Talented people choose to leave organizations for a simple reason: Talent has options. The further you slide back along the excellence curve, the fewer options those lesser performers will have. Because of that, mediocrity tends to stay. But top … [Read more...]
Selling vs. Marketing: How to Find the Help You Really Need
"How do you explain the difference between sales and marketing?" For the past few weeks I have been reading a LinkedIn subgroup's responses to this simple, straightforward question. A global collection of electronic connections have been flinging … [Read more...]
Difficult Conversations: 10 Tips
As more people withdraw to keyboards interactions instead of talking over the telephone or in-person, interactive effectiveness when confronted with a difficult conversation is diminished for two reasons: lack of comfort and lack of … [Read more...]
How United Airlines Lost a Million-Mile Flier
My two longest loyal business alliances have been Hertz rental cars and United Airlines. Today the list dwindles to one, Hertz the lone survivor. Hertz treats me just as special now as my first rental three decades ago. Yesterday, for the umpteenth … [Read more...]
Why Millennials Are the Most Stressed Out Generation
A recent survey commissioned by the American Psychological Association measured the relative stress levels of four generations: Matures (Post-WWII workers, aged 67+) Boomers (48-to-66) Gen Xers (34-to-47) Millennials (Gen Y, ages 18-to-33) For … [Read more...]
How to Repair A Relationship
Whether at work or home, relationships erode because of four things: 1. Criticism 2. Contempt 3. Being too defensive 4. Stonewalling. Criticism Criticism is marked by attacks and negativity, the usual tricks of a bully. These … [Read more...]
A Peek Behind “The Raven of St. James’s Park” Movie Deal
I optioned a movie recently and for that you can blame Bulova, the old watch maker. On July 1, 1941 they paid $9 to run the first television commercial broadcast in the United States. Because of that I love movies. A New York station, WNBT, ran the … [Read more...]
How to Pursue the Modern American Dream
Yesterday I advised a client, “Do not complicate things that require no complication.” These days I seem to use that quote more frequently than I used to. Whether we work 40 years at one job or one year at 40 jobs, understanding how to measure what … [Read more...]
Istanbul: How Selling Will Change in the Future
Istanbul: the History of Sales in a 5-Block Radius (part 5 of a 5-part series) Three things will shape the near-term evolution of Istanbul's sales culture: The continued westernization of Turkish … [Read more...]
How Istanbul’s Three Highest-rated Businesses Sell Their Products
Istanbul: the History of Sales in a 5-Block Radius Part 4 of 5: Benchmarking Istanbul's Best #1: Prens Leather Vezirhan Caddesi No: 64A / Cemberlitas, Istanbul 34120, Turkey Buttery jackets and coats, near-perfect craftsmanship, wide variety of … [Read more...]