Executive Personal Branding

Diversity is not just about differences. It is also about similarities—the things that people have in common. Leveraging similarities can be an asset in solving business issues and is often underutilized or abused with little in-between. 

Assuming that diversity means differences and similarities let me share with you where many companies go wrong with diversity. They miss the element of difference and only focus on similar or what is familiar. Familiar is safe, reduces immediate risk, and puts…

What is the value of diversity in your organization? How much does that project mean to you and your company? Seriously, assign a number to it.

Would you be surprised to learn that on average, when diversity is implemented as a process of change it has a one to three hundred percent ROI! (Honest it does!)

It also typically has a higher ROI than other company training initiatives, decreases employee turnover, increases customer loyalty, and can help you land more jobs. . . just to name a few.

By the…

It is no secret that equal pay does not consistently exist in our country. To this day, women still earn less than an equal male counterpart regardless of the industry! On average women earn 77 percent of a man’s pay, according to Census statistics released in September 2011. To put this in perspective, fifty years ago, women earned 61 percent of what men earned. While it is not equal, it is progress!

To break it out further, in 2010, African American women were at 67 percent of all men's earning…

Diversity simply addresses differences. It doesn’t specify what is different, how it’s different, or why it matters that it is different, it just simply is different. These differences can come in the form of religion, sexual orientation, language, age, race, communications styles, gender identification, social class, mental abilities, or even looks.

Senior leadership and a company’s employees bring these qualities and characteristics to work every day—whether you want them to or not. These are…

I was at an event the other night where I met a CEO. In the midst of sharing what we each do for a living, his response to my business was, “We have a mission statement, a vision, and goals,” said with a confidence that was intended to mean he had the perfect company!

Having been faced with this response many times, I knew what it actually meant—his company is in or approaching serious trouble and either he doesn’t know it or he is in denial about it. Or on rare occasion it means that the company…

I was cleaning out some of my notes from a meeting I was at and found a great comment that someone had said—though unfortunately I can’t give them credit, as I didn’t write down who said it.

The Profit Button

When you only push the Profit Button, nothing happens, but when you fix, change, and improve everything involved in creating profit magically the profit button works!

So what buttons are you pushing?

 

Q. I would love any thoughts on how often management should reset the goals for a sales team? I have seen everything from annually to quarterly and would love to hear how other sales organizations parse out budgets.

A. The challenge I see with your question is that it is one-sided. When its only management deciding the goals, then its management talking AT the sales team. It should be a joint decision when they are decided upon. Yes the company needs a certain amount for growth, but the team may…

So here it is, the middle of February, and you have probably given up on any New Year’s resolutions you valiantly made at the start of the year. Or perhaps you haven’t given up on all of them, but you have decided to postpone working on them until you are “not as busy” or “later in the year.”

I won’t get started on a rant about New Year’s resolutions, but I do want to connect the concept with changes we consciously make.

A business’s stability and success is dependent upon their ability to adapt a…

A few notes from Pacific Northwest Chapter of IMC event “Through the Eyes of the Executive Suite.”

The purpose of this event was to share experiences of being in an interim executive position within a company. The panel was made up of Bob King (COO), Tim O’Brien (CTO), Janis Machala (CEO), Marty Heimbigner (CFO), and was moderated by a good friend of mine, Barry Otterholt.

While plenty of stories and examples were shared, two topics came up predominately: Leadership and Success factors.

“I don’t b…

A good friend of mine, Steve Rennekamp, president of Energy Swing Windows has a great philosophy about culture and brand. He calls it "Creating a Win/Win/Win Scenario." I asked him to share it in an article which is below. Energy Swing Windows is located just outside of Pittsburgh, PA and is the most referred window and door company. They have amazing windows! If you have never seen their product, make sure you tour their facility. You will be blown away.

In a successful company, you build your …