Managers and executives fall into the dangerous trap of assumed knowledge. Given very little or no information at all, they assume and clearly know what is going on in a department; with a customer; or on the factory floor when in fact they are in the fog. Nevertheless, they create some version of the events because they must know- they are the boss and bosses are supposed to know everything. Read more

We’ve all had special people influence our thinking that stamped our souls with virtues, principles, beliefs, and life lessons. Teachers, coaches, parents, ministers, bosses, and neighbors. When I was in high school some thirty-plus years ago I had one of those experiences with my sophomore high school basketball coach. His name was Eugene Zuccarini. Everyone called him “Zook”. At seventy-plus years old he’s still teaching golf. Mentors never cease their passion, do they? Read more

First, a caveat: This is not a political column, this is a business column. The meaning of Scott Brown’s election in Massachusetts is a great metaphor for corporations. Given a “Massachusetts Shock Message” to a corporation (like snowballing employee turnover or customer defections), how many corporate executive teams and organizational leaders go into spin cycle- or worse yet- denial mode? Let’s face it: leadership isn’t just about giving a directional message (“I haven’t explained the message well. They don’t get it”.) That’s top-down management-by-directive, and the problem is the executive is in denial about which way the real message is being sent: it’s not coming from headquarters; it’s coming from the pickup truck- the street. Read more

Where do you find good salespeople? First, you have to define “a good salesperson”. With no college curriculum or extensive certification process for someone to be called a salesperson, a “good” salesperson is a highly subjective definition. Here’s the acid test for executives as to whether or not they know a person is a “good” salesperson or not: Can the executive make an accurate evaluation without looking at the sales numbers or track record- and will the sales numbers verify the executive’s decision to hire? Would an executive of a prominent electrical wholesaler hire a food server at a restaurant with the intent of making him an outside salesperson? John Walter of Walter’s Wholesale Electric did that very thing about twelve years ago. Read more

The following is an excerpt from Chapter 7, Winners Are Driven
(Bobby Unser, Paul Pease, Wiley, copyright by Mi-5, 2003). It seems that some stories are timeless, but we can't seem to get the lessons to stick:

"People fundamentally know that trust is a good thing. Why do so many good, trustworthy people sway off course? How can you avoid their mistakes? With all of the problems going on with some major corporate executives destroying trust in the executive ranks, how do you avoid their traps? I’ll talk about the temptations that can take you off the path and crash an honest reputation. Then I’ll tell you how to avoid these potential crashes that kill careers…….
…….In this day and age of constant bombardment of material wants and wealth and instant gratification, some people need to understand why it’s so important to pave a path to success with trust, instead of greed and impatience. That’s why you need to know how trust benefits you. By knowing the benefits of trust, you won’t likely sway off the path when instant gratification or greed tempts you… Read more

Ken Schmidt- Public Relations Director of Harley Davidson Motorcycles during their turbulent turn-around in the 80’s- made the keynote presentation to the Manufacturers Agents National Association on June 1, 2009. Here are notes from that presentation: Read more

Richard Teerlink, turnaround artist of the Harley-Davidson miracle was the keynote speaker at the MAFSI (Manufacturers Agents Association for the Food Service Industry) in San Diego. It’s interesting to watch the auto industry laying off so many people when you have to wait months for a Harley-Davidson motorcycle that will set you back no less than $14,000. And the wait isn’t due to slow production or a lack of customer care. It’s slow because everybody wants one. Detroit still doesn’t get how Harley-Davidson pulled off their miracle just like the airline industry can’t figure out how Southwest Airlines is successful (hint: it’s NOT cost-cutting with employees and NOT being cheap with customers). Read more

Following is an excerpt from the book, Words to Action: Building A Leadership Legacy, by Paul Pease, PUBLISHED SEP 7, 2001 Read more