You admire the ability of a leader to make quick decisions—you call it “decisiveness”—and more importantly, you revere the leader who makes good decisions. Decision debacles can be avoided best when you understand your current processes, when you are regularly communicating your decision making process, and when you establish the criteria from your facts that…

In summary, research proves that when people are under stress their decision-making abilities are significantly reduced (1,2,3). Corticosteroids, those hormones released while under stress, reduce spatial reference, working memory, and behavioral flexibility (4). This results in focusing on problem-related information and ignoring a full scope of details that, if considered, could provide insight and change…

As you know by now, there’s a lot that goes into face-to-face communication with someone. Now throw a bunch of people into the mix, put them in one room, and get them all to have productive communication. That can be a feat for even the most talented of communicators. And yet this is commonly expected…

“The basis of Toyota’s scientific approach is to ask why five times whenever we find a problem. By repeating why five times, the nature of the problem, as well as its solution, becomes clear.” Taiichi Ohno makes this statement in his book Toyota Production Systems: Beyond Large-Scale Production where he describes the rise of Toyota’s…

As a leader you know it’s important to gather your team together and communicate.  Effective teams are on the same page.  Without meetings, how will you ensure that?  How will your team know your goals, their role, and the resources available to them?  Stellar teams communicate openly, even challenging each other’s perspective.  If you don’t…

When a meeting is successful, you can feel the energy in the air. Most of the advice about running a successful meeting centers on the agenda; but, in truth, a successful meeting starts earlier, with a clear analysis of the situation and great communication. According to some research, executives judge only about a third of…

Difficult conversations usually mean bad news for at least one person, and they affect both the teller and the receiver of the news. Difficult conversations are best held in person or if necessary, through video conferencing. When the conversation affects an entire group, the group should be broken up into as small units as possible…

Have you ever received guidance or training in conflict resolution? Like 60% of employees in the U.S., your answer is probably, “no.” Yet research shows that conflict occurs at every level of the organization and costs billions of dollars and millions of lost working days—without generating any of the good that can come from conflict.…

Happy clients travel smoothly from that first point of entry- whether a phone call, visit to your website, or a walk through the door- through decision making to the final payment. Happy clients return to your business and recommend you to their family/friends. Happy clients create happy teams, that rely on their own inspiration rather…

An organization goes through many changes, some anticipated and planned while others are totally unexpected. Then there are also external and internal changes. The economy, politics, regulations, technology, and competition are some examples of external sources that can have huge impacts on a company. Internal changes may be prompted by leadership rotation, new ideas, spontaneous…