Why You Should Trim Your Trees
If you employ or manage at least six people, you need to let one of them go every year or so. If you employ 30 or 40, you should be weaning three or four. Forget about those who quit. I’m talking about firing people. It may sound crazy in a…
READ MORESeeds of Wealth
Dear Early Riser, What you are doing by honing your success skills — in my humble opinion — is the smartest thing you can do for yourself. The economy is faltering, and recession is upon us. Every businessman I know is working scared. Soon there will be cutbacks and layoffs.…
READ MOREDoes Your Mental Attitude Determine Success?
I’ve just read an interesting book about optimism. It was written by an expert in the field and provides a great deal of scientific proof for some ideas I’ve developed about mental attitudes and success. According to Martin Seligman, the author of “Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and…
READ MOREHow To Make People Like You
“The easiest kind of relationship for me is with ten thousand people. The hardest is with one.” – Joan Baez Yesterday, we talked about good manners. We said that while they are not a necessary component to success, they certainly won’t hurt your progress — and they may even help…
READ MOREGood Manners And Success
Despite what some pundits have said, making people like you is not the secret to success. There are plenty of very rich, very powerful, and very successful S.O.B.s out there. In fact, there may be an inverse relationship between affability and accomplishment. Spend too much time and energy trying to…
READ MOREPractice E-mail Etiquette
“It is much easier to be critical than to be correct.” – Benjamin Disraeli (speech, January 24, 1860) This is not the first time I’ve talked about e-mail etiquette (see Message #180, “E-Mail and Return Buttons”), so if you have already heard this little speech, please forgive me. I’m inclined…
READ MOREHow To Be A Successful Negotiator
Three elements are at play in a negotiation, according to James Sebenius (writing in the Harvard Business Review) who has done thousands and ought to know: 1. Issues are on the table for explicit agreement. 2. Positions are one party’s stands on the issues. 3. Interests are underlying concerns that…
READ MOREIn Business, As In Life, There’s A Big Difference Between Having A Sense Of Humor And Not Taking Anything Seriously
I used to employ a young copy editor, MB, who was bright and talented and doomed to failure in the corporate world. This was clear to me from the very first moment I met him. We had just been introduced when he said something like “So I guess you’re the…
READ MOREHow To Make Meetings Work, Part 2
“For the most part, our leaders are merely following out in front; they do but marshal us the way that we are going.” – Bergen Evans (The Spoor of Spooks and Other Nonsense, 1954) Dave Barry says the reason the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its…
READ MOREHow To Make Meetings Work, Part 1
“I am a great believer, if you have a meeting, in knowing where you want to come out before you start Excuse me if that doesn’t sound very democratic.” – Nelson Rockefeller There’s an interesting article in the Harvard Business Review (HBR) this month. This one on a problem you…
READ MORE“Inward” Vs “Outward” Business Management
“Everything which is properly ‘business’ we must keep carefully separate from ‘life.’ Business requires earnestness and method; life must have a freer handling.” – Goethe (Elective Affinities, 1809) According to Inc. magazine, Ed Ossie built MTW Corp. (a consultant to web-based businesses) into a very successful company by creating a…
READ MOREGetting It: Understanding The “Basic Selling Dynamic” Of Your Business
There comes a time in your career when the lights come on and you feel like you truly understand your business. This is not likely to happen right away. For some of us, it takes years and years. But when that moment comes, it brings with it a sense of…
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