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5 Tips to help teams perform under pressure

So far this year I’ve spent more hours than I care to remember trying to calm the nerves of fraught conference organisers. Often days before the event has even started. The other day I spent the afternoon on the set of a live TV show. With just two hours to air the production team managed …

CYA- It all depends on Perspective

How many of you work in a CYA environment? I’m guessing many of you are nodding yes. Well – it all depends on perspective. What if CYA didn’t mean ‘Cover Your Ass’ but rather ‘Choose Your Attitude’. How different would your workplace be if people really got it that they alone are responsible for how …

Internal or External Coach? How to Decide?

My coaching clients often ask, what is the difference with working with an internal coach (an employee) or an external coach (an independent contractor)? Here are a couple considerations to keep in mind as you make the decision to hire a coach. 1. Clients tend to talk more freely with an external coach than with …

In-House Project Managers vs. External

I have been having an ongoing discussion with a global company that has been having big issues in delivering its major customer projects. They are looking to develop a strategy for provision of real project managers / and or professional project management expertise to help. In doing this, they are having an important debate: Should …

Board Spills

The British Financial Reporting Council has just released an updated version of the corporate governance code. The new Code recommends “in the interests of greater accountability”, that all directors of FTSE 350 companies shoulder-elected by the shareholders each year at the AGM. As with all other provisions of the Code, companies are free to explain …

Writing Op-Ed Pieces (Without Sounding Your Own Foghorn)

Looking for additional ways to get exposure for what you do? Consider writing an opinion or editorial essay — commonly known as an Op-Ed piece. Most business sections of the daily and weekly papers have such a space and welcome contributors who know what they are talking about. The trick is to provide insights into …

Great Marketing Tactic to Increase Your Conversion Rate

We’ve learned that by focusing our message on only one aspect of our product, people are much more likely to listen to the rest of the message. Conversions have increased and the new customers that have come in the door under our new message seem to be much better customers.

Another Reason Why I Object To Feasibility Studies (Part #1 of 2)

When I started my career in fundraising, in the late ‘70s, my first employer was one of the traditional capital campaign-consulting firms — one of those firms that, for the most part, only engaged in feasibility studies and capital campaigns. Like many like similar firms, there was little attention paid to the broad concepts of …

Business Planning Doesn’t End with Your Plan: Part 2 of 2

Rolfe Larson is on vacation. This blog was written by guest writer Jan Cohen. Regardless of how thorough your business plan is, the start-up period always brings surprises. This is the second of a two part series on lessons learned, based on experiences working with many business ventures. 3. The product or service won’t be …

C is for Connection

My description of spirit in the workplace is that it allows you to feel a greater sense of connection by bringing your whole self, the essence of who you are, to a supportive environment. People are yearning for connections on multiple levels – connecting with a higher purpose, connecting lovingly with yourself, connecting deeply with …