How to Overcome Executive Isolation

Republished from Harvard Business Review, Feb 2, 2017
The loneliness that often comes with being a CEO may seem like a small price to pay for the rewards, recognition, and power that come with the job. As the old joke goes, “It might be lonely at the top, but the view is terrific.”

Read More »

The Science Behind What Really Drives Performance (It’s Going to Surprise You)

Republished from INC 01/31/17
Imagine you could have a skill where–in any given conversation with colleagues, clients, or subordinates–you could be keenly aware of, and even experience, their feelings and thoughts.
Sounds like some X-Men-like psychic superpower right? Well, what if I told you that anyone can have this uncanny ability and use its strength and charm to have successful conversations?

Read More »

Executives and Salespeople Are Misaligned — and the Effects Are Costly

Republished from Harvard Business Review, January 26, 2017
U.S. companies spend over $900 billion on their sales forces, which is three times more than they spend on all ad media. Sales is, by far, the most expensive part of strategy execution for most firms. Yet, on average, companies deliver only 50% to 60% of the financial performance that their strategies and sales forecasts have promised.

Read More »

Not So Different After All: 5 Overlapping Skills Needed in Life Science Academia vs. Industry

Republished from BioSpace, January 19, 2017
There is a notion that the skills needed for scientists in academia are dramatically different than those needed in industry.
The technical skills are largely overlapping, but it’s also clear that much of the project management and business management skills overlap as well.

Read More »

Being a Strategic Leader Is About Asking the Right Questions

From HBR 1/18/17. If you asked the world’s most successful business leaders what it means to “be strategic,” how many different answers do you think you’d get? Consider this number: 115,800,000. It’s the number of unique links returned when I searched online for “strategic leadership.”

Read More »

Why Sales Commissions Don’t Work (in the Long Run)

Republished from INC, August 12, 2014
By Aaron Skonnard

Think about salespeople and you think of stereotypes: people who are motivated only by money; risk takers who thrive on the adrenaline of a potential massive payoff; territorial lone wolves who aren’t team players; nine-to-fivers who are inherently lazy and will only work hard if incentivized with a big carrot.

Read More »