Strategic Discipline Blog

Conflict is good.  It leads to better decisions by providing a forum for your leadership team to be open and free with their opinions. 

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Topics: weekly meetings, Decision-Making, Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencioni, better decisions through conflict

We’ve discussed meetings many times in this blog since they are a foundational element of Strategic Discipline and provide a cadence of accountability for your executive team.  You should cascade these meetings throughout your organization as well to increase accountability.  Did you know that if your business is conducting boring, routine meetings without team members providing their opinions, feedback, that failing to encourage conflict is putting your business in a position of severe risk?  

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Topics: Five Dysfunctions of a Team, meeting rhythms, Patrick Lencioni, Death by Meeting, Meeting Conflicts, Meetings a Cadence of Accountability

Imagine if 96% of the people you hire one year later would not only be working for you but performing at a higher level than the candidates you’d hired previously for this position. 

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Topics: People Decisions, Objective Management Group, Topgrading, Sales Evaluation, Sales Candidate Assessment

Attempting to find someone to fill a key position at your company after they’ve left is the worst time to do so.

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Topics: Objective Management Group, Topgrading, hiring decisions, The Right People

Perhaps the most surprising results from the RAINGroup.com’s What Sales Winners Do Differently research were the top two things that winners do more often than second place finishers:

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Topics: Sales Process, Objective Management Group, Sales Training, Sales Evaluation, What Sales Winners Do Differently, RAINGroup.com, Sales Candidate Assessment

Winners are more than twice as likely to create the perception that the overall value they offer is superior.  When a second-place finisher doesn’t create this perception, it turns out it is the number one most important factor they needed to do differently in order to influence buyers to select them.

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Topics: Sales Process, Objective Management Group, Sales Training, What Sales Winners Do Differently, RAINGroup.com, Sales Discipline

Connecting.  In our monthly sales training with one of my clients we’ve established that building rapport, respect, trust and the relationship is the most important part of the sales process.  The RAINGroup.com’s study What Sales Winners Do Differently includes tips and research that diminish this aspect of selling in today’s environment. 

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Topics: Sales Process, Sales Training, Sales Evaluation, What Sales Winners Do Differently, Sales Discipline, Connecting

Have you heard the news?   Consultative Selling is Dead.   This from an Inc Article, Why Consultative Doesn't Work.  Not alone, Harvard Business Review issued an article in as much agreeing with this End of Solution Sales. 

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Topics: Sales Process, Dave Kurlan, Sales Training, Sales Discipline

Do you display your company’s Core Values in your business?   Where?  Does everyone in your company to see them on a regular basis each day?  Do you have a War Room, or a public place where elements of your business like this, Strategy Statement, Core Purpose/Mission, Brand Promise are prominently on display?

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Topics: Core Values, Core Purpose, Grow: How Ideals Power Growth and Profit at the Wo, The Advantage, Business Culture, How to Motivate Employees

Monday morning during the Collective Intelligence portion of one of my customers weekly meetings we engaged in asking the team specific questions from the Q12 Gallup Employee Engagement Processto help solve a specific issue on this company’s top priority for 2013.  

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Topics: employee engagement, collective intelligence, strategy, Q12, Gallup's Q12 Employee Engagement Survey