Mike Figliuolo – Page 87 – thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World

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Entries by Mike Figliuolo

Leadership: Snake Plissken-Style

April 11, 2011 /4 Comments/in Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

Sometimes hardened criminals can teach us a lesson or two about leadership. In the 1981 classic Escape from New York, Kurt Russell plays the hard-edged Snake Plissken. The movie’s premise is Air Force One carrying the president of the United States has crashed into New York City (which has been turned into a maximum security prison for all criminals in the U.S.). Plissken, who is about to be incarcerated in New York is offered a deal: if he gets the president out of New York, he’ll get his freedom. Snake has a problem though – the police have implanted a small time bomb in his neck and he only has 22 hours to get the president out and have the bomb neutralized (it could happen! It’s the future!). Naturally Snake is a man on a mission – not only to save the president but also to save himself. As he rushes through the prison colony that is Manhattan island, Snake teaches all of us a few things about leadership (as well as providing some awesome tips on how to kill hardened post-apocalyptic criminals with bad hair). Here’s what we can all learn from Snake:

How to Fix a Hiring Mistake

April 4, 2011 /7 Comments/in Career, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

Have you ever made a hiring mistake? The candidate looked brilliant on paper. They blew everyone away in the interviews. They were local so there as no relo cost involved. They even took your first salary offer without negotiating (danger Will Robinson!). And then they showed up for work… And all went well for the first month. Everyone loved him. He was gregarious and got to know everyone in the organization. And one day you woke up and realized he hadn’t done anything yet. Not one iota of impact. And you started to wonder… Time went on. Less and less got done. Others in the organization began to notice and even grumble that the rock star you hired was not a real rock star but was actually a used up member of Poison from the ’80s (appropriate because this guy seems to be looking for “Nothin’ but a good time!”). It became abundantly clear to everyone you had made a hiring mistake. It’s okay. It happens to all of us. The most important thing about making a hiring mistake is fixing it. Fast. There’s nothing wrong with making hiring mistakes. It’s forgivable. What’s unforgivable is not doing something about it (remember You see it, you own it?). The best leaders I’ve seen quickly try to address performance (or lack thereof) with the individual. They set near term, measurable improvement goals. And if, unfortunately, the individual fails to meet them, they are moved on to another opportunity (either inside the company or outside of it). But doing this takes a degree of intestinal fortitude that is difficult for many of us to summon. Such actions require us to first admit we made a mistake (admission is the first step to remission…). After we come to terms with the fact we were […]

4 Tips for Handling Overwork and Overwhelm

March 30, 2011 /4 Comments/in Balanced Lifestyle, Books, Business Toolkit, Career, Communications, Guest Blogger /by Mike Figliuolo

Today’s guest blogger is Marlene Chism, author of Stop Workplace Drama: Train Your Team to have No Complaints, No Excuses, and No Regrets(go buy a copy by clicking the link – there’s some great advice in there!). You can read more about her at the end of the post. Here’s Marlene… Are you overwhelmed with a heavy workload only to get another unrealistic request from your boss? Is it really the workload, or could it be a communication problem? Often the real challenge is developing the courage to tell ourselves and others the truth about what we can do. What we do to avoid a conflict, or dealing with someone’s disappointment is to offer something for which we are unprepared to deliver due to time constraints, abilities, or knowledge. Instead of making a promise you can’t keep, or keeping the promise but dropping another ball, what if you could just tell the truth, and still get the job done? In my book, Stop Workplace Drama, the third principle is “tell yourself the truth.” Instead, much of the time we make agreements we can’t possibly keep, or we refuse to ask for what we want because, “I already know what he will say.” Or we simply play the victim and complain about how unfair life is, or we regretfully drop the ball because our stamina gives out before our will, then we give an excuse about why we dropped the ball. This leads to ineffective communication between boss and employee and spreads negativity and drama. These four tips will help you to manage a heavy workload while improving workplace relationships:

Why You Should Treat Your People Like it’s 1879

March 28, 2011 /9 Comments/in Communications, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

Sometimes great leaders have to look back in history to find lessons to apply today. Today I’m going to take you back to some wisdom imparted in 1879 on how to treat your people. The majority of you know I graduated from West Point. Part of my education there required we learn and remember (and be able to recite verbatim from memory) what was known as “knowledge” from West Point’s history. Any upperclassman could ask any plebe (freshman) at any time to recite a piece of knowledge. Failure to do so correctly resulted in some “development time” (which was pretty unpleasant). The hardest one to remember was Schofield’s Definition of Discipline. When I would hear an upperclassman shout “FIGLIUOLO! START SCHOFIELD’S!” terror would strike my heart and I would begin reciting Schofield’s Definition of Discipline which went like this: “The discipline which makes the soldiers of a free country reliable in battle is not to be gained by harsh or tyrannical treatment. On the contrary, such treatment is far more likely to destroy than to make an army. It is possible to impart instruction and to give commands in such a manner and such a tone of voice to inspire in the soldier no feeling but an intense desire to obey, while the opposite manner and tone of voice cannot fail to excite strong resentment and a desire to disobey. The one mode or the other of dealing with subordinates springs from a corresponding spirit in the breast of the commander. He who feels the respect which is due to others cannot fail to inspire in them regard for himself, while he who feels, and hence manifests, disrespect toward others, especially his inferiors, cannot fail to inspire hatred against himself.” Major General John M. Schofield Address to the Corps of […]

Preventing a Leadership Crash from Overcorrecting

March 23, 2011 /10 Comments/in Guest Blogger, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

Today’s guest post is by Michelle Braden, CEO of MSBCoach. Join me in welcoming her to the blog. Often when I read a book I find myself thinking, “Some of that was strong food for thought and some of it was a little too much for me.” When that happens, I try focusing on what is relevant so there is still a meaningful take-away rather than disregarding the entire book. Authors write to their personal extreme passion, and it’s good to remember that you do not have to agree with everything that is being said to learn something. Leaders are very similar. We lead out of our own personal passions and values. Whether or not we are always conscious of them, they are present in our leadership. These passions and values are very close cousins to our “hot buttons.” When our hot buttons are pushed, we can have a tendency to overreact or overcorrect the situation just as an author may over-write to make their point. I find that overreacting or overcorrecting frequently generates results opposite of what is really expected or desired. Allow me to illustrate…

Great Leaders Make Decisions

March 21, 2011 /1 Comment/in Entrepreneur, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

Today’s post is an excerpt from my upcoming book One Piece of Paper (CLICK HERE to learn more about it). As a leader you need to drive action. Ideas are great but someone has to put them in motion for them to be worthwhile, and deciding to do that is no easy task. Acting on a decision can be terrifying, especially in the case of large-scale change. Your decision may affect a significant number of people, and what if it is the wrong decision? What if things do not go as expected and the resulting outcome negatively impacts you or your organization? You could lose your job. Worse, hundreds of other people could lose theirs. It is hard enough to act on decisions when just facing your own insecurities. Throw the complexities of your organization into the mix and the angst increases exponentially. Politics, lack of resources, uncertainty, doubt, and fear all mess with our minds right when we are on the verge of taking action. It is no wonder so many leaders have gray hair! However, I am challenging you to be thought leaders. Being a thought leader requires you to be bold. Your decisions must be clear and forceful. The “thought” part of the equation only gets you halfway to your destination. As my colleague Alan Veeck says “It’s good to have thoughts, but that’s not enough.” Being a true thought leader means you not only agitate for but also lead change. Such leadership requires decisive action on your part. You probably see it all the time – people and teams suffering from analysis paralysis. They are unable to make a decision and instead their organization languishes in the purgatory of endless Excel models.

Building Leadership Resilience

March 16, 2011 /1 Comment/in Balanced Lifestyle, Guest Blogger, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

I’m excited to bring you some thoughts from Maureen Metcalf today. I’m shutting up now so I can go work on my book One Piece of Paper (get your copy by CLICKING HERE). Here’s Maureen: In leadership terms, we define Resilience as the ability to adapt in the face of multiple changes while continuing to persevere toward strategic goals. In our very dynamic work environment, leaders must build their resilience and they must also help their employees become more resilient. As a leader, you actually become different based on the changing environment. Most people, after a period of adjustment, bounce back to their previous level of happiness no matter what happens to them. This seems hard to believe but had been proven true (and if you’re curious about how resilient you are, you can take a quick online assessment by CLICKING HERE). Think about someone you have worked with that you respected but they did not navigate challenge well? How does the undesirable behavior impact you and your ability to function? Here is a story of one of my clients. I worked with a very talented woman who, when under pressure tended to get sick because she did not have a system to manage the stress. Additionally, she berated her staff regularly causing them to become disengaged. She would obsess about what others had done and over a short time be out sick. She was very unhappy in her job, more unhappy than was reasonable based on her situation. The good news is over time she developed stronger coping skills and she has a much greater capacity to manage the same level of stress. Some of the things she did were: work out regularly, start meditating, begin a regular practice of reflecting on her behaviors and thoughts at the end […]

Yoda’s Three Steps to Achieving Your Goals

March 14, 2011 /2 Comments/in Entrepreneur, Innovation, Leadership, Social Media /by Mike Figliuolo

Life goals. Bucket lists. “One day I’ll…” We all have dreams and goals. The biggest difference between people who achieve them and people who don’t is the act of actually DOING. Do you have goals and things you want to achieve? Professional aspirations? Personal bucket list items? Let me ask this – what’s stopping you from starting on them? I don’t tend to get motivational on this blog (every time someone asks me if I’m a motivational speaker I can’t help but think of that Saturday Night Live Chris Farley skit). But today I’m serving up a little motivation, Yoda style. Luke whined “All right. I’ll give it a try.” Yoda gave Luke an attitude adjustment “No. Try not. Do… or do not. There is no try.” What would Yoda say to you if you talked to him about your goals and your progress toward them? That’s what I thought. I’m here to be your Yoda. I’ll share some experiences related to my goal of getting my book One Piece of Paper published (CLICK HERE to get your copy of the book). Hopefully my story can help you on your way toward achieving your goals. Here are some great first steps you can take right now to help you move toward achieving your goals.

Gutsy Leaders Know Top Talent Is Key

March 9, 2011 /1 Comment/in Books, Guest Blogger, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

Today’s guest post is from Bob Herbold, the former Chief Operating Officer of Microsoft Corporation and author of What’s Holding You Back: 10 Bold Steps that Define Gutsy Leaders (buy a copy now by clicking this link). You can read more about Bob at the end of this post. In 1995, Canon was in deep trouble. The company had built up debt of $7.5 billion. Its many product divisions were described in the press as a bunch of warring, money-losing fiefdoms that plodded along year after year. For example, they still had an electric typewriter division, even though PC’s were making such devices obsolete. Nobody was making the tough decisions, resulting in the lack of a focused vision, bloated costs and minimal innovation. Why do managers find it so difficult to make the tough decisions; often wimping out and simply protecting the status quo? First of all, tough decisions have some very challenging characteristics. They typically don’t have an ideal solution. All the options have some negatives as well as positives. Additionally, there is a lack of data concerning the issue, and whatever decision you eventually make, you are going to disappoint some group of people. Lastly, such decisions demand a long term perspective, even though there may be a short term band-aid to make the whole thing go away for a while. So… why do managers fail to provide gutsy leadership when faced with such decisions?

How to be a Networking Disaster

March 7, 2011 /4 Comments/in Career, Communications, Social Media /by Mike Figliuolo

You would think with all the platforms out there that make networking so easy that people would be better at it. Unfortunately bad behavior still runs rampant and I get to see more than my fair share of networking implosions. There are a few key areas you need to royally screw up if you want to achieve “debacle” status on networking. This post is a guide for how you can most efficiently and effectively burn bridges, annoy people, and destroy your network as fast as possible. This is NOT about how to properly maintain your network as explained in this post (CLICK HERE) – this is about apocalyptic network destruction. Let’s define the target area you’re going to drop bombs all over. Your network is the sum of all relationships (personal and professional) you’ve built over the years as well as the relationships of those individuals with their friends and colleagues. I’m going to show you not only how to destroy your own network but also how you can best damage the networks of the people in your network. We’re talking second-degree of separation destruction here folks. And for some bonus tips on how to further destroy your network, read this post too by clicking here. So let’s get on with the network nuking…

4 Easy Steps to Motivating Your People

March 2, 2011 /1 Comment/in Guest Blogger, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

Today’s guest post is by Mike Henry Sr. of Lead Change Group. You can read more about him at the end of this post. Here’s Mike: People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. – John Maxwell Trust comes from motivation and competence. When people believe you are for the things they are for, and when they believe you can do the things you say you can do, they begin to trust. The first challenge for building trust lies with the motivation gap – the gap between what you are working for and what others are working for. You might think motivations are the same, but we have problems with this ourselves. All you need to do is look at your checkbook or your waistline. You want to be fit, but there’s also that half-gallon of ice cream in the freezer calling your name. We all live with internal gaps between our short-term desires and our long-term objectives. Motivation gaps exist everywhere. Your team members are working toward goals. You are working toward goals. Your leaders are working toward goals and your organization is working toward goals. Your vendors are too, and so are your internal or external customers. The more people and goals are involved the greater the chances for conflict and a breakdown in trust.

BBQ, Planes, and Coffee – Keys to Customer Loyalty

February 28, 2011 /1 Comment/in Customer Service, Training /by Mike Figliuolo

I’m fortunate enough to travel to some great places to serve my clients. During those travels I can’t help but have many customer service interactions from which to draw lessons. Today I’ll share how BBQ, airplanes, and coffee can teach you a few things to do (or not do) to create a better experience for your customers. Coffee Last week I was in Chicago and Memphis. In Chicago, I showed up early for a breakfast meeting. I got there 15 minutes before the client team arrived. The restaurant was still setting up the private room for breakfast. The wait staff was running around doing last minute preparations. I decided to stay out of their way and await the arrival of the client. The hostess was helping set up the room (apparently the team was a little short-staffed that morning). When I arrived, she stopped what she was doing and asked if I would like some coffee. When I eagerly said “Yes!” she set down what she was working on, went and got me a cup of coffee, went back into the kitchen and made a second trip to my table to bring some cream and sugar. Her actions sent a clear message – even though she was busy, her customer was more important than what she was working on in that moment. How often do your team members stop what they’re working on to help a customer? Do they treat the customer’s arrival as something special and important? Have you created a culture where your team is encouraged to behave that way? Consider doing so. It makes a difference.