As a leader, one of the most significant challenges you face is managing your time effectively. With countless demands on your attention, it’s easy to get caught up in the urgency trap, where you find yourself constantly putting out fires and neglecting the truly important initiatives that drive your organization forward. To overcome this challenge, you need a powerful tool that can help you prioritize your responsibilities and stay focused on what matters most.

BambooHR recently released its quarterly Employee Happiness Index report, showing employee happiness is down 5% year over year, hitting a four-year low. The survey revealed some bright spots, with construction remaining the happiest industry and education achieving the highest June scores the sector has seen in four years. Still, the results raise concerns, given the steady decline in employee satisfaction since 2020.

Although there is an endless list of leadership habits that differentiate high performers from the rest, some of the most wildly celebrated traits in popular articles rarely move the needle according to science. There is often a direct contradiction between the leadership attributes we celebrate and those that actually contribute to leaders’ success.

When it comes to the stuff that strong relationships are made of, there is no more precious commodity than trust. It takes time to establish and can be broken in a heartbeat. But those who achieve the highest levels have demonstrated over and over again the same patterns of behavior that make building trust look easy. Be reliable. Fundamental to trust is reliability. If you say you'll do something, you'll do it.

True story: Recently, my daughter was at a major brand car dealership with her boyfriend, intending to purchase a pre-owned car. Note I made up the numbers for the sake of my daughter's financial privacy, but the takeaways are still the same. The dealership asked for, let's say, $26,000 "all in" for the car, but my daughter had already decided that $20,000 was the most she would pay.

Prospects — the potential customers you want to sell to — are the fuel for the sales pipeline. Every prospect represents a possible deal. Growing your base of sales prospects and working to nurture them will grow your revenue. Even though sales prospecting is important, it may sometimes feel like you’re just wishing and hoping the right people will show up.

Today’s business landscape is ever-evolving, with market disrupters, automation technology, and global economic uncertainty putting businesses under pressure. That’s why achieving peak performance in sales isn't just a goal—it's a necessity—and your sales team constantly needs to find ways to boost productivity. Proven sales processes, like the Miller Heiman sales methodology, can transform your team’s productivity and drive sustained success. 

AI for sales outreach sounds great in theory. I know. I thought the same thing 15 years ago. For 10 minutes. Until I really thought about it. Then I laughed and went on to the next thing. Then last month, I wrote a controversial column called "We All Know AI Can't Code, Right?" in which I argued that while generative AI is good at creating compilable syntax

our speed at work might be hurting you more than you know. Do you know the difference between speed and velocity? Many of my clients use them interchangeably, but there's a critical distinction that can significantly impact your productivity and your ability to manage through uncertainty, disruption, and rapid change. Most business owners operate in a fast-paced, high-pressure, results-oriented environment.

All of us have heard guidelines about how to be physically healthy—eat well, exercise, wash your hands, get plenty of rest. But how many of us have thought seriously about our social lives—the strength of our relationships and our sense of belonging in a community—as key to staying healthy?

More than ever, today’s employees long for purpose, a sense of belonging, and opportunities to grow. This means workers are ready to roll up their sleeves and make things happen. And yet according to the American Psychological Association’s recent survey, employee happiness is down while burnout remains high. In fact, the survey found that 77% of U.S. workers said they experienced work-related stress,

What does your leadership canvas look like so far? Is it full of powerful images or is it quite sparsely populated so far? Is it mainly positivity and light, or is there some negativity and darkness that is in urgent need of being surrounded by something more hopeful? We’re going to add some broad brush strokes to your canvas in the form of a series of related questions.

To convert buyers and investors, sharing product knowledge is important, but you need more. Sure, you have to know the products and services you sell in detail. But product knowledge alone is useless, and that is where many marketing plans run afoul of the first law of marketing: Put the Customer First. Customers don't buy products or services. They buy solutions to problems, relief from an itch, satisfaction of a felt need. In short, they buy benefits.

One of the most important skills I learned growing up came from martial arts -- stay liquid and fill the gaps. Being flexible will give you an edge in winning any match, whether you're fighting an opponent or brokering a deal. When I was a kid, I learned this the hard way. I was tiny and looked wimpy. I got picked on, beaten up, and mugged. So Ma enrolled me in martial arts at the community center. We went there almost every night to take classes and use the showers.

Aggressive salespeople are no more effective than passive salespeople but if I had to choose one over the other I would take my chances with the aggressive salesperson and attempt to get them to tone it down. While the challenges with passive salespeople are obvious, there is one mistake I consistently observe being made by aggressive salespeople and wouldn’t you know it, the salesperson approached us and made the mistake. That made me want to sit in a messaging recliner to get the stress out.

When you’re looking to grow your business, your sales teams are more important than ever. These three strategies could give your sales teams the edge they need to help you meet your organization’s growth objectives. Invest in your sales leaders - Align your sales process to customer needs - Motivate people with the right compensation strategy. Read on to find out how.

Over the past decade, workplace leaders have preached about the importance of employee engagement. But as a leadership consultant, I have found that very few organizations actually take employee engagement seriously. It’s time leaders admit it. The moment has come when leaders must stop pretending we care about engagement. Let’s quit asking workers to fill out surveys that everyone knows are insincere, “check-the-box” activities

Success is a highly subjective concept defined by intentional achievement and aligning actions with personal values. It may mean earning a degree, securing a promotion or gaining confidence. However, the greatest barriers to success are often self-imposed. Your personality can be a significant hurdle, with traits like perfectionism or fear of failure sabotaging your efforts. Understanding and managing these traits is crucial to staying on track and achieving your vision of success.

Google has spent years, collected tons of data, and invested millions trying to better understand its people. One of its most prolific projects, Project Aristotle, aimed to crack the code on what makes a team super effective.

Google's big question: Why do some teams excel while others flop?

When it comes to getting a promotion at work, several factors can either hold you back—or help you get ahead. Elements like your performance and experience play a crucial role in determining your career trajectory, as well as things out of your control, such as the number of available positions and budget constraints. But when it comes to personality, are there traits that might hold you back from getting promoted?