READ STEVE'S BLOG POSTS
The Benefits Of An Outsider’s Perspective
When it comes to creative problem-solving in a business setting, the solution often is as simple as looking at things from a completely different perspective. But, this is easier said than done. Leaders tend to be so engrossed in the day-to-day aspects of their position, or overly involved in the specific situation at hand that…
How The Best Leaders Handle Failure
Throughout my years of working alongside many companies’ leaders and employees, I’ve come to realize that the concept of failure is often looked at in a very non-constructive way. Perhaps it’s because many professionals automatically revert to the “blame game” and pick one employee or department as the sole cause of the particular problem or…
How A Healthy Dose Of Humanity Makes Better Leaders
How do you become a better, more engaged leader? How do you fix the problems in your company when the business seems stuck? Do you want to gain a new perspective into your own company? Then start having real conversations with your employees at all levels. Today. You’ve probably seen the popular television show “Undercover…
Start A Meeting Revolution In 2017!
Is there anyone out there who hopes there will be more meetings in 2017 than there were in 2016? I didn’t think so. While a new year should be exciting for your business, it might just mean another twelve months of relentless and mostly meaningless, unproductive meetings. If this sounds like your company, I’ve got…
Honoring Labor Day
Of all the national holidays in the US, Labor Day has become the most meaningless. Veterans’ Day, Memorial Day, Presidents’ Day, Independence Day, Columbus Day, Martin Luther King Day – all of these holidays inspire us to at least pay lip service to their origins, even if we don’t actively celebrate them. But Labor Day?…
Useful Lessons We Can Learn from the Demise of Yahoo
Yahoo, a twenty-one-year-old web pioneer, was acquired recently by Verizon for $4.8 billion. Once valued at more than $125 billion at the height of the dotcom boom, it passed on opportunities to buy Facebook, YouTube and Skype. The company has always suffered from identity confusion. It was never sure whether its business was search, media, email…
When Workers Fear Asking Questions, Nothing Gets Better
The truth is that most people are afraid to ask questions—whether from years of conditioning within a company or plain old human nature. Whatever natural curiosity they had as children tends to get discouraged in most large organizations. Leaders assume following the status quo is the right way to go and are not interested in…
The Playing Not to Lose Syndrome
Last night, I was energized by a conversation I had with the general manager of the hotel I’m staying at in Hanoi. He was telling me about the many challenges he faced in growing his business and about often he took calculated risks. He’s driven by wanting to create the very best hotel experience in…
4 Major Mistakes Established Companies Make
start-up companies obviously face many difficulties. Once they make the decision to start their business, they must operate at full throttle almost immediately. They know that if they do not build their business, and quickly, they’ll have nothing — so it becomes a fight for their life from day one. There are dozens of concerns—raising…
Transparency is a Leader’s Best Friend
As I was walking back from the gym one morning just before 7AM, I passed by the local boutique food store and noticed the manager standing in the middle of a circle, with all of her staff around her. It looked like every employee was present. I had noticed her doing this several times before…