By Wayne O'Neill
Imagine this. You are invited to a brainstorming meeting with top level executives regarding a new product that you are going to help market. So you show up a little ahead of time and carefully choose a seat at the boardroom table. The CEO arrives on time and begins the discussion. You listen intently as the meeting starts to unfold. The CEO surveys the room, then suddenly stops and focuses in on you. “Who are you?” the CEO says. You introduce yourself and explain why you are there. The CEO replies, “I don’t think we need you in this meeting. Thanks.” Then as you pack up and make the long trek from your seat to the boardroom door, the CEO continues as if you never existed. What just happened, you wonder? What did I do? What should I have done differently?…
By Wayne O'Neill
Tumultuous times are here for many institutions of higher education. Traditional revenue streams are being cut. University cost structures are under increased scrutiny. More competition for students causes increased needs for state-of-the-art facilities and increased demand for revitalization and alternatives in student housing. Globally, countries are trying to keep the brightest and best students within their home country, so the full tuition global money stream is drying up. However, successful colleges and universities are positioning themselves to grow. How can leadership in higher education rise above the tumult and achieve their goals?…
By Wayne O'Neill
Every organization tries to be as smart as possible in terms of strategy, marketing, finance and technology. You want to create different value propositions and distinguish yourself from your competitors. Ultimately, you want to draw a parallel to the business differentiators and how your organization can use them to gain the competitive advantage. The challenge today is that it is hard to be smarter than the next organization. Even if you establish an advantage in strategy, marketing, finance or technology, competitors can duplicate it quickly. Information and ideas spread so quickly today that you need more to maintain a competitive advantage.
According to successful businessman, leading consultant, and best-selling author, Patrick Lencioni, in his newest book, The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else in Business, many have knowledge and understanding of strategy, marketing, finance and technology, but not enough health within the organization to use that knowledge to gain a competitive advantage….
By Wayne O'Neill
Nike says, get out there and “just do it.” Sounds easy. So, you think up great plans for your business, creative ideas for new products or services, and a marketing strategy that is sure to succeed. But, for some reason, you do not put any of them into action. Why? Is it “lack of time” or “distractions” or “higher priorities” or is it that your willpower is depleted which prevents you from sticking to your goals and making them reality?
By Wayne O'Neill
As a 30-year sales manager for a big corporation, my dad used to advise his team, “Lead the pack. But if you are not in first place, then stay comfortably in the middle.” But with tremendous competition and pressures to win deals, organizations are no longer safe with strategies that keep you in the middle of the road. As Jim Hightower, the colorful Texas populist, said, “There’s nothing in the middle of the road but yellow stripes and dead armadillos.” It is no longer enough to be pretty good at everything and just chase any deal that crosses your path. Continuing to do things the same way will not produce new and better results. In order to win in today’s tough market and transform your company to top-line growth, you and your team need to be motivated to change and take the necessary action to gain the competitive edge and build sustainable accounts faster. You need to know how to motivate your team to excel.
By Wayne O'Neill
In the athletic world, you win by crushing your opponent. But in the business world of cross-cultural negotiation and global economy, you win by learning secrets from experts. Here are nine secrets for negotiation from Dr. Karen Walch, professor at Thunderbird School of Global Management who specializes in international negotiation, cultural competencies and the global market…
By Wayne O'Neill
Have you ever wanted to draw a line with people in your life and say “Do NOT cross this line!” On the other hand, have you ever had to cross the line or work around someone’s boundary in order to make progress in a relationship, business and organization? How can you set healthy boundaries and also maneuver around boundaries without destroying relationships personally or professionally?…
By Wayne O'Neill
Building a cohesive, productive team is challenging. Even the best teams struggle to improve effectiveness. Some teams have individual team members who are excellent in their own silos, but are not that interested in working as a team or achieving team goals. How do you get them to look to the forest beyond the trees? Other teams have weak team members who don’t pull their fair share for the team and lack genuine teamwork. How do you move a team from dysfunctional to productive?
By Wayne O'Neill
How can the rising percentage of women executives benefit your bottom line? What do women executives do differently that positively affects the bottom line for organizations? According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 43% of management, business & financial operations executives are women. Understanding gender differences in management styles can benefit your bottom line…
By Wayne O'Neill
When things aren’t working, change needs to happen. For change to happen, someone has to act differently. That sounds simple. The challenge is first to figure out what to change and then to motivate people to want to start behaving in a new way or to move in the new direction that you want them to go. You can announce changes. You can explain how the changes will take place and why they are important, but if you can’t motivate people to actually change, you will meet resistance or failure. By applying the change management concepts similar to what is presented in the book, Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard, by Chip Heath and Dan Heath, we have found counterintuitive ways to help our clients make transformative changes successfully.
