Ryan Shaw – thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World

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Entries by Ryan Shaw

How comfortable are you with reading, understanding and executing contracts?

January 21, 2021 /0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Ryan Shaw

Our reader poll today asks: How comfortable are you with reading, understanding and executing contracts? Extremely: I understand contracts well and have no issues executing them 18% Very: I’m familiar with most contracts and am mostly comfortable executing them 36% Kind of: Contracts sometimes confuse or intimidate me, but other times I’m comfortable 28% Not very: Unless it’s a simple contract, I prefer to leave contracting to the experts 14% Not at all: I want nothing to do with contracting in any situation 4% Practicing Law without a License? Slightly over half of you are very or extremely comfortable with understanding and executing contracts. That’s a great skill to have given how prevalent they are in everyday business. If you’re in the minority who aren’t as familiar or comfortable with contracts, that’s fine too as long as you’re represented by competent counsel. In any case, it’s a good skill to have because the better you understand contracts, the more effectively you can point out any “business” issues to your attorneys (who mostly read contracts for their legal implications and not necessarily the business implications). Even if you’re not the one signing the contract, knowing what’s in there can help you identify and mitigate business risks and prevent your organization from entering a bad deal. Stop being intimidated. Read the contract. Get familiar with their structure and terminology. Your understanding of contracts will be an asset to your organization. Do you agree with these poll results? Let us know in the comments below! – Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC Did you enjoy this post? If so, I highly encourage you to take about 30 seconds to become a regular subscriber to this blog. It’s free, fun, practical, and only a few emails a week (I promise!). SIGN UP HERE to get […]

How would you characterize your organization’s attitude toward customer service?

January 14, 2021 /0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Customer Service, Leadership, Poll /by Ryan Shaw

Our reader poll today asks: How would you characterize your organization’s attitude toward customer service? We go out of our way to exceed expectations 61% We do our best to meet expectations 32% We try to meet expectations but don’t worry too much if we don’t 6% We do the bare minimum to get by 1% Is meeting expectations good enough? IN a hyper-competitive world, a clear majority of you are going out of your way to exceed your customers’ expectations. It doesn’t take much and it goes a long way. For those of you satisfied with meeting customer expectations, recognize that your competitors are trying to push beyond those expectations. Fall short enough times and you’ll find those customers are no longer yours. We all know it’s less expensive to keep an existing customer than it is to acquire a new one. If you’re one of those “meeting expectations” firms (or even the ones who don’t really care too much about meeting expectations) just recognize your marketing team will be very busy and very expensive but your finance team might not have a lot of work to do when it comes time to count your profits. Ignore customer service at your own risk! Do you agree with these poll results? Let us know in the comments below! – Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC Did you enjoy this post? If so, I highly encourage you to take about 30 seconds to become a regular subscriber to this blog. It’s free, fun, practical, and only a few emails a week (I promise!). SIGN UP HERE to get the thoughtLEADERS blog conveniently delivered right to your inbox!

How generous of a person would you say you are?

January 7, 2021 /0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Ryan Shaw

Our reader poll today asks: How generous of a person would you say you are? Extremely: I give freely and often sometimes until it hurts 13% Very: I regularly give what I can to others 41% Kind of: I’ll give to people and causes I’m passionate about 35% Not very: I’ll occasionally do generous things but not often 9% Not at all: I rarely give to others unless I’m encouraged to 3% Others before self? Generosity has many benefits beyond the actual act itself. Giving can foster connections, understanding, empathy and community. The item or action given doesn’t have to be large to be meaningful. During especially challenging times, generosity can turn someone’s entire day, week or month around. Don’t give until it hurts. Hurt shouldn’t be part of the equation. But do consider giving for the sake of giving. Occasionally, others will hear of your generosity and hopefully be inspired to be generous, as well. We’re all weathering the same storm — consider how you might make someone else’s experience a bit more pleasant or bearable. Do you agree with these poll results? Let us know in the comments below! – Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC Did you enjoy this post? If so, I highly encourage you to take about 30 seconds to become a regular subscriber to this blog. It’s free, fun, practical, and only a few emails a week (I promise!). SIGN UP HERE to get the thoughtLEADERS blog conveniently delivered right to your inbox!

Which of the following statements best reflects your situation related to getting promoted?

December 31, 2020 /0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Communications, Leadership, Poll /by Ryan Shaw

Our reader poll today asks: Which of the following statements best reflects your situation related to getting promoted? I was promoted within the last 3 months: 12% I expect to get promoted within the next 3-6 months: 11% I expect to get promoted in the next 6-12 months: 14% I’m more than 12 months from being promoted: 63% Getting close? Looks like a lot of you (25%) see yourselves in line for a promotion within the next 12 months. The question is, what are you doing to secure that jump? If you’re not already acting “as if” you’re in that role, consider doing so. Many times it’s not about “can they perform at that level?” but instead the conversation is, “Are they already performing at that level?” When there’s uncertainty in the market, organizations tend to assume less risk which puts your promotion in question. Start acting as if you have the role in terms of the size of your contributions and your acceptance of responsibility. For the 63% who see it more than 12 months away, what can you commit to in the next year to get yourself ready for the next role and get yourself the visibility you need for your leaders to see yourself as ready? Build a plan now. Execute it in the coming year. Without action, it’s simply wishful thinking. Do you agree with these poll results? Let us know in the comments below! – Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC Did you enjoy this post? If so, I highly encourage you to take about 30 seconds to become a regular subscriber to this blog. It’s free, fun, practical, and only a few emails a week (I promise!). SIGN UP HERE to get the thoughtLEADERS blog conveniently delivered right to your inbox!

Do You Have a 2021 Business Vision?

December 28, 2020 /1 Comment/in Business Toolkit, Communications, Guest Blogger, Leadership, Project Management /by Ryan Shaw

A critical part of effective leadership and success means the understanding of including all stakeholders and total collaboration in your leadership model. Today’s post is by Kim Lorenz, author of Tireless (CLICK HERE to get your copy). It’s that time of year again – many organizations have started diving into accomplishing their strategic business goals and objectives for 2021. Do you have a 2021 business vision? In my years of experience as an entrepreneur, business owner, partner and CEO, I have come to realize that if you can learn to see opportunity, can innovate, and look past the “obvious,” you can achieve almost anything. To me, a critical part of effective leadership and business success means understanding the importance of including all stakeholders and total collaboration in your leadership model. Stakeholders are both internal to your company, some in higher levels of management, and often are suited best to contribute fresh ideas and perspectives, mainly because they are often the ones in the trenches and closer to the actual issue you might be addressing. Unfortunately, when business decisions are made due to a lack of knowledge and failure to seek understanding and input from others, millions of dollars can be wasted. Sadly, these poor decisions, whether in the non-profit or for-profit arena, are not typically discovered for many years down the road, so the losses pile up needlessly. With this in mind, I encourage leaders in this New Year to strive to gather more information and consult with others (who might know something they don’t) in every decision they make. Remember, you must be willing to meet with the people who do the work every day – and recognize that they are significant, valuable stakeholders who can help you craft smarter business decisions.

As the year comes to an end, what are your expectations for next year?

December 24, 2020 /0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Ryan Shaw

Our reader poll today asks: As the year comes to an end, what are your expectations for next year? It’ll be much better: 32.43% It’ll be slightly better: 42.96% It’ll be about the same: 16.28% It’ll be slightly worse: 4.92% It’ll be much worse: 3.41% Optimistic views. 75% of you feel like next year will be better than this one. Hopefully that’s the case! 2020 certainly has been extraordinary. The question to you as a leader is what are you doing right now to set next year up to be successful? Are you building talent? Putting together your plans? Building organizational flexibility and capabilities? Better years don’t just happen magically. They’re much more likely to occur if you’re putting in the effort early to make sure you’re ready to capitalize on opportunities that present themselves. As this year winds down, take advantage of some of the quiet time to plan for next year. Take action now to set you up for success later. Don’t wait for Q1 to put things in motion! Do you agree with these poll results? Let us know in the comments below! – Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC Did you enjoy this post? If so, I highly encourage you to take about 30 seconds to become a regular subscriber to this blog. It’s free, fun, practical, and only a few emails a week (I promise!). SIGN UP HERE to get the thoughtLEADERS blog conveniently delivered right to your inbox!