Terry's Blog | Daily strategies, insights and inspiration to help you achieve your potential

Learning vs. Training

You can measure the hours people spend in training, but it's even better to measure the objective knowledge they've acquired, which you can do with testing.

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#Leadership

It is the responsibility of good leaders to make sure that words remain attached to the meanings and ideals they represent. 

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Competitive Assessment

Here's a good question to ask at your next executive level staff meeting: "What did our competition try, and why did it work."  Look for the little things that made a big difference.

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The Wrong Feedback

At your organization, how often is feedback nonthreatening, and work-focused rather than person-focused?  Feedback at most companies are exactly the opposite: telling the hapless employee what he or she did wrong, not how to do better, and specifying personal traits (attitude, personality) that must be changed, all under the unspoken looming threat of getting fired. 

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#Leadership

Leaders can make employees feel comfortable asking questions by openly acknowledging when he or she doesn't know the answer.  Humility is a vital leadership success factor.  Another way is by having days in which employee are explicitly encouraged to ask "Why?" "What if...?" and "How might we...?" kinds of questions.

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#Culture: Survey Says

According to Gartner, a research and advisory firm, 69% of employees don't believe in the cultural goals set by their leaders, 87% don't understand them, and 90% don't behave in ways that align with them.  By closing these gaps, Gartner says, companies are 9% more likely to meet or exceed their annual revenue goals.  What about your company?

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#Meetings

A recent survey revealed that sit-down meetings were 34% longer than stand-up meetings, but they produced no better decisions than stand-up meetings.  Steve jobs was notorious for his long walking meetings.

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Metrics & Innovation

Metrics are important for measuring your progress when you know exactly what you want to do, but they can also stifle innovation. 

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Winning vs. Losing

This is how you win: Discipline, Fortitude, Courage, Clearheadedness, Selflessness, Sacrifice.

This is how you lose: Cowardice, Rashness, Disorganization, Overconfidence, Weakness, Selfishness.

The best thing about this?  Only you get to decide what path to take.  Choose widely!

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Public Goals

Research shows that public goals are more likely to be attained than goals held in private.  In a recent survey of one thousand working U.S. adults, 92% said they'd be more motivated to reach their goals if colleagues could see their progress. 

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