Leadership Solutions

Leadership Solutions: Sound Familiar?

Perhaps you’ve been in a meeting that started with someone saying:

“We need to talk about the budget.”

Then others said:

“You already cut my budget.”

“I need more money for travel.”

“But sales are down.”

“Who approved that ad campaign?”

“I named my dog, Budget.”

And so on, for hours. And hours.

It's ironic, too, that this much money could be wasted talking about the budget.

Of course, that's the cost of holding aimless meetings without a clear goal or a specific agenda.

Call if you want to talk about your meetings.

I can help.

Much success,

Steve Kaye
One Great Meeting
714-528-1300

Meetings that matter. Workshops that work.
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Leadership Solutions: Your Tax Time Goal

Here we go into the annual tax season.

For many, this means pain as they calculate and pay income taxes.

Some people will complain bitterly over the "unfair" amount of tax they have to pay.

Actually, this is wrong. You want to pay taxes.

In fact, you want to pay a lot of taxes.

Why?

Obviously, paying a lot of taxes means that you made a lot of money.

This is a good thing.

Because there is nothing as expensive as being poor.

So, celebrate the taxes that you're paying.

And resolve to pay more next year.

Much success,

Steve Kaye
One Great Meeting
714-528-1300

Meetings that matter. Workshops that work.
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Leadership Solutions: Danger! Interruptions Ahead

They arrive as e-mail, phone calls, and visitors -- all trying to feed off of your precious time.

Sadly, some people work with their windows open so that anything can fly into their day.

As a result, they spend their day being interrupted. And they accomplish little that matters.

Here's what to do:

1) Schedule time for interruptions.

For example, answer the phone only during the day from 10:00 AM until noon. Of course, during this time you are working on other tasks, such as answering e-mail or filing papers.

2) Tell visitors when to visit.

Schedule a period when your door is open, for example, from 3:30 PM until 4:30 PM.

3) Close your window.

Specifically, ask to have your name removed from mass mailing lists (postal and e-mail). Register your phone number on the Do Not Call list to reduce telemarketing calls. Avoid putting your phone number on surveys, warranty cards, and subscriptions.

These simple actions will reduce distractions.

Of course, you want to be available for emergencies and high value interruptions. In most cases attending to these is a significant part of your job.

Much success,

Steve Kaye
One Great Meeting
714-528-1300

Meetings that matter. Workshops that work.
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Leadership Solutions: Some People Deserve to Be Afraid

Speaking disasters require a special blend of laziness, misunderstanding, and arrogance.

Here are three reasons to be afraid.

1) Expect Magic

Show up believing that a logical, coherent, interesting presentation will appear once you start talking. Avoid any preparation. Just let the words flow.

Result: The audience feels insulted that you're wasting their time.

Instead: Prepare. Identify the goal for your talk. Design a presentation that achieves that goal. Talk with key members of the audience about their expectations. Rehearse.

2) Memorize It

Write a script. Commit every word to memory. Then focus on remembering every word.

Result: You sound like a robot. And if you forget a word the whole thing can fall apart. I've seen this happen, and it's painful.

Instead: First, write an outline. Then practice without looking at the outline until you sound conversational.

3) Ignore Them

Start by talking about yourself, then tell more about yourself, and close with telling about yourself.

Result: The audience is bored. They doodle, daydream, and wait for you to finish.

Instead: Talk about them. Make them the center and the stars in your presentation. Show that you care about them.

Much success,

Steve Kaye
One Great Meeting
714-528-1300

Meetings that matter. Workshops that work.
Website

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Leadership Solutions: Important Conversion

What do you do with new ideas?

That is, what happens to all of the ideas that you collect from books, conversations, and seminars?

Rather than forget them or lose them in a desktop landfill here are two other possibilities:

1) Convert ideas into action items.

If an idea is worth remembering, it's worth doing.

So, put those action items in your annual, monthly, or weekly plans.

After all, good ideas become progress when you apply them.

2) Convert ideas into publications.

Document the idea in an article, blog, book chapter, check list, job aide, etc.

This helps you in three ways.

First, the process of writing reinforces the idea, thereby making it easier to remember.

Second, writing causes you to reflect upon the idea, thereby deepening your knowledge about it.

Third, writing creates a product, thereby bringing credibility to you as an author.

Much success,

Steve Kaye
One Great Meeting
714-528-1300

Meetings that matter. Workshops that work.
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Leadership Solutions: Lesson from My Aunt

She is 93 years old and very frail.

If you were to phone her and ask how she's doing, she would say,

"I can't complain."

Well, I can assure you that she has more things that she could complain about than almost anyone who is reading this.

But, she always expresses gratitude for what she has. And then she will ask questions about what you are doing.

Now, suppose she did complain.

What would happen?

That is, would people phone? Would people visit? Would people write letters?

Most likely, people would avoid her, because no one likes a complainer.

So, here is a friendly reminder to be positive. Find the good things in your life and be grateful for them.

And if you keep doing this, people will still be phoning you when you are 93.

Much success,

Steve Kaye
One Great Meeting
714-528-1300

Meetings that matter. Workshops that work.
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Leadership Solutions: Two Paths

You have just come upon a major problem in your journey through life.

It could cost you a painful disappointment.

And now the path ahead divides into two choices.

1) The Dark Road.

You can focus on everything that could go wrong. If you are especially creative with this, you can invent a nightmare worse than anything in the movies.

This path leads to fear, which leads to paralysis.

And now, a possible disappointment becomes a real disaster.

2) The Bright Road.

You can focus on what you can do to solve the problem. if you are especially creative with this, you can invent a solution more astonishing than anything in the movies.

This path leads to hope, which leads to action.

And now, a possible disappointment becomes another victory.

I wish you the best as you take the Bright Road.

Much success,

Steve Kaye
One Great Meeting
714-528-1300

Meetings that matter. Workshops that work.
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Leadership Solutions: Wasted Opportunity

This was an impressive conference.

And the keynote speaker was an important senior executive from a very large major corporation.

Expectations were high.

After all, you would expect someone in this position to share valuable, thought provoking ideas.

But that's not what happened.

The executive (or more likely some staff person) had written a nice essay on the executive's company.

It was the kind of essay you would expect from a bright high school junior, factual and grammatically correct.

And the executive read the essay.

Ouch.

Of course, reading an essay does have a significant benefit: the executive was unable to see the boredom on everyone's faces.

The sad note here is this: A presentation like this is an opportunity to provide an example of excellence that others can hope to achieve.

Instead, this presentation insulted the audience by wasting their time. And in turn, it brought discredit to the executive and the executive's company.

Better: Prepare a speech about the audience. And then deliver it conversationally, as if you were talking to them.

Much success,

Steve Kaye
One Great Meeting
714-528-1300

Meetings that matter. Workshops that work.
Website

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Leadership Solutions: Believe It or Not

For many people this will be shocking surprise.

But it's true.

The person who left a message on your phone system has no way of knowing if you received the message until you call back.

Really.

Last week I left two messages for someone.

No reply.

So, I'm left to conclude:

1) The person's phone system is broken

2) The person is sick (perhaps in intensive care)

3) The person has been abducted by a UFO

What do you think?

Certainly, the person isn't being rude, right?

Much success,

Steve Kaye
One Great Meeting
714-528-1300

Meetings that matter. Workshops that work.
Website

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Leadership Solutions: Plant Maintenance

What happens when you don't water a plant?

Obviously, it wilts and then dies.

So, do you water your staff?

Certainly, I'm not talking about pouring water on them. And I'm not talking about giving them the ordinary stuff like a desk or a paycheck.

I'm talking about praise.

This has to be real, sincere, human praise that shows they matter.

And for this to work, it must be 1) earned and 2) specific.

So, instead of saying, "Good job," you need to say something like, "Your preparation for that meeting helped us reach an agreement." or "Your presentation convinced the board to fund our project."

Now, someone probably wonders, "What if no one earns any praise?"

There are two answers:

1) Find something (anything) that is praise worthy. Even a small amount of praise is better than none.

2) Great leaders help their people earn praise. They guide, coach, and mentor so that their staff achieves expanding success worthy of extraordinary praise.

And the key to doing this is frequent and strategic communication.

The result is a highly profitable business that grows, well, like a well-watered plant.

Much success,

Steve Kaye
One Great Meeting
714-528-1300

Meetings that matter. Workshops that work.
Website

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