Name: Bob Mason
Date registered: April 15, 2013
URL: http://www.planleadexcel.com
Mar 09 2011
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 3:20 — 3.1MB)
As a leader, you have plenty of problems to solve. Though it’s impossible to cover every type of problem you may face (there will always be something new) there are some basic concepts that can be applied to any problem you may encounter. The most important aspect of problem solving is to understand …
Mar 02 2011
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:44 — 2.5MB)
After years of lower level leadership positions, I was anxious for the big time. I could envision myself in the big chair, issuing orders, solving problems, and just generally making the organization, if not the world, a much better place. Nothing would faze me and I would be loved by all. Then one day my opportunity came. This was what I had been waiting for. Bring it on!
Feb 23 2011
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 3:23 — 3.1MB)
Maybe it’s just me, but it seems like the only time I hear about young people is either when they do something in sports, or when they’re in trouble; and sometimes that’s the same kids. For a refreshing change of pace, I took a couple of days last week to judge speaking contests …
Feb 09 2011
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 4:04 — 3.7MB)
As with all businesses, people find me through several different avenues, and like all businesses should, I try to keep track of them. Of course, one source is internet search engines and I’m always interested in what search terms lead people to my site. Those search terms tell me something other than what …
Feb 03 2011
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 3:58 — 3.6MB)
Is there any place that is truly free of conflict? If there is, I haven’t seen it. The fact is that humans will always disagree, have differing goals, or just have bad days. It’s a leader’s job to manage, not prevent, conflict to make it a positive rather than distracting force in the workplace. That seems like a difficult assignment. How does a leader manage conflict?
Feb 01 2011
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 4:04 — 3.7MB)
What’s your company’s strategy? Is there someone in charge of that? If so, who? There’s often a disconnect between real strategy and what many leaders think is strategy. I’ve seen too many senior leaders who seem to think strategy is something like a marketing plan. To be truly successful, leaders must see strategy for what it is; the overarching plan for success.
Jan 20 2011
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 5:43 — 5.2MB)
I recently read a comment from a very successful small business owner stating that commissioned sales is the only way to really motivate employees to provide great customer service. Reasoning that only a sales associate who works on commission can understand how important repeat business is, he claims that associates on commission will deliver better customer service. I emphasize that this individual is a very successful small business owner so this has obviously worked for him. But, is it the best way?
Jan 17 2011
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 3:13 — 2.9MB)
“I have a dream!” What a vision! Martin Luther King was not the first to fight for racial equality and he wasn’t the last. So why do we remember those words? Because they stated the vision simply and clearly. It was a vision that everyone could understand and feel a part of. It encompassed the immediate issue, racial equality, but went beyond that to a vision of a truly color blind society.
Jan 11 2011
Send to Kindle“Be Careful!” Those words jumped out from a bumper sticker on the car I was passing. We were on the interstate, traveling at interstate speeds when I saw the bumper sticker. Of course I immediately wanted to know what I should be careful of, what danger I should avoid. Alas, the explanation, the …
Jan 06 2011
Do women make good leaders? First, that’s a stupid question. Unfortunately, it still pops up from time to time, even from what I would consider to be normally intelligent people. Of course there are excellent leaders who are women. There are also horrible leaders who are women. The same holds true for male leaders. So why does this subject seem to warrant ever more discussion? Probably because it gets people’s attention and because there still is some bias, real and perceived, on both sides of the issue. So, why do I bother to address the matter? Simply because the question of women in leadership goes to a deeper problem that leaders must be aware of and guard against.
