By: Michael Kanazawa

There are numbers everywhere today in business advice. And I don’t mean financial analysis. We have The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Leaders, the top 10 traits of Silicon Valley Dynamos, Know How: The top 8 skills that separate people who perform from those who don’t, and, to top off this representative list, even a book of the Top 10 Business Books.

If I add up all of the business book top lists together that gives me about the top 12,875 essential tips for being a better leader and for business success! No problem, I can do them all if I could just find the time to master and learn all the advice from the book’s 500 Tips for Developing a Learning Organization.

There is definitely a better way to advance towards your full potential than getting buried by the massive number of top tips you see.

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By Michael Kanazawa

This post is based on a question by a reader looking for specific recommendations on how to inspire and engage people for maximum performance. The question is worded quite well because inspiration and engagement are more linked that people think.

All of the following tips are based on the principle that if employees are truly engaged in the business they will be inspired to drive for excellence. So, how does engagement happen? Here are five specific tips that you can implement immediately.

#1: Create a vision that is a “cause” (more…)

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By Michael Kanazawa

There is no better opportunity to lay the ground work for turning big ideas into big results than in the first 100 days as a new leader. By the end of 100 days everyone will be done sizing you up as a leader, the organization will either be on a new trajectory or settle back down into the current track, and you will have set the stage for your next 2-3 years as a leader. You have a huge opportunity when taking over as a new leader.

First is the chance to change the strategic direction of the organization. People are actually expecting it, so the shift will be much easier than at any other time. Political structures will be in flux, so long-standing tough decisions that have been avoided will be easier to drive through to closure. And, even as tough decisions are made, everyone will be looking at you as the new hope for growth and improvement. People want you to be successful because it means better things for them as well. So, they will be ready to follow your lead. With so much opportunity (and risk of missed opportunities) at hand, it is worth carefully planning your first 100 days to get everything out of it that you possibly can. Korn Ferry published research on the pitfalls and tips for success in leading through the first 100 days based on views about leaders in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Below are statics from two questions they asked.

What is the most common mistake that senior executives make during their first 100 days? (more…)

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By Michael Kanazawa

Suggestions boxes are a joke to most people in organizations. If they are successful, they get overloaded to the point that no staff person can even read through all of the suggestions much less make recommended business changes. But more often, they are a cold, demeaning reminder that low level people have no access to the leaders to provide input or feedback upwards.

In fairness to executives, many of the ideas are so far off the mark in terms of strategic direction or practicality that they are not even worth reading. Bottom line, they don’t create the right kind of dialogue they are intended to produce. There is a method that has been used successfully to generate breakthrough ideas from front-line teams to generate huge savings, jumps in sales, and stand-out customer service. Learn how to adopt this approach for your organization. (more…)

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By Michael Kanazawa

Believe it or not, Fall is almost upon us. And, once again, the USC Trojan football team is being ranked #1 in their conference and nationally in many polls. They have created a dynasty of championship teams and there is something for business leaders to learn from how they are run as a team. Similar to stock analysts having to divulge their holdings, I am a big USC football fan and therefore biased. However, whether you love, hate, or don’t know the USC Trojans, there is a great lesson to be learned from them about how to lead your team to greatness. For you, maybe Fall is the time to refocus on a push for the year-end results and maybe a good time to try out a new facet of leadership to get you there.

Too often in business, people fall into the trap of trying to drive results in ways that cause individuals on the team to play with fear. People end up working to avoid getting in trouble, to just keep their job, or to meet their minimal performance standards. Stories of bosses intimidating, dominating, and humiliating employees are unfortunately pretty common. For short spikes, you can yell and scream your way into getting more from people. But in the end that wears out and never gets the best out of each person. There is a better way to build a high performance team. (more…)

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