11 Ways to Evade Questions - wikiHow

How to Evade Questions - wikiHow

This is a recent post on wikiHow explaining how you can Evade Questions. It gives you 11 ways to evade questions. Give it a go.

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Ask Don't Tell Leadership - How To Create Alignment, Engagement, & Accountability

Trade-Off - How to destroy your brand during down cycles if you're not careful!

"A house divided against itself cannot stand." - Abraham Lincoln

Oftentimes when an organization is going through a downturn in its business cycle, industry cycle, or economic cycle, it is faced with trade-offs that leaders likely wouldn't consider making during more robust cycles. According to columnist and business book author Kevin Maney, who recently wrote Trade-Off: Why Some Things Catch On and Others Don't (which will be reviewed in January's Just-In Newsletter), these organization must often choose between Quality and Convenience.

In down market moments, it is tempting for businesses who stand for quality to give up some of that quality in an effort to maintain margin. Tiffany once tried that by selling trinkets for under $100, and it began to destroy its upscale brand. I ran across another such business, doing perhaps irreparable harm to its brand, while vacationing recently in Steamboat Springs, CO.

I have been skiing since I was four and a professional ski instructor for many years. After a good year in the coaching business, I decided I would spoil myself and went to the highest quality place to buy boots, Surefoot. Before I went into the shop, I did my pre-shopping on-line to understand more about boot fitting and what boots I might find that fit my feet (which are wide and have a high instep). There were a number of boots on sale on-line--which struck me as unusual, since Surefoot is not known as a discounter or for high convenience. Their customer promise is essentially "no matter what it takes, we will get your boots to fit right."

The salesperson I got was an expert's expert and we quickly settled on the best pair of boots for me. Before the filling process began, however, to customize the boots, I asked, "Are these boots on sale because I thought I noticed them on the web on sale?" He responded,"No, but if you want a boot that is on sale, I can find one for you. But then we will have to do a lot of modification, and I don't think you will be happy." Along the way, he up-sells me into heaters and then tries to sell me orthodics for my tennis shoes, a box of 12 pairs of ski socks (I thought he was kidding until I saw them up at the register), and more stuff! Yes, an entire box of socks! By this time I was feeling like I went into Tiffany & Co. to buy quality and I walked out of a bad used-car lot.

I have to say, the boots are great and that is the biggest part of the promise. But, for the price, I shouldn't have left the store feeling like fresh meat, hung out for the lions to chew on! When I got back home, I looked up the boots on-line and, sure enough, they were on sale. Talk about not keeping the customer promise! Instead of going back when I was mad, I decided to go back later.

When I returned to the store, I asked if they would reimburse me on the price difference. The manager said that the web-site pricing and store pricing are never the same. I told him that as a customer I saw Surefoot as one brand, not two different ones. I invited him to make a choice, "Do you want to be one brand or two?" In the end, I received store credit, which I did not need or want, and they were left with a tarnished brand in my mind. I used to think of them as a high-end, high-quality firm and yet they treated me like a ski shop of convenience with low prices and lack of professionalism/integrity.

I have been seeing this trend repeat itself so many times from reliable brands and businesses that have never operated this way before. It's a result of the down cycle, of course, but the damage to the brand promise may last well beyond this particular cycle.

Here's another twist on the Trade-Off between Quality and Convenience. The other evening, I went with my family to have dinner at a major hotel only to find the grill closed. We were directed into the upscale dining area and told we would have many of the same menu items. The lights were not dimmed as usual, but turned bright to give more of a family-atmosphere feel. The menu had both high-end-dining items (High Quality) and items from the grill (High Convenience). Every guest looking for high convenience (Eat and Run), however, became extremely frustrated with the high quality pace of service: slow. The manager and wait staff had to repeatedly apologize to all the tables around us for the slow service during the meal. It would appear that the company wanted to reduce cost by closing one of the kitchens early and decided to blend the two restaurants' traffic together. Unfortunately, when you try to do both High Convenience and High Quality, you do both a disservice. It took close to an hour to be served our burgers and salads.

In these economic times, you need to trim expenses but not so you tarnish your brand and lose your customers for good. It will be some time before I will recommend either Surefoot or one of these restaurants to anyone--during a good or bad cycle.

Do you know which customer you are trying to serve? Are you making too many cuts that will lead your customers to your competitors' doors? Remember what Abraham Lincoln said, "A house divided against itself cannot stand." He may have been talking about a country in peril, but this truth to you should be self-evident!

Trade offs during down turn?

"A house divided against itself cannot stand." - Abraham Lincoln

Often times when an organization is going through a down turn either in it's, business cycle, industry cycle, or economic cycle it is faced with trade-offs that may be greater than they realize during more robust cycles. According to columnist and business book author Kevin Maney, who recently wrote Trade-Off Why Somethings Catch on and Others Don't (which will be reviewed in January's Just-In Newsletter), that business must choose between Quality and Convenience.

In down market moments it is tempting for businesses who stand for quality to give up some of that quality in an effort to maintain margin. This temptation lures the organization to reverse their position in the market to one of convenience. Tiffany once tried that by selling trinkets for under $100 and it began to destroy their upscale brand. What is at risk is the brand promise to your customer.

Perhaps you have seen, during the holidays what I have experienced while vacationing in Steamboat Springs, CO during Thanksgiving and Holiday Brake. I have seen businesses that are suffering from knowing how to keep their brand promise to their customer. They are focusing on margin while losing focus on the quality that built their reputation. This puts organizations at risk of not distinguishing for the customer between the quality and convenience trade-off in which they were known.

I have been skiing since I was four and a Professional Ski Instructor for many years. Last winter I wore out my ski boots so it was time to go shopping. After a good year in the coaching business I decided I would spoil myself and went to the highest quality place to buy boots, Surefoot. Before I went into the shop I did my pre-shopping on-line to understand more about boot fitting and what boots I might find that fit my feet (which are wide and have a high instep) hence the reason for custom boots. There were a number of boots on sale - this in itself is unual for SureFoot not known as a discounter or high convenience. There customer promise is no matter what it takes we will get your boots to fit right.

In entering the shop and it was clear there were no sales. I sat down and began being fit to a pair of boots. The guy was an experts, expert. And before the filling process began to customize the boots I asked, "Are these boots on sale because I thought I noticed them on the web on sale." He responded," no, if you want a boot that is on sale I can find one for you but then we will have to do all this modification and I don't think you will be happy." Along the way he up-sells me into heaters and then tries to sell me , orthodics for my tennis shoes, a box of socks (12 pair of ski socks - at first I thought he was kidding until I saw them up at the registerand more stuff! Yes an entire box of sox! By this time I was feeling like I went in to Tiffany's to buy quality and I was walking out of the place feeling terrible, like I had been slimmed. When I got back home I looked up the boots on-line and sure enough they were on sale.

During the holidays I went in and asked if they would re-emburse me on the difference. The manager said that the website pricing and store pricing are never the same. I simply said that may be the case and as a customer I see you as one brand. You have to make the decision what you want to be one brand or two and then let your customers decide on where they want to shop. They gave me store credits in the end, which I did not need or want and tarnished there brand forever in my mind. I use to think of them as a high end - high quality firm and yet they treated me like a ski shop of convenience and charged me twice as much like a luxury brand. During positive economic times this might not have been the case. It will take a lot for them to win me back to seeing them as High Quality.

Another example of this Trade-off happened the other evening when dining at one of the major hotels in town. We went to have dinner at the grill only to find it closed which left us the upscale dining area which they told us would have many of the same menu items. We walk into the fine dining area and to our surprise the lights not dimmed as usual but turned bright to give more of a family atmosphere feeling. We sat down and noticed that indeed as well as the high end dinning (High Quality) they had menu items from the grill (High Convenience). What surprised us and every other guest who were looking for the high convenience (Eat and Run) that the service was calibrated on High Quality and slow service. There was not a table around us that the manager and wait staff had to repeatedly apologize for during the meal. It would appear that the company wanted to reduce cost by closing one of the kitchens early and decided to blend the two restaurants traffic together. The issue with this is that when you try to do both High Convenience and High Quality you do neither very well.

In these economic times you need to trim expenses but not so you tarnish your brand and lose your customers for good. It will be some time before I will recommend either Sure Foot or one of these restaurants to anyone - during a good or bad cycle. Do you know which customer you are trying to serve?

Hockey Stick Budgeting

When you're budgeting in October or November of 2009 for 2010, January looks so close it is difficult to see how you're going to get from your current revenue run rate to your overall revenue growth for the following year. What managers usually try to sell to the leaders of the organization is that certain new efforts in 2010 will deliver an outcome that may start out flat (like the blade of a hockey stick), but spikes upward at the end of the year. They do this rather than looking at gradual growth throughout the year. When I see this type of planning whether as a business owner, board member, or executive coach, I become immediately skeptical of the plan. Are you planning for a Hockey Stick Year? When is the last time you actually saw it play out?

Top 10 Questions You Should Ask in Strategic Planning

Scott Glatstein, President of Imperatives, shares with us the Top 10 questions you should ask in doing strategic planning and why!

1. What’s your marketplace promise?
a. Identifies whether a clear promise exists
b. Asking the same question across the organization tests alignment
2. Lots of companies make promises they don’t keep; why should the marketplace believe yours?
a. Identifies whether the company has thought beyond the t-shirt slogan
b. Determines whether there is understanding of how the promise is delivered
3. How do your products and services deliver on the promise?
a. Checks to see if the marketplace offerings are aligned to promise made
4. Has the end-to-end customer experience been mapped to ensure it aligns with the promise?
a. Identifies the key touch points and sensitizes the company to heretofore ignored drivers of preference and success
5. Do hiring and training practices create a company culture poised to fulfill the promise?
a. Tests to see how serious the company is in driving their promise through their people
6. Are internal processes managed holistically across silos with a critical eye toward their effect on the customer experience?
a. Tests awareness of breakdowns that can occur when processes cross silos
b. Tests awareness of the effects of every process on the customer’s image of the company
7. How do you gather feedback from your market-facing employees regarding potential improvements to your business processes?
a. Tests lines of communication and respect for front-line employees
b. Offers insight into management’s awareness of the market and the organization
8. Do you have any business processes you believe are strictly internal and have no bearing on the customer? If so, why are you doing them?
a. Offers an opportunity to point out that everything the company does should, in some way, serve the customer promise. If it doesn’t, it shouldn’t be done.
9. How do you ensure new IT systems support delivery of the marketplace promise?
a. Tests linkage between the development of tools and their effect on the customer experience. (“I’m sorry sir…the system just won’t let me do that.”)
10. Do your employees embrace the tools you’ve provided or do they view them as a hindrance to doing their jobs?
a. Identifies potential disconnects that could stymie strategy implementation:
i. Employee doesn’t understand role and thus sees no value in the tool
ii. Employee understands role but tool does not enable employee to fulfill the promise
iii. Employee has not been properly trained

How to execute on your strategy - Strategy Activation

Gary Cohen interviews Scott Glatstein, founder and president of Imperatives, on the topic of Strategy Activation: how to move from strategy to execution!

Q: Scott, there are a great number of strategic planning books on the market. What was it that you felt was not being shared or shared in a way that inspired you to write your book Strategy Activation: How to Turn Your Vision into Marketplace Success?

A: As a business culture we are obsessed with developing the perfect strategy. We study it in business school, write detailed books on the subject and spend countless hours debating the subject in conference rooms across the country. Yet we know that 9 out of 10 market-facing strategies fail, not because they were bad strategies, but because they were poorly implemented. We spend all this time and energy searching for the right strategy but very little effort ensuring brilliant execution of the strategy in the marketplace.

A good strategy well executed always trumps a brilliant strategy poorly implemented. Strategy Activation® takes a different tact than most strategic planning books. It begins by urging the reader to eschew complex, esoteric strategies for simple, basic strategies that leverage the capabilities of the organization. But that’s just the first step. The vast majority of the book is a how-to guide that sensitizes the reader to the importance of aligning the three implementation drivers…people, processes and tools…to increase the strategy’s odds of success in the marketplace.

Q: What is the gap between vision and action that is missed by both practitioners who help companies build strategic plans and business leaders who have a vision and can’t seem to move it out to the marketplace?

A: Work in the corporate world is often divided into two major buckets: strategy and execution. This division seems to create, in turn, two categories of employees; thinkers and doers. Strategy is developed by the thinkers, typically senior executives with lots of experience and impressive track records. Execution is driven by the doers, basically everyone else in the organization charged with making things actually happen in the marketplace.

Thinkers tend to talk about doing things. Doers are the ones who put the points on the board. While thinkers coach enthusiastically from the sidelines, doers are out on the court playing the game. Doers work directly with customers. Doers design, build, and deliver products and services. Doers resolve problems when things don’t go as planned. Ultimately, it’s the doers who drive the organization’s success in the marketplace.

Only 27% of thinkers broadly communicate their strategies to the doers. Even in companies where the strategy is communicated we often find that it outstrips the organization’s inherent capabilities or the company’s metrics and rewards systems conspire against its desired implementation.

Q: With New Years coming up many companies reset their odometers and begin anew: new budgets, new or renewed strategies, goals and objectives. What 5 things could they do to improve their likelihood of being more successful?

A:
1) Recognize that a market-facing strategy is a promise…a promise to deliver something to the customer. And promises are easier to make than they are to keep.
2) Choose a strategy that recognizes the limitations of the existing organization…under-promise, over-delver.
3) Communicate the strategy to the organization in such a way that every employee understands their individual role in making the strategy successful in the marketplace.
4) Ensure that the company’s businesses processes and systems enable employees to fulfill their roles.
5) Align the company’s metrics and rewards to the desire employee’s behaviors that deliver on strategy’s promise each and every day.

Q: Everyone has different names it seems for strategic terms like values, vision, mission, strategy, objectives, and goals. Have you developed a preference and could you share how they relate to one another and how you define them?

A: While many academics and consultants like to argue the nuances of each of these terms we focus on their commonality – they all represent a promise. Your market-facing strategy is a promise to deliver something to your customer…top quality, safety, speed, service, low prices…and like any promise this creates an expectation that the promise will be kept. Marketplace implementation is the fulfillment of that promise. To the extent your implementation meets or exceeds the customer’s expectations the strategy will be successful.

Make your promise and keep it. Further debate around the relative differences between vision, mission, values, image, etc. will do little to enhance your business results.

Q: You are around a lot of leaders in your work, I imagine. Do you have a perspective of why & how they ask questions that you would be willing to share with our readers?

A: Unfortunately I find that leaders don’t ask enough questions. They tend to be too far removed from the day-to-day realities of their markets and the strengths and weaknesses of their organization. They may not understand how customers have changed. They believe their infrastructure is capable of reacting to change quickly. They can’t see how their compensation plans reward behavior that is inconsistent with their marketplace promise.

In almost every project we find that the “solution” to the company’s problems resides somewhere within their organization. We just have to find it, nurture it and demonstrate its value to the management team. We do this by asking questions. I have to believe that if leaders had asked the same questions they would have uncovered these opportunities on their own. Of course, then I’d be out of a job.

Sometimes A Job Badly Done Is The Job Description's Fault

by Gary B. Cohen

Usually when employees fail to fulfill the expectations their job descriptions raise, their superiors work with them to improve their performance. If that fails, they are sent packing. Such firings--and all the hurt feelings, wasted time and tried patience that accompany them--aren't always avoidable, but leaders shouldn't overlook the part the job description can play. Sometimes it's the job description that should be sent packing, not the employee.

Poorly written or conceived job descriptions abound. Some are too much about the skills and knowledge the employee should have, rather than about responsibilities. Others are what I would call "results descriptions." They say what should ultimately be achieved but nothing about how to achieve it. Still others might be called "vision descriptions." They speak mainly of the hoped-for growth of the position and/or organization. Read the rest at Forbes

Leading Up: How to Lead Your Boss So You Both Win by Michael Useem - Book Review

Michael Useem makes a compelling case for when and how "followers" ought to lead their bosses. Since roughly 70% of organizational leaders report to higher-ups, Useem's book isn't aimed just at low-level employees. I often coach leaders who must lead upward and downward in their organizations. It's no easy feat, and it's nice to have models to follow. Useem provides quite a range, some who succeeded and some who came tantalizingly close: Lincoln's cabinet members, United Nations workers trying to prevent the Rwandan genocide, Mount Everest climbers, Argentinian economic advisers. The story that resonated the most with me was about a mid-level worker who convinced the CEO, Chairman, and Board of Charles Schwab to commit to online trading (with billions of dollars at stake).

I met Michael last month when we were both presenting to the American Consulting Firm in New York at the Union Club. By chance (and Kindle), I had just started his book. Michael energized and inspired the consultants at his presentation, and he inspired me to carve out time to finish his book. He's brilliant! Not surprising, considering he's a professor of management and the director of the Center for Leadership and Change Management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Like Malcolm Gladwell, Michael shares rich, detailed insights into fascinating and transformative people and events. He rewards patient readers with a taste for history, in particular.

You Can't Handle The Truth - If this is true are you really leading?

In A Few Good Men, Col. Jessep (played by Jack Nickleson) and Lt. Daniel Kaffee (played by Tom Cruise) square off. Lt. Kaffee shouts, "I want the truth!" Col. Jessep responds, "You Can't Handle The Truth!" and then proceeds to tell his truth...

Col. Jessep: "Son, we live in a world that has walls and those walls need to be guarded by men with guns. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lieutenant Weinberg? I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago and curse the Marines; you have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know: that Santiago's death, while tragic, probably saved lives and that my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use them as the backbone of a life trying to defend something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said "thank you," and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest that you pick up a weapon and stand a post. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to."

Col. Jessep reveals a truth that is his alone and not necessarily shared by any of those he reports up to or who report to him. Just because he believes it does not make it true.

As a leader, it's important to realize that your truth is not always in line with your team members'. Get your truth and your team members' truths out on the table. The more you share your truth and encourage others to share theirs, the less likely you'll have diatribes like Col. Jessep's, which come from bottling up truth and feelings for too long.

Leaders & Social Media 20 Questions To Start The Learning

Article Title: 20 Questions To Start a Social Media Discussion by Amber Naslund

Let’s make something clear: you can be the person that starts asking the questions and initiating the conversations that move social media forward. You. Sitting right there. Yes, you.

I don’t care if you’re the marketing assistant, the PR coordinator, the customer service manager, the HR director, or the mailroom clerk. What it takes is the intent to be part of the progress, the bravery to start an open conversation, the maturity and patience to not make it personal, and the investment in the outcomes to take it a step further.

These are not just conversations for the communications department. Be courageous. Pick up the phone, or fire up the email, and ask for 15 minutes of time from the people that can help move social media forward in your organization (or at least reduce some of the friction around it). That means the marketing folks, the customer service folks, finance, HR, PR, product management, QA, sales. Yes, that includes the people you’ve never talked to before, and the ones that aren’t in your “box”.

Ask them one or two questions that can help you form a business case for social media. Your goal is to align social’s capabilities with the problems your organization needs or wants to solve for their own business. Note that the questions below aren’t all specific to social media; they’re attempting to uncover some of the underlying culture, brand, and operational issues that social media could help address. Remember, we’re talking culture change as well as operational change. You need to be the one to translate.

1. What do we do and why, in your words (not a vision statement)? On what could we, as a business, spend more time, energy, and focus?
2. Are you passionate about your role? If so, why? If not, what would help you be?
3. What goals do you have for your role this year? How do you hope to impact the success of your department? The company?
4. ..... Yes there are more 17 in fact Read Altitude - Great Blog

I found this through my buddy David Brake Author of The Social Media Bible. His book is hot and has the stickiness that books named the Bible should have. Read about him in Fast Company.

Looking Yourself In The Mirror - A Requirement of Going from Good to Great as a Leader

I was at the Aspen Global Leadership Network Conference this summer and one of the participants offered a different take on an adage many of us have heard. That adage is "How would you feel if you read about what you had done on the front page of the newspaper?" His take seem to ring deeper with me: "Can you wake up in the morning and look at yourself in the mirror with elation and be greeted with a warm smile?"

The person you have to face in life is you. People will have many opinions about your behavior good or bad, generous or stingy, but they will never appear opposite you in the mirror.

Often people go through a journey in life that Joseph Campbell calls the Hero's Journey. Campbell says, "A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man."

You may feel you have gone on your own hero's journey, having left home to experience "fabulous forces" and won decisive victories. It's important, of course, to share knowledge and spoils with others upon your return. But you don't forget to reunite with your former self. A poem, that I recently came across, brings this point out with such clarity. It is called "Love After Love" by Derek Walcott

Love After Love

The time will come
when, with elation,
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror,
and each will smile at the other's welcome,

and say, sit here.  Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine.  Give bread.  Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you

all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,

the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit.  Feast on your life.

Kindle will be publishing Just Ask Leadership Blog Daily

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Now you can receive Just Ask Leadership Blog on your Kindle as well!

From Success to Significance - Giving Back in Education

Those who know what drives me to achieve, know that it starts with educational challenges and learning differences. The emotional pain I went through feeling "less than" continues to push me today.

We all need to find our way to give back to help those who are struggling along the way. Some may be driven by urgency or need (What is the most important issue the world is facing today?). Others maybe driven by personal experience, like I am.

How do you want to move your life from success to significant? I want to do it in the world of education and here are three great programs that I support:

College Bound is an innovative program which uses college students to communicate the benefits of higher education to children in elementary schools. Started in 1994 by the McBride Foundation (New Mexico), over 150,000 students have since learned about the importance of personal responsibility, staying at grade level, and the opportunities created by higher education. Now that the high school dropout rate has risen to an alarming 60% at some inner city high schools, we believe it is urgent that impressionable children be exposed to the exciting opportunities available to them if they pursue their education.

Outward Bound is a non-profit educational organization that serves people of all ages and backgrounds through active learning expeditions that inspire character development, self-discovery and service both in and out of the classroom. Outward Bound delivers programs using unfamiliar settings as a way for participants across the country to experience adventure and challenge in a way that helps students realize they can do more than they thought possible. Customized courses provide curricula developed for struggling teens, groups with specific health, social or educational needs and business and professional organizations. Expeditionary Learning Schools Outward Bound offers a whole school reform model to more than 150 elementary and secondary schools throughout the country.

We help individuals and teams achieve their potential and develop the leadership skills needed to serve others and care for the world around them. Today Outward Bound serves 70,000 students and teachers annually.

All Kinds of Minds is a not-for-profit organization that translates the latest research from neuroscience and other disciplines on how children learn — and vary in their learning — into a powerful framework that educators can use in the classroom.

Our professional development courses offer not only breakthrough ideas but practical solutions for educators to unlock the potential of all children who learn differently.

Hugs are more than a greeting!

GL Hoffman from What Would Dad Say Blog wrote:

Nice thing to do, Gary, and very creative. I appreciate the uncomfortableness you must have felt and overcame.

Parachute Guy has an interesting theory on hugging. When you hug him, and he hugs greetings like everyone shakes hands...(bear in mind, he is like six-foot-five, huge)....he hugs for like ten or fifteen seconds....much longer than normal. Turns out, that physically the human contact is transferred to a far greater degree when the contact is at least that long. (Video with Dick Bolles and Richard Leider or see below)

Gary, I looked this up so I would get the facts right: Hugs certainly feel good, both on the giving and receiving end, and it turns out their effects are more than skin deep. A study by University of North Carolina researchers found that hugs increase the "bonding" hormone oxytocin and decrease the risk of heart disease.

Hugs are good for your heart, they lower blood pressure, and reduce stress, so make it a point to hug someone today!

In fact, when couples hugged for 20 seconds, their levels of oxytocin, released during childbirth and breastfeeding, increased. Those in loving relationships had the highest increases.

Meanwhile, levels of the stress hormone cortisol decreased in women, as did their blood pressure. Said lead researcher and psychologist Dr. Karen Grewen, "Greater partner support is linked to higher oxytocin levels for both men and women. However, the importance of oxytocin and its potentially cardioprotective effects may be greater for women."

Just Because You Don't See It Does Not Make It False!

One of the board member I met with yesterday is brilliant when it comes to numbers. Without even knowing what a business produces, he can see all its strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities just by looking at the financials. What a gift! At the meeting, he tried to relay his concerns emanating from a specific collection of numbers. Rather than try to grasp the full significance of those numbers, the way he had, most board members seemed prepared to just nod past his comments and move on to other business. As a coach and former entrepreneur, I couldn't allow that to happen. When faced with a language we don't fully understand, it's tempting to glide past and shift our focus to what's comprehensible and comfortable. And yet, we owe it to ourselves and others to learn.

Leadership - Courage & Accountability Happen When You Are Talking Straight & Doing The Hard ASK!

When you learn about leadership in school, training programs, and in many leadership books you learn that courage is often one of the values that you are "supposed" to have as a leader.


Courage may be defined as Dictionary.com states, "the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery." Or metaphorically as Faye Wattleton put it, "The only safe ship in a storm is leadership."

I've sailed in the Atlantic during a storm, with 25-foot swells arching over my head (an experience I had courtesy of Outward Bound). It took courage, but no more than it does to hold a direct report responsible for their failings.

Let's say you're the president of a software company in Silcon Valley, talking to your COO. "What's going on in our sales area?" you ask. The COO tells you, "I am a bit concerned, but I think we will be improving shortly." He sticks with wishy washy words and avoids any real concrete terms or accountability.

Maybe the COO handles the problem. If so, great. If he doesn't, however, then where are you? How many customers have been misinformed by the sales force since your last conversation with the COO? How many times in the future will the COO try to let wishy washy answers stand in for competent ones? How will you communicate the need to address failings immediately?

Storms summon courage. Courage is harder to summon when the conversation is pleasant and the skies clear.

YouTube Insight - Hot Spots - Gary Cohen's Free Hugs - Minneapolis

YouTube Insight - Hot Spots - Gary Cohen's Free Hugs - Minneapolis

Just Ask Leadership: Why Great ... - Google Books

Take a sample of the first chapter: Just Ask Leadership: Why Great Managers Always Ask The Right Person... - Google Books