sleep with these tips. Today’s post is by Brad Wayland, Chief Strategy Officer at BlueCotton. If you are anything like me, you are no stranger to long, sleepless nights – no matter how bad for your health they might be. But take it from me, this is not something you want to make a habit. You need to reclaim your sleep. Here’s how to do just that: It is three in the morning, and you are on a roll. It does not matter that you need to be up at eight tomorrow. You have work to do, and now is the time to do it. Except it is not. At all. Not only are you killing your productivity by pulling these all-nighters, but you are also slowly killing yourself. I will spare you the details. I am sure you have already heard repeatedly that sleep deprivation is directly linked to a range of very nasty illnesses. I am sure you already know that you need to start sleeping more and sleeping better. And I am also sure you have no idea how. I have been there.

5 Phrases That Make You Sound Ridiculous

January 27, 2021 /5 Comments/in Communications /by Mike Figliuolo

Paying attention to your word choices will make you a more effective communicator. Keep your speech concise by avoiding these common phrases. Today’s post is by Mike Figliuolo, Managing Director of thoughtLEADERS. “At the end of the day…” You sound ridiculous. You just don’t know it. Word choice matters. We spend countless hours in meetings with colleagues discussing big, important ideas. We write hundreds of documents making our case for one initiative or another. We write thousands of emails. We give dozens of presentations. And you know what? We sound ridiculous. Using buzzwords can make us sound like hyper-educated idiots who swallowed a thesaurus. In our efforts to sound more intelligent and compelling, we use big words and bigger phrases we hear other smart and compelling people use. The problem is, those words and phrases didn’t mean anything in the first place. By adopting those vapid phrases as our own, we’re saying things that are just as meaningless as the first person who uttered them. Stop. Please stop. Speak plainly. Speak simply. Speak directly. Doing otherwise is a disservice to you and your audience. There are two reasons you’re likely using these words and phrases: either you’re using them as verbal pauses (instead of “um” and “uh”) or you think they sound really intelligent. If it’s the former, get comfortable with silence and simply collect your thoughts. If it’s the latter, it’s having the opposite effect but your coworkers are too polite to tell you so. Here are a few of my (least) favorite ridiculous words and phrases:

5 New Year’s Resolutions to Make Your Business Culture a Winner

January 25, 2021 /0 Comments/in Books, Guest Blogger, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

Meeting company goals begins with employees and managers working well together. Mark McClain shares his advice for improving business culture in 2021. Today’s post is by Mark McClain, CEO of SailPoint and the ForbesBooks author of Joy and Success at Work: Building Organizations that Don’t Suck (the Life Out of People) (CLICK HERE to get your copy). New Year’s resolutions are not only for individuals but businesses too. Company goals set for the year ahead are usually measured in data and tied to categories like revenue production and expense reduction. After a difficult 2020 due to COVID-19, many enterprises’ bottom-line numbers will take on extra importance in 2021. And business culture will be just as crucial. Any resolutions that company leaders make are an effective way to measure their work environment and help their teams meet performance metrics. Meeting individual, team, and company goals begins with employees and managers working well together in a vibrant environment. And given the changes and challenges of these times, culture and how leaders pay attention to it have never been more important. The bottom line falls into place when everyone is on the same page. But even if leaders have established a strong culture, it bears constant vigilance to ensure everyone is rowing in the same direction, especially now when a volatile world can threaten to throw even the most solid companies off course. These are some business culture resolutions for the New Year that leaders could consider:

Life Lessons Interview with Mike Figliuolo

January 20, 2021 /0 Comments/in Balanced Lifestyle, Career, Entrepreneur, Leadership, Strategy /by Mike Figliuolo

Mike Figliuolo, thoughtLEADERS’ Managing Director, recently sat down with Jinky Diola of WorldClassPerformer.com to share some life stories, perspectives, and experiences that have shaped his career to date. Read the full interview below. You can find links to this interview and other WorldClassPerformer interviews at the bottom of this post. Where did you grow up and what was your childhood like? Did you have any particular experiences/stories that shaped your adult life? I grew up in New Jersey just outside New York City. I had a normal suburban kid life. I was entrepreneurial from a very young age. Started by selling painted pencils at school. I’d use about $0.10 of materials and charge $1.00 apiece. After that, it was a paper route. Then my comic book collecting/selling business where I actually ran comic book conventions at hotels at the age of 14. I cleared $1,000 in a day (and for a 14-year-old in 1984 that was a lot of cash). My entrepreneurial background has really been something that has enabled me to succeed in running my own business for the last 16 years. What is something you wish you would’ve realized earlier in your life?

Marketing 101 As We Head Into 2021

January 18, 2021 /0 Comments/in Books, Guest Blogger, Leadership, Social Media, Strategy /by Mike Figliuolo

As the world continues to change, organizations can benefit from adapting their marketing strategies. Michael Stahl shares ten ways to make the most of your marketing efforts in 2021. Today’s post is by Michael Stahl, CMO at SERVPRO (CLICK HERE to learn more). The year 2020 brought both challenges and opportunities to marketing professionals. In fact, that’s probably an understatement. But the year has come to a close (thank goodness!), and it’s time to look ahead to hopefully brighter, safer, and more profitable days. As we shift our sights to 2021, I’ve put together ten marketing basics that can help you build a strategy to increase engagement, market share, and revenue. Reposition your product for modern consumer needs Considering we don’t know when the global pandemic will end, nor fully understand its long-term repercussions, we need to

Timeless Advice for Beginner Entrepreneurs

January 13, 2021 /0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Entrepreneur, Leadership, Strategy, Training /by Mike Figliuolo

Starting a business? Don’t know where to start? Avoid beginner mistakes and make the most of your time by taking advice from someone who’s been there before. Today’s post is by Mike Figliuolo, Managing Director of thoughtLEADERS. In 2012, I gave an interview to The Metropreneur in which I shared my answers to the five most common questions I’m asked about entrepreneurship and thoughtLEADERS LLC. Although this interview took place eight years ago, I believe all the guidance is just as relevant today as it was when I first said it: When do I talk to the venture capitalists? Five years from now. Seriously, entrepreneurs need

Changing Culture, Changing Conversations

January 12, 2021 /0 Comments/in Books, Communications, Guest Blogger, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

Culture plays an integral role in your organization’s success or failure. Learn a four-step process to create a new culture or change an existing one. Today’s post is by Chuck Wisner, author of the forthcoming book, Conscious Conversations (CLICK HERE to learn more). Cultures are patterns of human interaction that define the values and the behaviors that help groups accomplish a shared mission. In an organization, the culture is the soup in which work gets done. It influences employee satisfaction, customer retention, and the bottom line. Getting organizational culture right is complicated, but it can mean the difference between a flourishing organization and a floundering one. Defining an organization’s culture and bringing awareness to the vital role it plays is a big step to shifting productivity and positivity and to increasing customer satisfaction. Yet organizations are often like fish swimming in polluted water, unaware of the unhealthy environment that surrounds them. Undefined unconscious cultural norms are hidden forces that encourage the worst of human nature. Put any group of ambitious people together in a hierarchical structure with sizable goals and a good salary, and you’re sure to see an outbreak of competitiveness, cliquey behavior, distrust, jealousy, and resentment. Competition overshadows collaboration, individual egos trump collective goals, and ambition outshines curiosity. Without an intentional approach to culture, an unconscious culture will slowly emerge in a company or team, influenced by leaders’ personalities, relationships, and the quality of conversations that teams have or don’t have. Some people say, “$#!& happens.” I say, “Culture happens.” It’s not unusual for leaders to wake up one morning and say, “Why are we behaving this way? When did we become so disjointed?” To fix a broken culture, it’s useful to examine how world-class teams work together and the role conversations play. Those teams typically have two things […]

3 Steps to Stop Being Your Own Worst Critic

January 6, 2021 /0 Comments/in Balanced Lifestyle, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

Still need a resolution for 2021? Try being kinder to yourself. Learn how you can set the tone for a successful year by being more conscious of negative thoughts and self-critical tendencies. I’m pretty sure I can safely say that individuals who read our blog are achievers. You work hard, seek to develop your skills, and look forward to the next goal in front of you. I’ll also bet you’re your own harshest critic. You probably beat yourself up at the smallest perceived failure. Some of you do more damage to yourselves than that funky albino monk in Da Vinci Code did to himself with that nasty rope of his. Sometimes your self-deprecating humor isn’t very humorous. Stop it. Now. These negative thoughts don’t just affect your performance – they rub off on your team. If you’re not careful you can create an environment where your standards are perceived as unreasonable and where praise seems extremely hard to come by. Over time, that erodes your team’s morale and can eventually lead to turnover (not to mention a lousy standard of living for you). We’re going to get a little cerebral and introspective today. I ask you to do so in the spirit of getting on a healthier mental track. Do so not just for the benefit of your team but for yourself, your friends, and your family. So how can you do this? My suggestion: assess, admit, and act.

Modern Problems Require a More Nuanced Understanding of Leadership

January 4, 2021 /0 Comments/in Books, Guest Blogger, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

In today’s ambiguous and complex environment, a more nuanced view of leadership is required in order to reward the right behaviors and get the most out of your people. Today’s post is by Chris Lewis, author of The Infinite Leader (CLICK HERE to get your copy). There are a lot of problems out there. We all know that. But what if there was one thing we could do to improve all of our problems? Well, there is. We can improve leadership. Why is good leadership so important? It’s not just because it improves efficiency. It’s also because it harnesses and applies talent. We have the skills to solve all our problems, but we don’t have the leadership. How do we know this? Because we keep getting surprised by events. Like the Financial Crisis.. Like Brexit. Like the Pandemic. Leadership’s job is to be ready for stuff like this. There’s no doubt these events are happening; the question is: Why? The research done by myself and my co-author Pippa Malmgren has resulted in some interesting insights on the topic. In The Leadership Lab, we analyzed the problem. In The Infinite Leader, we developed a new model for dealing with it. In short, the problem is gross imbalance in our leaders and their education. They are too focused on the short term, the tactical, the quantitative, and the notion that the leader alone has all the solutions. In leadership, we’ve become too focused on the leader and not enough on the ‘ship’ – the team that provides the leadership. Leadership isn’t just about a person; it’s about a culture, and the problem starts at school. We get credit for right answers, obedience, individual achievements, passing exams, action, attention, deduction, maturity, intellect, organization, and opportunism. Conversely, we get no credit for empathy, nonconformity, […]

You Don’t Always Need to Speak, Here’s Why

December 14, 2020 /6 Comments/in Communications, Leadership, Training /by Mike Figliuolo

Finding the balance between speaking and letting your team speak for themselves is the self-awareness challenge of all leaders, and can be the different maker between good and great. Today’s post is by Mike Figliuolo, Managing Director of thoughtLEADERS. To help you be a better team member, colleague and boss, I’m bringing you a pointed lesson in the art of being quiet. Today I’m conjuring up the spirit of Run DMC. To quote the immortal Rev Run: You talk too much! You never shut up! Run DMC nailed the heart of the issue with this verse: You’re the instigator, the orator of the town. You’re the worst when you converse, just a big mouth clown. You talk when you’re awake, I heard you talk when you sleep Has anyone ever told you, that talk is cheap? Now let’s take DMC to the workplace. You know the person they’re singing about. It’s that guy on the team who can’t shut up about anything. Hopefully he simply blathers on about his antique smurf collection (and boy was he jazzed about the live-action movie). More likely though, he’s the guy who is talking about everyone and everything going on in the office. But guess what? YOU might be that person. If you are, you’ve got a big problem. First let’s discuss your symptoms then some ways to fix it.

How to Improve Your Annual Review Process

December 9, 2020 /1 Comment/in Career, Communications, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

The end of year performance review process is broken but leaders can take 6 steps to change their performance culture and become better leaders in the process. Today’s post is by Mike Figliuolo, Managing Director of thoughtLEADERS and author of One Piece of Paper(CLICK HERE to get your copy). Whether you’ve just finished your end-of-year review process or it’s still finishing up, you can resolve to do things better this year in terms of managing performance. This post is probably even more relevant if you’ve recently been through the pain of a grueling review process because I’m sharing some tips on what you can do this year to make next year’s process less painful and more effective. There’s nothing like returning to work after post-holiday food comas. The best part is you get to prep for one of the most dysfunctional, time-wasting, intellectually insulting, and leadership-lazy exercises known to mankind: the end of year review. They’re stupid. Period. And before you go all “I don’t need to read this – I’m a business leader and HR people are the ones who do performance management” you need to sit down, shut up, and read because if you have that mindset, you’re a huge part of the problem. How failed is our leadership culture that we have to sit around and wait for HR or executive management to dictate when and in what form we must critique the people on our teams? How messed up is it that we have to rely on compulsory forms with rating scales to tell people how they’re doing? How sad is it that we have to hold cross-calibrations to stack rank people and force a performance distribution because our managers lack the ability to look outside their own organization and assess comparable levels of talent and performance? We’re […]