All tagged People
There’s an excitement when we’re running at full tilt that’s hard to replicate. It’s as if every fiber of our being is alive and tingling, as we work towards a specific goal.
Certainly there’s a sense of risk (you might even call it fear) but it’s one that pushes us to stay on our toes, alert and focused. We’re geared to execute carefully, we’re mindful of staying agile as we do so, and we’re entirely focused on results.
Bill Gates said that he once believed that, if someone had a high IQ, they could be good at everything. He doesn't anymore, and that's a key idea to come to terms with if you want to build a great enterprise.
Because great teams and achievements are, as I discuss in today's episode, built on the back of diverse capabilities and people.
Labels are an everyday part of our language - to such an extent that we use them, often, without serious thought.
As I discuss in today's episode, because the labels we grow up with are often fraught with misperceptions and frankly, prejudice, such that we'd do well to rethink them.
Tough times call for tough measures. But those tough measures can also be fraught with risk - both real and perceived. Biggest of all is the perception that we'll be overreacting.
But, as I discuss in today's podcast, that shouldn't worry us. The end goal and those we serve, matter far more.
Confidence and volume are two separate ideas, but often, when it comes to our communications, we tend to conflate the two.
There is a material difference and, as I discuss in today's episode, it's important we work to understand that distinction.
Judging someone's character is a difficult thing to do. A one-off incident or action shouldn't be taken out of context (with a few exceptions) and presumed to represent the entirety of who someone is.
But patterns are different. If the behavior is repeated, if it's recurring, it tells you something. Patterns matter.
The success of whatever we do depends, without question, on our people. It's a cliche but it's true.
So it's important when formulating our teams, to make sure we have the the right "ingredients" in place - not only technically but philosophically. The wrong ingredients will ruin the entire dish, which is the topic of today's episode.
One of the biggest issues with high performance in any team is when folks aren't aligned. This division is a problem not only professionally but at a personal level as well. Resolving any division within a team needs to be priority number one, as I discuss in today's episode.
From a young age, we're programmed with the idea that we'll grow up to get a job and do our work. But we don't often consider what that means.
Why are we doing what we're doing? What are we trying to achieve? As I discuss in this episode, it has to be about more than the money - whose mission are we serving?
“It’s not fair.”
Each and every one of us can recount situations where things didn’t go our way, for reasons that, in our minds, were less than equitable.
Not getting that promotion when we had the experience and the achievements. Losing out on that business opportunity when we’d done what the client asked for. Not making that investment when we had the chance (Bitcoin, anyone?).
In business environments, surprises are not a good thing, because the main thing we want is predictability.
And the only way we can ensure predictability is for us to do the work necessary. This means both listening and communicating much more than we do, as I discuss in today's episode.
There’s a perception many of us have that what we need is more choice.
It’s a perception that has filtered its way into all aspects of our lives.
When we’re deciding which college to go to, we’ll stack the number we apply to, to give us more options. I personally applied to 8 schools when I was planning on Business School, even though a couple of them I had absolutely no intention of attending, even if I got in. Why did I do that?
Today's podcast speaks to the perception that many of us have that we need to be (or at least show we're) perfect in front of those we live and work with.
The problem with this approach is that it's founded in insecurity and the idea that our vulnerability is something we should hide, when in fact, it's actually our strength.
Today's podcast talks about our ideas of perfection, specifically in people.
I relate a war story from my consulting days about how reputations of specific individuals can be both accurate and inaccurate at the same time. The quicker we learn that, the easier it becomes to forge solid working relationships.
This month's podcasts deal with matters of culture.
In today's episode, I speak to the value of assessing cultural fit when we're bringing new people into our teams, and when we're evaluating the long term impact of existing team members. It's not easy and it's tempting to look at hard metrics, but these soft ones can be the most critical to our success.
This month's topics focus on personal war stories and observations.
Today's episode focuses on the importance of being able to work with people as the route to our success - as well as the sheer difficulty of learning (and mastering) how to do so.
This month's podcasts focus on people, specifically the different aspects to consider when it comes to the talent acquisition, development and management.
Today's episode focuses on the need to hire the right people and how fit and genuineness are among the most important criteria to consider.
Many times, there’s a real value to contrarian thinking.
In investment terms, the best time to buy is when the market is down and everyone is running for the doors. Or, in personnel terms, placing a bet on the young up-and-comer who’s been committed and loyal to the cause, when conventional wisdom says to go out and hire an established name.
But there are times when the contrarian approach doesn’t make sense, and despite our desire to do what we feel is right, we need to accept that we might actually be wrong.
Patterns matter. They tell you a lot about people.
Consistent patterns of behavior tell you whether someone is good, whether they’re credible, whether they’re dedicated, etc. That’s just a fact.
Sure, everyone can (and will) have bad days. Days where things just aren’t going the way they’d like, when they feel as if they’re at the end of their tether. In those instances, we’ll say and do things that don’t represent who we are. That’s also a fact, and it happens to the best of us.
This month's podcasts focus on people - the teams we work with, the people we surround ourselves with, and how we should think about them. People make all the difference.
Today's episode focuses on the power and value of community. We weren't meant navigate the world alone, no matter what we might think. And the last few months have shown the value and need for human connection, more than ever before.
