It Isn't Just For Kids

Antoinette Greene Smith was my Grandma Tony. At about the age of 85, she told me, "When you stop learning, it's all over." It was her mantra throughout her life and I like to think it's mine, but sometimes I forget. Are you still learning? Daily? Following are some ways, from obvious to not-so-obvious, to make learning a daily practice:

A Culture of Success: Five Critical Keys to Leadership

It's a great time to re-visit your leadership and make needed changes or improvements. Your firm's success - and yours - is dependent on you doing the following five things well, whether you lead your firm, business unit or team.

Client-Focused Cross-Selling: How Can You Meet Your Client's Unfulfilled Needs?

Management by Coaching: How to Increase Productivity, Satisfaction, Retention and Profitab

 If important tasks fall through the cracks more than occasionally, they are signs of disengaged, dissatisfied workers for which Management by Coaching can be a powerful cure.

Why Employee Happiness Matters and How to Promote It

Employee satisfaction leads to increased retention and profitability. Do you think employee happiness is "soft?" Are you too busy working on the success of your business to worry about whether your employees are happy? Or do you think your employees' happiness isn't up to you, it's up to them? Employee happiness or satisfaction, not to be confused with complacency, is critical to your business success...

Coaching Leadership is Transformative

Coaching Leadership (not to be confused with Executive Coaching) is one of the two most effective styles of leadership. Coaching isn't a style to be used to the exclusion of others, but a set of tools to be used in conjunction with other management techniques.

Higher Than A Kite

Last week I returned from Pepperdine Law School in Malibu California and I'm still "higher than a kite." The blue skies and sunshine over the Malibu Hills and the Pacific Ocean were stunning. More importantly, I had the privilege of being the co-director and one of four instructors for an outstanding leadership program for practicing attorneys. One of my colleagues, Sukhsimran Singh, used a kite analogy during his instruction, perfectly describing my lingering elation.

Closing Your Marketing Circle

Continuous feedback and improvement will help improve and grow your business in response to a growing knowledge of your clients and changes in your marketplace.

Your Marketing Circle Continues: Who's Your "Client?"

Recently I read, "Marketing begins and ends with your clients." I understand the message - without clients you have no business - but I disagree with the statement. When planning to market, you need to start with "You" - who you are, your knowledge, skills, expertise, strengths, personality, what you can offer, what you care about!  Now it's time to continue to map your Marketing Circle by defining your "Client."

Your Marketing Circle Starts with "You."

People will work with you because: 1) they know, like and trust you and 2) they want or need what you have to offer. In terms of your marketing circle, "You" is made up of 1) everything that makes you likeable and trustworthy and 2) your offerings.