Partners in EXCELLENCE - Making a Difference
Blog
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
More Tuned In
I received a thoughtful reply to my review of Tuned In from Craig Stull. It takes courage to reply to an negative review. Below are Craig’s comments and my response.“Hi Dave,I just read your review of our book and I would like to thank your for carefully reading the book and taking the time to review it. Although you seemed a little apologetic about some of your comments, we understand where you are coming from. We intentionally wrote the book to address senior levels of management so we focused on “what” needed to be done as opposed to “how.” We […]
Tuned In — Almost Tuned Out
I have mixed feelings writing about “Tuned In” by Craig Stull, Phil Myers, and David Scott. I had extremely high expectations of the book—I have such respect for the work they have done. I read their blog, listened to webinars, and waited eagerly for my copy. They recently sent be a proof version, which I read the first evening I received it. Unfortunately, the book is very disappointing. They have an outstanding, though not original, set of premises, but their coverage is superficial. As one review stated, they seem to focus more on “sound bites” than on substantive exploration of […]
What We Can Learn From Piranha (or at least the myth of the Piranha)
Virtually every major animal has been used as a metaphor in explaining success in business. We have Elephants, Eagles, Leopards, Bulls and Bears, Lions, and Tigers- Oh My! We have Purple Cows, Monkey Business, Black Swans, Swimming With Sharks, and Top Dogs. Blue Oceans encompass lots of animals! I have even heard sales people referred to as Snakes. It seems the little Piranha has been under appreciated in business. I’d like to advocate the study of this fish and applying it’s success principles to business. For example: Much has been said about “Eating the Elephant.” You can’t eat the elephant […]
Eleven Characteristics Of Critical Thinkers
Several days ago, commented on the topic of “Why Managers Don’t Think Deeply.” Apparently, based on responses I received, there is some interest in this topic. I thought it would be worthwhile to share some characteristics of critical thinkers. Have a passion for clarity, precision, accuracy, relevance, consistency, logical-ness, completeness, and fairness. Are sensitive to ways in which critical thinking can be skewed by egocentrism, wishful thinking, biases, and ignorance. Are intellectually honest with themselves, acknowledging their limitations and lack of knowledge. Listen open-mindedly to opposing points of view, welcoming criticisms of beliefs and assumptions. Base their views on facts […]
Colin Powell Lessons On Leadershiip
I just ran across this on Slideshare. It’s a bit dated, but still interesting and a good reminder on leadership. View Upload your own A presentation given by former Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell regarding leadership and victory in business and life.SlideShare Link
Quiet Time–Break Away From Email, Phones, Blackberry’s
Interesting article in today’s New York Times: Lost In E-Mail, Tech Firm Face Self-Made Beast. The article examines efforts by many companies to understand the impact of constant interruptions on productivity. Companies are finding tremendous results in forcing people to stop distractions for a period of time each day, devoting that time to thinking or getting real work done (such a concept!). The article cited a Basex study which placed the impact in lost productivity in the U.S. due to distractions at more than $650 billion annually! Take the time to read the article. Better yet, everyday, try to take […]