Helen Gurley Brown Passes Away at 90 Helen Gurley Brown, passed away this week. She was an author for a well known book for shocking the public of the early 60's "Sex and the Single Girl" and Editor at Cosmopolitan magazine for many years. Her role in the fight for women's liberation was debated for years. She called herself a feminist , she showed women of so many ages … [Read more...]
Do Bosses Really Listen?
Today has been a common theme of acknowledging that ‘I guess I should have listened better’. I missed the event details for my daughter’s science competition, missed some bathroom renovation details, and didn’t notice that my client hadn’t signed the check until at the bank even though it was mentioned earlier. As I came to this conclusion I wondered if as bosses we do the … [Read more...]
Amplify the Employee Voice
Guest post by Sarah Hedayati (learn more about Sarah at the end of this post) I’ve been fond of the show Undercover Boss since it premiered two years ago. I hadn’t seen the show in a while, so the other night I decided to tune in. Most of the episodes focus on a CEO who goes undercover and takes on some of the grunt jobs to find out what it’s like to work for their … [Read more...]
Meeting Up
With so much electronic communication, I know that many of you are as hungry as I am for more in-person connections. Twitter, texting, e-mail, and Skype are fine for business or for personal outreach and updates, but nothing takes the place of a good old fashioned sit-down talk, or a person-to-person meeting with your friend, business client, or potential vendor. With so … [Read more...]
Leadership Development: Throw the Ball and Catch It Too
Tom Brady’s wife, Gisele, will go down in history with a quote that goes well beyond football. Walking down the corridor to the safety of an elevator, she was taunted by fans about how the Super Bowl game ended and out came the now famous words about not being able to throw a ball and catch it at the same time. Maybe it was the shame of losing (someone had to), maybe it … [Read more...]
GUTSY GALS are Electricians
Sue was not feeling GUTSY; she was still in pain as she talked about an ugly spill that ended with a badly injured ankle. Several doctors told her she would have to be CAREFUL, very, very careful for, well…forever. Diana, sitting across the circle from Sue is a nurse. How could it be that she had the same ankle injury with that big, long medical name, a year ago? And she was … [Read more...]
Leadership Skills: You and $$$$$$$
One of the best leadership teachers in any era comes in the form of paper or metal. We love it, hate it, covet it, or disdain it. Our romance with money belongs in every leadership development program on the planet. Ever hear the expression “You can never be too thin or too rich”? First, too thin is called anorexia and you can die from that. Too rich, question is what … [Read more...]
What Do Women Want?
It’s really simple. What women want is to be heard! We do not need to have the problems solved for us. However, before we can make change happen we require dialogue, discussion, debate. In my book “GUTSY: How Women Leaders Make Change”, I did some digging to consider basic things that have been handed to us that have become part of who we are, part of our culture. I … [Read more...]
Sales For All Seasons
As we all rush out to do some holiday shopping and retailers put their best foot forward, as a small business owner you want to be sure that your sales don’t cripple your business. Attracting new customers is great, but what you want is repeat business and customer loyalty. Stick with these tips and build a relationship, not a sale. Listen to your customers While it is … [Read more...]
The Capable Employee
As a modern business owner, I’ve caught the fever to rely on gadgets and depend on electronic communication in lieu of actually picking up the phone; but I wonder, have I done my company a disservice? As I visit client sites and assess the challenges they face, it becomes clear that sometimes the culprit is not the employee, it’s the technology. Excessive reliance on … [Read more...]