Archives for Leadership

Conversation with a true charismatic. . . er . . .my nephew.

There are those who you KNOW are charismatic.  Bill Clinton, Oprah, JFK, Ronald Reagan.  In business it gets a little more subjective.  In life it gets very rare because it doesn’t always follow power. Often position gives charisma.  You run a Fortune 100, there is an implied charisma.  Doug McMillan, the new President of Walmart might inherit charisma because of position.  But those around him say, “he is the most charismatic person I have ever known.” Recently I had a conversation with a nephew.  It was him, my oldest sister, and my youngest daughter and me.  Personal, close, family. Afterward,
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Part 4 – Revelation & Vision for the Future – Skills That Will Create Significance

Today, and in the future, where mass-customization is the call of the day, we will do business “with” my Starbuck’s, my doctor, or my Disney vacation. “When I go to MY Starbucks,  they know me personally.   I appreciate that fact when they put MY name on MY cup of java.” Like the Pied Piper, the future will vacuum us into personal relationships with others and their organizations.   Disney’s Magic Plus, or a Harley-Davidson HOG weekend, or even the personalized shopping experience of a Zappos shoe purchase, will become the norm.  It will become the expected. Your competition will change from
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How to Drive People Absolutely Crazy – The Godfather Principle

The conversations occur everywhere.  At networking events, church socials, Chamber of Commerce lunches, and telephone calls with others.  Everywhere people struggle with the daily grind and toil of life. There is something you can do, that will make you unforgettable to those in your world.Do a nice deed for them. Then walk away. Don’t stick around for accolades, or the compliment, the expression of gratitude and thanks.   Just walk away.  The result is incalculable. For example.  Enter the Godfather.  A slice of dialog out of the movie when a petitioner approaches the Godfather to ask for some injustice to be
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Advanced Leadership – Is Chick-fil-a really THAT much better?

Driving by a Chick-fil-a  restaurant, my spouse pointed out the consistently long line in the drive up window.   The food is clean, good tasting, but is it really something that is so deserving as the rabid fans they seem to draw? Or is it their service, and the moral and ethical stance. Can chicken be moral and ethical? There is a “Flavor of the month” mentality on leadership, sales and customer service results which often looks like chasing ones tail.  Throw in a pickle, a fish, or some other factor, and you can dress up the basics of trust, respect,
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People Gotta Talk – – Know-It-Alls Need Not Apply How Today's Leader Needs to Facilitate More Dialog

People gotta talk! The internet was originally an electronic brochure.  With the rise of Facebook, blogs, and various “testimonials websites” (Angie’s List, Rotten Tomatoes) this society EXPECTS, in fact demands to be involved in dialog.  Organizations, especially associations, are struggling with the issue of getting the Millennials to join, or get involved.  Yet they also struggle with getting and understanding feedback and dialog. People gotta talk! The old “show-up-and-throw-up” sales pitches in the past are going the way of pet rocks.  Today the imperative is the trusted advisor who listens TO THE CUSTOMER.  (What a novel idea).  Prescription without diagnoses
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Destroying the Customer Experience – Four Tools for Fixing Employees Who Just Do NOT Care

You see it everywhere. The customer is walking away, shaking their head in disbelief at the atrocious behavior exhibited by that first line employee. How do you inject a charismatic relationship with customers if their experience is horrible? At the core are those employees who have been trained to know better, but they continue to destroy the customer experience. And it is contagious. One bad apple can indeed destroy the whole bunch. Just as famous people want to hang with famous people, so the criminal does not want to hang with the local police. Negaholics unite with one another. What
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Your Chairside Manner May be Good, BUT That is Not Enough . . . the Future of Dentistry

I just moved to a new city.  New banks, new dry cleaners, and a need for a new dentist.  Our society values referrals now more than ever.  After talking to multiple acquaintances; some orthodontists, endodontist, oral surgeons and even calls to dental labs, the same name kept popping up.  Let’s call him Dr. Awesome. In the dental world there is a very elaborate dance that occurs between general dentists and the referrals they make to specialist for braces, surgery, and other advanced tooth care issues.  Study groups of dental professionals who network and gain some addition knowledge; have at their
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Optometrist clearly see Charisma as the Ultimate Marketing Tool

Intelligent, good looking, and very personable.  The conversation with this Doctor of Optometry is instructional. “When I graduated, you had a couple of choices.  Start your own office, or buy an existing optometrists practice.   If you did the later, you had to be aware of Personality Practices.   These are those optometrists who, based on their personality had more successful businesses.  The fear was, you buy the practice and your personality wasn”t magnetic enough for the customers  . . . and they left.” Business Charisma has this kind of impact on the business AND the competitors.  Six Flags competing with Disney? 
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What is Hindering Your Business'' "Bedside Manner"? How to Adjust the Emphasis on the Right-Way-To-Do-Things . . . and Instead Develop a Charismatic Customer Relationship

“Their Emergency Room scores for patient satisfaction was rated one of the best of hospitals across the country.  And yet if they focused on controlling quality, they might be undermining patient trust and respect.” “How is that,” I ask?  My conversations are with Todd, a medical resident who recently returned from a rotation of various departments in this distant and admired hospital.  “When an 8 year old comes into the ER, his diagnosis might immediately indicate administering an anti-inflammatory like Tylenol or Ibuprofen.    Normally we doctors, who get our value from knowing all the answers might prescribe and be done
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Who Defines Charisma? The secret is. . .

For personal and business charisma which is better . . . extravert or introvert? I have a client who is a extremely successful in their market of machining, rolling and forming steel.  Because of their fierce desire to stay off the radar screen of their competitors , they DO NOT want general publicity. Al Williams, a previous partner/boss was the same.  When we were rolling out No-Name Generics to the retail grocery stores in the late 1970”s he specifically told me to “stay quiet”.   “You will want to brag and show off, but we want others to know about what
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