Mark Miller's Blog, page 6

When You Get the First Word

As leaders, we’re often asked to speak to groups, large and small. We invest many hours over the course of a year preparing for those presentations. As a frequent speaker, I’ve noticed a growing trend – introductions that leave me and the audience scratching our head.

Now, the truth is we have little control over how we’ll be introduced. One of my speaking coaches suggested that I write the intro for every talk I give and hand it to the person doing the introduction. You can decide if you want...

Here Today – Gone Tomorrow?

I had two experiences Saturday that reminded me of a little discussed responsibility of leaders – maintain relevance. We must not only work to stay relevant ourselves, we must help the brands and organizations we serve maintain relevance in a changing world.

I stopped by our local Honey Baked Ham store to pick up some smoked turkey for sandwiches. When I arrived, I noticed three employees and no customers. I made a comment about the long line the last time I visited. The man behind the counter...

Today’s Challenge: I Don’t Want to Be on a Team

Each week, I respond to a question submitted by a reader. Today’s issue is one I’ve faced more than once over the years. The question is: In an increasingly team-based world, what is the role of the individual contributor?

Let’s start with a working definition of an individual contributor. Individual contributors work primarily alone; their work can be accomplished in a largely independent fashion, and they are not part of an on-going team.

So is there a place for these people in your organizat...

Just Two Words

Simplicity drives clarity. Clarity generates focus. Focus enhances results. Many years ago, someone challenged my team to assess the scope of our product and service offerings. We were doing a lot of things, and we were doing them well. The bigger question was, were they the right things?

This is an ever-present questions for leaders. If you’ve been fortunate enough to assemble a team of talented men and women, you have little worry about the quality of their work. However, you should always b...

Don’t Believe Everything You Think

At our annual meeting a few weeks ago, we were fortunate to have several great communicators and thought leaders address our group. One of them was Andy Andrews. One of the things he said that caught my attention was this… “Don’t believe everything you think.”

As leaders, we’re a confident group. We have to be. It’s a prerequisite to fulfill our role. We’ve got to have confidence in the future we see, and we must have confidence in the strategies we’ve created to get there. We have to believe...

384 Dog Years and Counting!

Do you know how long have you been alive? Today is my 20,000th day! Or if you prefer, you can think of it as… 479,997 hours, or 2,857 weeks, or 1,428 fortnights, or 735 lunar months. But my favorite is 384 dog years – that’s a lot of years. Maybe that helps explain why I’ve been so tired recently.

I don’t think I’d have ever been aware of my 20,000th day unless my friend Robert Smith hadn’t written his book, 20,000 Days and Counting. It’s a quick read and very thought provoking.

As I celebrate...

Big Questions Leaders Ask (Part 3)

This is the final installment in this short series on big questions leaders ask. The truth is I could write a hundred posts on questions leaders ask. But, rather than write about the many, I’ve chosen to focus on the big three – Where are we going? Where are we today? And, today’s question: How will we get there?

“How will we get there?” is a question of strategy. Strategy, simply stated, is a chosen path to a pre-determined destination.

Here’s an example: If you want to improve student test sc...

A New Heart

For the last few years, I’ve been thinking a lot about the heart. My most recent book, The Heart of Leadership,is focused on addressing the issues of the heart that impede our leadership. In the last week, my mind has once again returned to the importance of the heart as I’ve waited with my dad for his heart surgery.

I’m writing this while sitting in the Open Heart Surgery waiting room. A week ago, my dad called me and said he needed to go to the hospital – he was having chest pains. After goi...

Today’s Challenge: Evaluating Events

Two weeks ago, I wrote about our upcoming annual meeting. We were about to host over 4,000 people for a multiple day event. Because I had our upcoming meeting on my mind, I also wrote several posts about the value and power of events. Today, I’ll address the question I’ve received numerous times over the last few days: How do you know if your event wassuccessful?

First, let me answer the question directly – we’re still working to determine the success of our event. A cursory look would reveal...

Do You Speak in Color or Black & White?

Last week at our annual meeting, we had more than 30 speakers. As I listened to these men and women, I was reminded of something one of my speech coaches challenged me on years ago. If you want to connect with an audience, you need more than great content, you need some color, too.

Color is the term Victoria Labalme uses to describe the elements that make people want to listen to us speak. Here are some ways to add color to your next presentation…

Don’t Tell Stories– This is the most radical ad...