Geoff Smart's Blog, page 4

They Will Love Your Reflection

Would you love to be 20% better at persuasion? Or improve your chances of landing the job of your dreams? Or become more well-liked socially? There is a very simple conversational tactic you can use, which will help you accomplish these goals. You know what it is. But chances are, you are not using it enough. [Continue »]

You're reading They Will Love Your Reflection, originally posted on SMARTthoughts for Leaders and copyrighted by Dr. Geoff Smart.

The #1 Most Important Word in Business, Which You Rarely Hear

"What's the most important mindset for success in business?" A video podcaster named Nina asked me earlier today. For a second, I doubted I would be able to identify just one key mindset for success.I find questions about "what one thing?" sort of over-simplifying. As trusted advisors to CEOs and investors of large companies, our consultants at ghSMART typically emphasize the importance of context. There is no "perfect candidate" to hire for a job, for example. Success depends mostly on a leader fitting a given context, which has many variables—the customer landscape, strategic challenges, operating challenges, financial or legal factors, culture, etc. [Continue »]

You're reading The #1 Most Important Word in Business, Which You Rarely Hear, originally posted on SMARTthoughts for Leaders and copyrighted by Dr. Geoff Smart.

Run Your Next Meeting Like A CEO

By the time you become CEO, you will be awesome at running meetings. As a humble bystander, and CEO myself for a couple of decades, I have grown to appreciate the fine art of how to run a meeting well. I have seen billionaire tech CEOs run meetings where people cried their eyes out they were so inspired, and I've seen front-line supervisors at an aluminum can manufacturing company run meetings so poorly that people were falling asleep--heads clunking down on the table. [Continue »]

You're reading Run Your Next Meeting Like A CEO, originally posted on SMARTthoughts for Leaders and copyrighted by Dr. Geoff Smart.

Why You Will Reach the Top of Your Field, And Others Won’t

You will reach the top of your field. And others won't. "How do you know? My field is quite crowded with lots of smart people," you say. I'm going to share with you a secret to success that will change your mindset and how you spend your time, and will alter your career trajectory to the tippy top of your field. There is a tactic that I learned the hard way when I founded ghSMART at the age of 23 (over 20 years ago). [Continue »]

You're reading Why You Will Reach the Top of Your Field, And Others Won’t, originally posted on SMARTthoughts for Leaders and copyrighted by Dr. Geoff Smart.

3 Questions No Leader Should Ever Ask

At ghSMART, we advise board members and CEOs of large companies on their most important leadership issues. One of the skills we train our consultants on is making sure we are consulting on the right questions.

I think of a "right" question as one that matters, by cutting to the heart of an issue, one that will produce an answer that is within the power of the leader to act on, and one that--when answered--is likely to deliver the highest value to the leader in achieving results. [Continue »]

You're reading 3 Questions No Leader Should Ever Ask, originally posted on SMARTthoughts for Leaders and copyrighted by Dr. Geoff Smart.

The 3 Hardest Questions about Your Career

I love helping people strategize about their career. A recently-retired governor recently contacted me to have a career strategy chat. I'm guessing he will tell me he has a vague sense of what he wants to do next, and that he would love a sounding board to come up with a plan. [Continue »]

You're reading The 3 Hardest Questions about Your Career, originally posted on SMARTthoughts for Leaders and copyrighted by Dr. Geoff Smart.

Great CEOs Give Their Teams Freedom to Choose

Something surprised me the other day. It was the reason a colleague, who had left to work for a big company (sniff!), returned to ghSMART. She had left a couple of years ago to become a senior executive at a top-tier fashion brand. Sounded like a dream job at the time. But within 2 years, she returned to our firm. I was happy she came back; but what was a mystery to me was why she decided to come back. She sat down next to me at our firm's annual Summit. [Continue »]

You're reading Great CEOs Give Their Teams Freedom to Choose, originally posted on SMARTthoughts for Leaders and copyrighted by Dr. Geoff Smart.

3 Simple Closing Techniques for Smart People

I counsel my teammates on three simple closing techniques for smart people. And I want to share them with you, because I've seen what a dramatic positive difference they can make for your customers as well as your colleagues. In my previous blog, I observed something weird that happens to smart people when it's time to close a deal. Smart people turn to mush! [Continue »]

You're reading 3 Simple Closing Techniques for Smart People, originally posted on SMARTthoughts for Leaders and copyrighted by Dr. Geoff Smart.

5 Ways Smart People Blow the Close

The weirdest thing happens when it's time to close a deal. Smart people turn to mush! I've seen it a hundred times. For example, my colleagues are super smart. Many of my teammates have Ph.D.s and MBAs from the toughest universities in the world. They have performed at the top of their peer groups at places like McKinsey, Bain, BCG, The White House, Ritz-Carlton, G.E., HP, U.S. Navy Intelligence, Marine Force Recon, and Goldman Sachs before they came to ghSMART. [Continue »]

You're reading 5 Ways Smart People Blow the Close, originally posted on SMARTthoughts for Leaders and copyrighted by Dr. Geoff Smart.

Hold People Accountable with this Simple Leadership Hack

Leaders struggle to hold people accountable. According to our research for Power Score, we discovered that only 8% of leaders are good at holding people accountable.

Why do so many leaders struggle to hold people accountable?

Because when you do it wrong, it stinks for everyone. Tension, stress, and hurt feelings, bad results, and a culture of defensiveness rather than a culture of performance and personal growth. [...]

You're reading Hold People Accountable with this Simple Leadership Hack, originally posted on SMARTthoughts for Leaders and copyrighted by Dr. Geoff Smart.