June 2009

Stuck tractors don’t get out of the mud by themselves

I just can’t shake the ranch off my North Dakota boots! Feedback I received from my interview in the June Minnesota Business Journal Power Player article (No Excuses, p. 40) suggests that my rural roots are showing — and that leaders connect with the down-to-earth business values and insights they generate. If you haven’t guessed yet, the article focuses on my vision of what accountability means for business today and how building a culture on a “ Responsibility Reflex ” does great things for companies committed to growth and taking market share. If you haven’t seen the article, give me a call and I’ll send you a copy.

We weren’t like other families that went fishing on nice sunny days, after all, “Why waste a good work day.” But, when there were cold and rainy days, we went fishing. The weather might have been bad but the fishing was great. This is a lot like our business climate today, and reminds me of the importance of recruiting a team that can and WILL sell in these economic conditions.

Upgrading your sales team is more critical than ever. Why? The challenge of recruiting is finding talent when a good economy makes the candidate pool shallow, right? Now that layoffs are making the waters deep again, fishing out the whoppers — at a discount, no less — should be a simple matter of throwing out your net and hauling in your catch. Or should it? There’s a feeding frenzy of talent out there, true, but there are also a lot of sharks you don’t want showing up on your plate. Read my Twin Cities Business Journal article on the topic. In it, you’ll find out how to minimize the cost of fishy hires and shore up a sales organization that can and will sell in your environment. Read the article here.

Discipline is required for creativity to be inspired.

Danita