Building a Good Support System
It’s not easy to be a new manager — especially if, instead of coming up “through the ranks,” you’ve been recruited from the outside. You’re likely to face resistance from all quarters — your new employees, your new supervisor, your new clients, and even your vendors, support staff, and/or consultants.…
READ MOREAre You Deluding Yourself About Your Chance of Success?
“The most common sort of lie is the one uttered to one’s self.” – Nietzsche (The Antichrist, 1888) A study I saw in USA Today a few months ago said that most people rate themselves as “hard” to “very hard” workers. Yet any reference book of statistics will tell you…
READ MOREWhy You Don’t Want Your Employee-Turnover Rate at Zero
“Always do right. It will gratify some people and astonish the rest.” – Mark Twain Employment experts will sometimes tell you that the lower your employee turnover is, the stronger your company is. If you accept this claim, you are going to be attracted to all kinds of schemes that…
READ MOREWhen Your Boss is Looking Over Your Back
“A bad workman quarrels with the man who calls him that.” – Ambrose Bierce (“Saw,” The Devil’s Dictionary) Second-guessers — bosses who delegate authority and then take some of it back — are a very odious sort. And most management books advise you to confront second-guessers and try to get…
READ MOREWhat Do You Do When a Friend Asks You for Money?
“My best friend is the man who in wishing me well wishes it for my sake.” – Aristotle (Nicomachean Ethics, fourth century B.C.) They say you shouldn’t mix business with either friendship or family. And they may be right. But I’ve done a lot of both and have mostly good…
READ MOREHow to Grow Your Business Through Endorsements
A famous business publication interviewed me once and asked me this question: “If every one of your marketing concepts but one was taken away, which would you hold on to at any price?” I didn’t need a second to think about the question. I immediately answered that I’d never give…
READ MOREDo the Dirty Work Yourself
“I am inclined to believe that a man may be free to do anything he pleases if only he will accept responsibility for whatever he does.” – Ellen Glasgow (Vein of Iron, 1935) They say that players who got fired by New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner resented the…
READ MOREMake Important and Powerful People Want to Be Your Friend
“A mighty flame followeth a tiny spark.” – Dante (“Paradiso,” The Divine Comedy, c. 1300-21) There are two things almost all people like to do: 1. talk about themselves 2. talk about something they know a lot about You can put these facts of life to work for you in…
READ MOREInteresting Trend in the Advertising World
Dear Early to Rise Reader, Last Monday, The USA Today reported on an interesting trend in the advertising world. Many of the world’s biggest and most successful companies, the paper reported, are now turning to direct-marketing (which they call the “ugly step-child” of the advertising world), instead of traditional, glitzy,…
READ MOREThe Traits of Leadership: Let’s Call It Like It Is
“There are men, who, by their sympathetic attractions, carry nations with them, and lead the activity of the human race.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson (“Power,” The Conduct of Life, 1860) To command the respect of your subordinates, you must lead with self-awareness, honesty, authenticity, and humility. So say Larry Bossidy…
READ MOREDo You Have Your Crisis Plan Ready?
We’ve talked about this before. Having a “Plan B” ready for action will make success no less sweeter and will make failure a whole lot easier to deal with — and less costly. For specific projects and promotions that you are in charge of, it’s relatively easy to create a…
READ MOREHelp Your Employees Learn From Both Their Successes And Their Failures
We learn from our successes and our failures in equal measure. To encourage learning in your business, reward both. Praise good work and goals met. But also praise mistakes that were “smart” tries. That’s not always easy to do. Failure is disappointing. How do you hide yours when it happens?…
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