Mike Figliuolo's Blog, page 63

Learn to Build Goals from the Top Down

  Learning how to build goals from the top down ensures that everyone’s work is headed in the same direction. Goals shouldn’t just tie from your strategy down to the individual goals. When you add your goals up, they also need to align from corporate goals down to the individual. Ensure everyone’s work is headed in the same direction and people know how they fit in—how their work contributes to the broader goals we’re trying to achieve. The way you do this is you work from the vision down to subcomponents, then down to subcomponents below that, all the way down to individual goals. Goals should cascade from the highest levels down. And when you add them all up, hopefully, it’s more than you’re trying to get to at the top level. Why? Well, you want...



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How Radical Relationships Can Transform Your Team

Radical relationships involve conversations that are raw, real, authentic, and transparent. And they can supercharge both your workers and your organization. Today’s post is by Shawn Nason, author of KISS YOUR DRAGONS: Radical Relationships, Bold Heartsets & Changing The World (CLICK HERE to get your copy). A few years back, my phone rang at 6 a.m. It was my dear friend and colleague Robin Glasco, calling to tell me she had decided to quit her job at a big health insurance company. “It’s about &!@%ing time,” I said. And it was. Robin and I had been talking off and on for months about how I thought she should pursue a more satisfying job. I would remind her about how miserable she was, she would remind me she had two kids in college, and we would agree to disagree—but to keep the...



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How much has your organization’s strategy shifted in the last 12 months?

Our reader poll today asks: How much has your organization’s strategy shifted in the last 12 months? Significantly: We’re going in a brand new direction. 20.8% Somewhat: We’ve got a few major shifts but are staying on course. 34.4% Not very: We’re generally headed in the same direction with a couple of adjustments. 36.2% Not at all: We’re full speed ahead on our current path. 8.6% Balancing consistency with agility. Unless there are large shifts in the market or in your organization, your strategy should remain consistent (assuming it’s working). Most of you report that you’re staying the course. For those who are undergoing major shifts, be sure you understand what is driving those changes. Change for the sake of change can doom a good strategy. If you’re...



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The Medium Was the Message, And It Still Is

  What you say, how you say it, and the medium you choose to communicate your message matter as much today as they did last century Today’s post is by Luke Sheppard, Founder and Principle of Sheppard & Company, and author of Driving Great Results (CLICK HERE to get your copy). In 1964, Marshall McLuhan coined the phrase “the medium is the message” in his book Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man. He made this comment at a time when text messaging, FaceTime, and Zoom calls were but fragments of imagination in the pages of a Robert Heinlein novel. There were far fewer communication mediums in the 1960s than today, though McLuhan’s phrase still has merit. What you say, how you say it, and the medium you choose to communicate your message matter as much today...



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What is your greatest fear when giving team members a task they’ve not done before?

Our reader poll today asks: What is your greatest fear when giving team members a task they’ve not done before? They’ll mess it up and I’ll have to fix it.  20.4% They’ll need too much of my time and guidance. 21.3% They’ll get frustrated and morale will drop. 12.2% They’ll be wildly successful and outshine me. 3.8% I am fearless. This is how they learn. 42.2% Fear versus no fear. You folks are pretty evenly split as to whether you’re afraid of your team members making mistakes and either having to fix them or invest too much time in helping them versus having no fear at all. For the former group, this is how your people learn. Start with giving less risky projects and tasks. Build extra time into timelines to allow for slower work. Focus on the fact...



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This Was My Biggest Step Toward Building a $30 Million Business

Why core values are a necessary ingredient for success in your business or career, and the steps you can take right now discover your personal core values. Today’s post is by Robert Glazer, Founder and CEO of Acceleration Partners and author of Elevate: Push Beyond Your Limits and Unlock Success in Yourself and Others (CLICK HERE to get your copy). One of the greatest frustrations in life is the realization that we have spent, or are currently spending, significant time and energy doing something that doesn’t fulfill us. How we respond to this feeling can become the turning point for our entire career. Maybe you have worked in a job that made you feel bored, or even demoralized. Maybe you’ve been in a professional environment dictated by principles and standards that just felt wrong to...



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When you find yourself with extra time on your hands, do you have a list of nonurgent projects you can immediately turn to?

Our reader poll today asks: When you find yourself with extra time on your hands, do you have a list of nonurgent projects you can immediately turn to? Yes. I know exactly what I’ll do with the newfound free time. 64.22% Kind of. I have a general sense of projects in waiting. 32.42% No. I have no idea what I’d do with free time. 3.36% Ready for free time. The vast majority of you have a plan for when you have that “found” free time. Bravo! There’s no time wasted wondering what to start working on when you have a free t0 minutes, hour, day, or week. There’s no need to spend time prioritizing either. You can just get to work. If you’re in the 32% who are a little less rigorous on maintaining such a list, give it a try. Call it your back-burner projects. Break it into groups of...



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What Makes a Presentation Unsuccessful?

Do you struggle to get your ideas approved? Follow the structured thought process to create better presentations. When you have a recommendation you’re trying to get approved within your organization, there are going to be a lot of stakeholders you have to get your idea in front of. You’ll have to put it in front of your manager, maybe their boss, a director, and some vice presidents. Some of your ideas may even go all the way up to the C-suite. There’s something I like to call Figliuolo’s Law, which states: “An individual’s annual compensation is inversely proportional to the number of slides they can look at before they have a stroke.” I’ve worked with a CEO who said, “If it has a staple, I won’t read it.” I worked...



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How to Communicate Vision To Make It Influential

Learn how leaders should effectively communicate and share a vision to make it impactful. Today’s post is by Oleg Konovalov, author of THE VISION CODE: How To Create And Execute A Compelling Vision For Your Business (CLICK HERE to get your copy). Communication makes vision visible and attractive to others. It can inspire the visionary’s passion in others or drive people away. A poorly communicated vision is dead if not successfully shared with others. Communication is the essential property of vision and visionary leadership whose primary role is to make vision a collective property, giving it away so others can participate in it. A vision’s strength is determined by how well it is communicated to others. In practical terms, attracting investors is critical. Attracting as many supporters...



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What’s harder: working from the office or working from home?

Our reader poll today asks: What’s harder: working from the office or working from home? Office: lots of distractions. I focus better at home and doing things on my own. 41.4% Home: lots of distractions and temptations. I need the structure and social aspects of an office. 58.6% Working from home is hard. Many of you reported being challenged working from home. It seems like a great opportunity until you actually try it. Distractions, lack of structure, and lack of coworker contact are all huge challenges. Having worked from home for 15+ years, I’d suggest a few things. 1. Set and maintain a schedule. Hit your desk at the same time every day. Finish work at the same time. 2. Manage family expectations. Tell them if your door is closed, you’re not there or available. 3. Have a hard...



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