July 7, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The SAC® Release

Coaching the All-Stars Pays Bigger Dividends Than
Most Other Training and Development

Coaching all-star performers pays higher dividends than virtually all remedial training, notes Alan Weiss, Ph.D. who is CEO of the Society for Advancement of Consulting® (SAC®). In a poll of its international membership and their clients, "We found that too many organizations ignore their best performers—and best source of return on investment—when developing people," he says.

“It’s all about taking a strengths-based perspective,” notes SAC charter member Tom Stevens, whose consulting company Think Leadership Ideas is based in North Carolina. “Individuals gain superior performance by building on strengths more than shoring up weaknesses. Companies gain superior performance by accelerating their top-performers more than bringing their under-performers up to average.” Stevens acknowledges that often companies agree in principle but not in practice when it comes to allocating resources to develop their people.

What do other SAC members say? Read More...

One of the most widely accepted beliefs is that people find change difficult.

Not necessarily so! Or at least, it’s not what leaders and managers should worry about. What trips up most people, and most organizational change efforts, is not change but transition.

Change and transition go hand in hand but they are not the same. What’s the difference? Think of change is a discreet event, while transition is protracted process or state of mind. For example, selling your car and buying a new one is a change. Getting used to the new car, how it handles and knowing where all the controls and switches are located, requires a period of transition. The change to a new vehicle is quick, perhaps driving to a dealer with your old car and driving out with the new. The transition, however, could last for days, weeks, or months.

This same distinction applies to acquiring a new residence, a different job, or adopting a new company policy. The specific change is typically quick, whereas the transition takes some time...and effort.

Following are three reasons why transition is often the difficult aspect of change initiatives. Read More...

Tags: Change Mastery

What Got You Here Won’t Get You There
How Successful People Become Even More Successful
by Marshall Goldsmith (2007)

Marshall Goldsmith is one of the worlds premiere executive coaches, and this book is a gem of clarity and insight.

Goldsmith outlines twenty workplace habits that sabotage careers and reduce performance of otherwise highly successful professionals and executives. Goldsmith likens these habits to an actor blowing a line, writer misusing commas, or a chef leaving out a key ingredient - small things that nevertheless undo achievement.

Identifying these habits is critical, but the author warns of the trap of wasting time trying to understand them. What is important is how to change, and Goldsmith offers seven key actions that get people on the right track: obtaining feedback, apologizing, advertising intentions, listening, thanking, following-up, and practicing feedforward.

I found his final chapter on the challenges for people in charge particularly interesting, with realistic and relevant insight for those carrying executive responsibility. Goldsmith is a thought leader in the executive coaching world. Leaders who seek excellence, and coaches who help them along the way, will benefit from this book.

See book on Amazon

Postscript 8/7/08

A highlight of my attendance of the National Speakers Association National Convention earlier this week was seeing Marshall Goldsmith’s keynote. As with his writing, Goldsmith comes across as profoundly human and presents his ideas with simple clarity. We were encouraged to use any of the material he has written, available at www.marshallgoldsmithlibrary.com. He knows business, but he uses the language of life, not bizspeak.

The interactional speech gave the audience an opportunity to quickly taste the techniques described in What Got You Here Won’t Get You There. I walked away with greater appreciation for this book, one of 22 he has authored or edited, and of Goldsmith’s overall philosophy.

Does your team incessantly talk about the same issues? Does it seem that too many issues never get resolved?

I find that most groups get stuck in one or more of three areas, discernment, design, or discipline - i.e understanding what is going on, crafting a satisfying response, and following through with meaningful action.

Following are twelve questions leaders can use to stimulate progress on those persistent issues that plague your team or organization.
Read More...

Tags: Uncommon Thinking, Artful Leadership

The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts.
~ Bertrand Russell

The direct use of force is such a poor solution to any problem, it is generally employed only by small children and large nations.
~ David Friedman

The significant problems we have cannot be solved at the same level of thinking with which we created them.
~ Albert Einstein

We are continually faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems.
~ John W. Gardner

Computers can figure out all kinds of problems, except the things in the world that just don't add up.
~ James Magary

There is always a well-known solution to every human problem--neat, plausible, and wrong.
~ H. L. Mencken

Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any one thing.
~ Abraham Lincoln

More on the leadership Quotations page...

Accelerate
20 Practical Lessons to Boost Business Momentum
by Dan Coughlin (2007)

I've had the privilege of knowing Dan for a couple of years now, and have always considered him a top coach in the business. His newly published book, Accelerate, demonstrates Dan's outstanding ability to articulate vitally important principles in a clear common-sense way that is fresh and relevant. Accelerate is a storehouse of pragmatic wisdom, organized in four main sections - accelerating individual results, staff results, organizational results, and impact on consumers/customers. There's not a single person I know who wouldn't benefit from this book, and I foresee this is one I will be recommending often.

See on Amazon

Recently I was asked to speak on leadership to the third grade at a local school, not as a leadership consultant but in my role as Mayor. The third graders were studying biographies of leaders, and wanted to know how my life shaped my understanding of leadership. Here’s the three main lessons that I believe are important for leaders of any age. Read More...

Tags: Artful Leadership

Zero to One Million
How to Build a Company to One Milliion Dollars in Sales
by Ryan P. Allis (2008)

Zero to One Million is Ryan’s story in print. It is much more than a simple recounting of his success, rather it provides a step-by-step outline for would-be entrepreneurs, from business nuts-and-bolts to the intangible aspects of working leading and partnering with other people. Read More...