A couple of years ago I did an interview on what a manager can do to regain trust when he or she has screwed up royally.  I thought the points were particularly pertinent to many of my subscribers so I thought I'd print excerpts from the interview here:

We all know a procrastinator . . . the person who does Christmas shopping on December 24th, pulls an all-nighter to get a report done, or avoids making even the simplest decisions.  Many times the procrastinator puts forth a defense of, "Well, I do get it done, don't I?"  Sometimes yes, sometimes no.  Even if things do get done, though, the stress put on the procrastinator (and those around him or her) is greater than it needs to be.  If you know of a procrastinator (or are one yourself), use these tips to help make life a bit easier for not only the procrastinator but for those around him or her as well.

Excerpted from The Truth about Getting Your Point Across…and Nothing But the Truth

He hadn’t researched my company, didn’t understand what products we developed beyond our flagship product, and didn’t know what types of jobs we were looking to fill. The most amazing thing, though, was that he came in expecting me to sell him on the company versus him demonstrating why he was someone worth pursuing. My decision was made in the first minute of the interview. It was my easiest interview of the day.

Excerpted from The Truth about Getting Your Point Across…and Nothing But the Truth

If you're like many people, the thought of speaking in front of a group of people is like bamboo under your nails.  Truth be told, the audience wants to see you succeed and doesn't want to see a crash-and-burn on the stage.  The audience is rooting for you.

Next time you have to take to the podium, keep the following in mind:

• Let your passion flow – The audience wants to not only hear about what you have to say, they also want to see your passion and excitement about your topic.  Allowing yourself to get passionate about your presentation will help get your mind off of the audience and more on to the topic you’re presenting. You’ve got something important to say, so get up there and say it with passion.

It's happening more and more; managers are being asked to manage virtual teams of people that may or may not have a direct reporting relationship to the manager.  Some find it easy to do, but many others find it difficult to garner the respect from team members who don't have to follow the manager.  Get a few helpful tips to help you next time you're asked to manage a virtual team.

When I wrote my first book in 2004 my publicist told me, "you've got to write articles to get your message out and sell books!"  Being a good soldier I saluted and contemplated how I was going to get it done.   My publicist turned me on to a ghost writer who wrote an article under my guidance.  After paying way too much for the article and seeing the finished product, I vowed never again to have someone else write for me.  I decided that if I had crappy articles it was going to be because I was the one who wrote them, not because I paid someone to write crappy articles for me. 

When I wrote my first article, I decided on the topic and just started writing.  It was a disaster.  The content was disjointed, lacked focus, and made no sense.  It also took me hours and hours to produce a piece of garbage.  There had to be a better way.  Fortunately I found it after a lot of trial and error.

Recently I met up with an old friend who is contemplating starting up a small business. We had a great discussion and I didn't want to lose the notes, so I thought I would share them with my readers.  This discussion is divided into four sections:  business structure, physical/virtual storefront, social media channels, and getting the word out. I undoubtedly missed some items; will update as I see holes.

As a child and young adult I was very independent.  Regardless of the situation, if I was doing something I was determined to do it myself and not ask for anyone's help.  In my eyes asking for someone's help was akin to admitting defeat or somehow showing others that I was weak or incompetent.   My attitude was "If someone else can do it, I can do it".   How Naive.

Colleagues, I feel your pain on this issue.

Scenario #1: You’ve got a critical position that needs to be filled by a qualified candidate, and quick. For every day the position doesn’t get filled, your in-box fills up a bit more with work to be done because your unfilled position hasn’t been staffed. You see tons of resumes and have interviewed scores of candidates, but the rock star you’re looking for isn’t emerging. You refuse to “settle” for a mediocre candidate, but the work is piling up and you’ve got to do something.