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The Insider

joe —  Sat 22-Feb-14

Cat PenguinThe one practice that I thought was most helpful in my early career became something that I now avoid – the insider.

An insider is a member of your team that seems to have his finger on the pulse of what others are doing, thinking, and feeling. He is a great way to test your ideas before taking them to a larger audience. He is connected to everyone and has a great capacity to help you understand what your team is thinking. Most importantly, an insider brings you insights about your team that you may not have otherwise understood. Team members often feel uncomfortable telling you something because you are the boss. An insider helps bridge that gap. He fully believes that he is helping both you and the team connect. Continue Reading…

And Now, the Rest of the Story

joe —  Sun 5-Feb-12

HecklersIt was Sunday morning at North Point Community Church. Andy Stanley had just finished his sermon and was about to pray when a voice from the back took center stage.
For about 45 seconds an unknown man had the opportunity to reach thousands of people and enlighten people on why Andy was not preaching the way God intended.

If you were Andy, how would you have responded?

The PR handbook teaches us to ignore the distraction and move on. No sense in giving credibility to the event by acknowledging it happened. Or would you simply look to the audience and say, “My apologies for the distraction?” Maybe just look up and shrug your shoulders and a bit of a perplexed look? How about a quick heckler comeback?

Continue Reading…

All You Need is… Data

joe —  Sat 19-Nov-11

Brass knuckles wedding ring framedI overheard a conversation between two young women the other day. One of them had asked the other, “Wow, he finally asked you. Did you say yes?” To which the other replied, “I told him that I needed more data.”

Seriously?

No. That conversation never happened. But imagine the look on the guy’s face if she had given him that reply.

One of the challenges we now face is that data is everywhere and we are often paralyzed by it. We even have a name for it – it’s called “big data.” Being the resourceful creatures that we are we assume because it is available, we should use it.

Beth and I have two high school seniors that are going through the process of deciding which colleges will win the lottery known as Mommy and Daddy’s savings account. The options available are amazing. What makes it even more complex is that like nearly all high school seniors they have no idea what they want to do when they grow up. Continue Reading…