Mike Figliuolo – Page 90 – thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World

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Entries by Mike Figliuolo

If You Don’t Read This, You’re Going to Die

November 8, 2010 /3 Comments/in Career, Training /by Mike Figliuolo

As we get more senior in our organizations, we get a lot smarter. Our wisdom grows. We understand the business better than those around us. Newfangled management ideas come and go but we’re now wise enough to believe we know everything we already need to know. Then – WHAM! The world smacks us upside the head with a powerful “didn’t know that, didja?” Your business is in turmoil. Chaos. Confusion. Cows raining from the sky. Armageddon. There’s only one thing I know that can prevent those kinds of moments – learning. Ever heard “the day you stop learning is the day you die” thrown around before? Yeah. That. (Or as Yoda might say “Die you will that day when stop learning you do” or something like that). If we all know that to be true, why do we insist on not learning? My thought: hubris. We demonstrate excessive pride and believe we’ve learned everything we need to. That’s just flat dangerous. So how can you avoid this fate of dying due to dumbness? I’m glad you asked…

How You Can Stage a Workplace Bully Beatdown

November 1, 2010 /6 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

We all hate bullies. I know I do. Ever since Ricky F. smashed my lunch every day of 5th grade I’ve hated them. Then we get older and go to work. We think we’ve finally grown up and don’t have to deal with bullies anymore. Then it happens – we find we’re working with Ricky F. the bully (or even worse, the bully is our boss). It’s a painful and not-too-uncommon situation. So what can you do other than sit there and take it? You can fight back. You can beat that bully up (figuratively – I am not advocating workplace violence as much as some people might even deserve a smack upside the head or a punch in the beak). Beating up bullies has become acceptable behavior. Heck, there’s even a great show on MTV2 called Bully Beatdown. My son and I love watching it (we even ran into the host, Mayhem, at LAX a coupla months ago and he is amazingly cool). The whole premise of the show is people submit bullies to the show, Mayhem invites the bully to come on and fight a mixed martial arts fighter, and invariably the bully is humbled. Awesome show. So how can you stage your own bully beatdown at the office? First you have to identify what kind of bully you’re dealing with. Once you’ve done that, there are four techniques you can use to break the cycle of bullying. They are direct feedback, inclusion, professional smack-down, and frontal assault.

The Big Jump: Go From Having Answers to Asking Questions

October 25, 2010 /12 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Communications, Innovation, Leadership, Strategy /by Mike Figliuolo

Do you know the difference between a “worker bee” and a senior executive? Have you ever wondered what it takes to move up in the world to those loftier roles? It’s pretty simple. You need to move from a world where you provide all the answers to a world where you ask all the questions. I know there’s a cheeky clueless executive joke in there somewhere but I’m actually not joking around (today is my 40th birthday and I’ve decided I’m going to be completely serious and professional this decade and if you believe that last part, you’re obviously a new reader to the blog). As we enter organizations and rise through the ranks, we’re expected (and trained) to have the answers. We, after all, are the front line. We do the work. When someone more senior asks us for information, our job description is to provide it. And provide it we do. We become experts in our field. We know all the answers. We become that “go to” person Scott Eblin describes in this recent post. And every day we kick butt. We know everything that’s asked of us. Heck, we get to a point where we’ve created everything around us. But one day we wake up wondering why we’re not getting promoted. We can’t figure out why we, the expert of all experts, isn’t rising to the executive ranks. After all, those guys are clueless. All they ever do is ask questions that we have to provide the answers to. And that my friends is the key to the paradox of advancing to senior management. Questions.

5 Changes Go-To People Must Make to Keep Going

October 20, 2010 /3 Comments/in Balanced Lifestyle, Books, Business Toolkit, Career, Guest Blogger, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

Today’s guest blogger is Scott Eblin. You can read all about him at the end of the post and also learn about his great new book that just hit shelves. I highly encourage you to pick up a copy of it. Here’s Scott… If you’re a high potential leader, there’s about a 98% chance that you’re thought of or view yourself as a “go-to person.” I know that number ‘s in the ballpark because I regularly ask audiences of high potential leaders, “How many of you have been referred to or think of yourself as a ‘go-to person?’” Usually, just about every hand in the room goes up. For example, in a webinar I conducted for Government Executive magazine, 98% of the 400 plus senior managers online answered yes to the “go-to” question in a flash poll. And what do I mean by “go-to person”? As one leader explained it to me, “I’m the closer.” You either know the type or you are the type. Go to people are the ones who make sure the job gets done. If that means taking over, so be it. If that means staying up into the wee hours, so be it. Organizations reward go-to people because they can rely on them. They’re the kinds of folks who are designated as high potentials and are promoted into bigger and bigger jobs. Great stuff, right? Well, it is until it isn’t…

1 Simple Way to Boost Productivity by 50%

October 18, 2010 /7 Comments/in Communications, Project Management /by Mike Figliuolo

Do you want to hear a sickening statistic? I write the SmartPulse poll for SmartBrief on Leadership (if you don’t read SmartBrief you’re missing out and should sign up here). Last week I asked how much time people spend in recurring meetings. The answer was shocking. 30% of respondents are spending 25%-75% of their time in recurring meetings. Oh my goodness. How can you possibly spend more time in meetings than you spend at your desk working? Unbelievable. Clearly there’s a very simple way to boost productivity – kill some meetings. Imagine if you could take all that time you spend in meetings and turn it either into productive time getting stuff done or into time away from the office doing things you enjoy ding. The good news is, it’s reasonably easy to kill a meeting even if it isn’t “yours” to run. First, let’s acknowledge meetings do have a place in our lives. They’re great tools for quickly and efficiently sharing information. Recurring meetings also have a place. They’re a good forcing mechanism to bring groups together around a certain topic and by having them recur on the calendar, you can efficiently circumvent crazy calendar synchronization challenges. Unfortunately, once a meeting achieves “recurring” status it takes on a life of its own. That’s where the trouble begins. Fortunately there are four simple steps you can follow to eliminate wasteful meetings.

You Talk Too Much! Shut Up!

October 11, 2010 /6 Comments/in Communications, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

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 is he jazzed about the upcoming 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.

You’re a Bad Teacher Because You’re Too Smart

October 6, 2010 /6 Comments/in Guest Blogger, Leadership, Training /by Mike Figliuolo

Today’s guest post is by Michelle Braden, CEO of MSBCoach. She’s running the Authentic Leadership Summit (you can read details at the end of the post). Join me in welcoming her to the blog. I was recently reading the book, “Brain Rules” by John Medina. In the book, Medina teaches us that in order for learning to take place we have to connect with those we teach. He gives several examples of how to do this, but one in particular stood out to me. This example is that we have a tendency to forget that the information we are sharing is NEW to those we are teaching. This hit me like a brick when I began to realize as leaders, mentors, and teachers we take for granted the information we have accumulated and how long it took us to master it. I first reflected on this insight within myself. I realized that I often move very quickly when teaching and coaching new concepts to those I am working with. I have a tendency to just assume they “have it” and are ready to move on; often I do not want to “bore” them (or myself). According to Medina our brains: – can only process 10 minutes of information at a time and – can only focus on one thing at a time. He also provides proof that our brains – do not pay attention to things we are not interested in – are inspired by emotional arousal and it helps the brain to learn. This book enhanced and brought validation to concerns I already had. I began developing ways that I can more consciously connect with my audience – even if it is an audience of one. I also began to think about the executives I work with and how […]

4 Surefire Ways to Destroy Your Brand

October 4, 2010 /7 Comments/in Communications, Customer Service, Sales, Strategy /by Mike Figliuolo

Brands. Some are worth billions of dollars. We revere them. Coca-Cola. Nike. Apple. thoughtLEADERS (hey, a guy can dream, can’t he?). They seem monolithic and untouchable. The dirty little secret is they’re as fragile as a porcelain doll. A brand is nothing more than a promise. It sets an expectation with a consumer or customer. They know what to expect when they interact with your brand. And I don’t care how big or small your brand is, it promises something to your customers. The operative key to all of this brand building is that point of interaction. That is where your brand is at its most vulnerable. For example, if you get a can of Coke that’s filthy and the soda in it is flat, the brand is diminished. You tell 10 friends about it and it’s diminished more. You get an iPad that doesn’t work. Same thing. You run into a rude associate at Best Buy and the brand is tarnished. A brand becomes the summation of all those small touch points with your customers. The risk is you’re likely doing some things every day that are putting your own brand at risk. From where I sit, I’ve seen four major points of failure that destroy brands:

8 Critical Steps to Getting Your Talent Management Strategy Right

September 29, 2010 /4 Comments/in Guest Blogger, Strategy, Training /by Mike Figliuolo

Today’s guest blogger is Heather McCulligh talking about talent management strategy. It’s a great complement to this three-part article we’ve written before on the subject of why HR strategy fails (check them out too). Here’s Heather: Great companies have a well-articulated strategy that guides their business decisions. But many of them fail to then take that strategy and translate it into a talent management strategy. Yet the successful execution of a strategic talent management plan can determine your company’s ability to succeed. Let me explain how… Why is it important? More and more research is showing the strong link between mature, integrated talent management processes and financial results. The Hackett Group recently found that companies with more mature talent management capabilities have on average18% higher earnings, 54% greater net profit margins, and greater return on equity and assets than their counterparts without mature capabilities. The Aberdeen Group’s latest research finds that companies who integrate their talent management processes see significantly greater performance gains, and can measure a correlation between their talent management efforts and business operational results. IBM, HCI, IDC and others have shared similar findings. Truly successful companies are realizing that the only sustainable competitive advantage they have is their people. It’s clear that to achieve your goals, you need to effectively manage your workforce. Now let’s stop for a minute and look at what I mean by a talent management strategy.

Can’t Diversify Your Business? It’s Because You’re an Addict

September 27, 2010 /1 Comment/in Entrepreneur, Sales, Strategy /by Mike Figliuolo

I had a great conversation with a friend of mine. He was bemoaning the fact that his company was almost completely dependent upon one huge customer. He saw the inherent risks in that relationship but confessed his organization had a bad habit they couldn’t kick. They had succumbed to the addiction of predictability and comfort. Is your business overly-reliant on one key customer? Is your organization tied closely to one key client or partner or supplier? If that customer went away, would your world come to a crashing screeching halt? The rule of thumb I’ve always heard is no customer should be more than 25% of your business (and the same holds true for your suppliers or partners). We always hear about diversification but usually it’s in the context of our stock portfolios. If your 401k became a 200.5k in the past few years, you know what I’m talking about. It’s easy to do the diversification thing in a portfolio – sell a few stocks, buy a few stocks and presto! you’re done. Diversifying your customer base is much harder to do. If you’ve never thought much about this topic (or even if you have) you need to understand the true risks involved in not diversifying, understand why it’s hard to diversify, and use some practical methods to achieve the diversification goal.

Stay Bonuses are the Worst Kind of Retention Tool

September 20, 2010 /1 Comment/in Career, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

This is a wayback – almost two years ago to the day I offered this perspective and eerily it’s still spot on. I must be Nostradamus’ long lost great grandson. It’s been a rough year in the market. Mortgage crises. Bad corporate behavior. Bankruptcies. M&A. Hideous. Lloyd Bridges said it best: “Looks like I picked the wrong year to quit sniffing glue.” But undoubtedly the most bizarre behavior I’ve seen this year comes in the form of the “stay bonus.” Let’s hit rewind and explore some underlying axioms about business. Sure, many of these are cliche (probably because so many folks have abused and perverted them that they often ring hollow) but they’ll set a context to explore this issue. 1. People are our most important resource 2. It costs much more to hire someone new than it does to keep the associates you’ve already got 3. People are always searching for growth opportunities Here’s the issue: those three axioms set many organizations up for a colossal form of organizational stupidity. Imagine this situation if you will: you have a positive bull market going on and the economy is chugging along at a solid clip. Life is good. Earnings reports are full of butterflies and rainbows and puppy dogs and smiley faces (I love Frank Caliendo’s impression of Pacino) and no matter how hard management tries, they can’t seem to do anything other than turn a wonderful profit. Everyone’s as cozy as Fonzie on a motorcycle. In this scenario, it seems like every manager and executive in the organization is the next Jack Welch given the performance they’re turning in.

Five Steps to Entrepreneurial Success on the Web

September 15, 2010 /0 Comments/in Entrepreneur, Guest Blogger, Social Media /by Mike Figliuolo

Today’s guest post comes from across the Atlantic. Straight from Denmark I’m delighted to bring you Steffen Hedebrandt, COO of VintageandRare.com. Do you know the recipe for transforming your passion into a global business? Here’s a real life start-up story where someone did exactly that. As newly appointed Chief of Operations at VintageandRare.com (a company focused on vintage and rare musical instruments) I have learned a lifetime of entrepreneurial lessons within a very short period. I have identified five crucial elements that when combined can transform a seed of passion into a growing and sustainable global business. These five elements are: passion, persistence, people, SEO, and social media. Passion My partner Nicolai Schneekloth, the CEO and Founder of VintageandRare.com is a lifelong guitar player, collector and aficionado. He has always been completely captivated by guitars. Their sounds, details and uniqueness fostered and reinforced this enthusiasm which grew into a lifelong passion. This passion impelled him to perform as a solo artist, to become a band member of a national hit band, and a singer-songwriter expressing the grief of the loss of his mother through music. Today, the same passion has driven him to become the CEO and Founder of long tail company at the tipping point of its full potential. His passion has taken the business there. What in your life is so captivating that you cannot resist the temptation of getting engaged? What makes you feel energized and stimulated? What makes you get out of bed every day? That is your passion.