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Making A Difference – Thoughts, Observations and Opinions
This is Dave Brock’s Blog.
It offers my views on a variety of business, sales, marketing, and leadership topic. My goal is to make a difference for you, the reader, in both your professional and personal lives.
Latest Posts
Execution Is More Than A Bullet In PowerPoint
If it’s in a PowerPoint presentation, then it must be true. If it’s a strategy or action point, then count on it being executed! As ridiculous as those statements sound, I work with many people and organizations whose behavior would indicate they believe it to be true. Too often, it seems the PowerPoint presentation is an end in itself. Months later, in reviews, when I ask, what’s been done on an action item, I get blank stares. Strategy development and execution is tough. All of us know that it cannot be reduced to a series of bullet points. To be […]
Lessons Of Silence — What The Deaf Can Teach Us About Listening And Making Ourselves Heard
Bruno Khane has written a nice article in Strategy And Business. He sites research in which the deaf have developed certain communications skills that make them more effective than those who can hear. Some key points: 1. Look people in the eye.2. Don’t interrupt.3. Say what you mean, as simply as possible.4. When you don’t understand something, ask.5. Stay focused. Improving our ability to communicate is something we must continually do. These are great tips.
Renaissance Teams
“You can’t make a renaissance person anymore because of the range of what you would need to do is just impossible. But you could actually assemble a renaissance team.” Bruce Dau Interesting quote from Roger Martin’s Opposable Mind. Worth thinking about in building teams, encouraging collaboration, innovation and creativity.
Empty Your In Box—Increase Your Productivity
A few weeks ago, I read a time management tip about “emptying” your In Box (From Randy Pausch’s Time Management Seminar). I’d always used my In Box as a kind of memory jogger on different things, in addition to my to-do and follow-up lists. I decided to try Randy’s tip. It’s amazing, how well it has worked. I’ve noticed a tremendous increase in my productivity. I don’t go back to old messages, that I’ve read dozens of times before to remind myself what to do–after all I’ve already put the item in a to-do or follow-up. Why have another location […]
Globalization—Imposing Our Standards
We work with many organizations in globalization. One of the most common things we encounter is the tendency for the organization to impose its standards and norms on its customers and partners in other regions. American companies want to impose the American ways of doing business wherever they are–Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa. Likewise, companies in other regions do the same thing in entering new geographies. This is a sure formula for failure. To be successful, we need to understand the norms and standards of the region or country and adapt for success. This does not mean sacrificing an organization’s […]
When People Don’t Want To Change
One of the frustrating things we encounter in helping improve organizational performance is driving change–particularly with people who don’t want to change. Marshall Smith has a great perspective on this in his Harvard Business Review Blog. He says—“Let it go.” “Don’t waste your time.” It’s a good post, take the time to read it: When People Don’t Want To Change.