Career – thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World

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

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Life Lessons Interview with Mike Figliuolo

January 20, 2021/0 Comments/in Balanced Lifestyle, Career, Entrepreneur, Leadership, Strategy /by Trevor Jones

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? Read more

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!

Timeless Advice for Beginner Entrepreneurs

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

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 Read more

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!

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!