Awesomely Simple: Essential Business Strategies for Turning Ideas Into Action

Organizations with a strong communication culture tell the truth about even the most difficult and challenging subjects. They have the courage to put uncomfortable topics on the table and force a discussion. Rather than hoping that bad things go away, that someone else will fix it, that the problem will solve itself—they start a dialogue about spec

but it amazes me how many companies fail to realize that some of their lowest-paid and often least-respected employees are actually in the best position to make or break the future of the company. The more interaction an employee has directly with customers, the more essential it is to make sure this person has the tools, resources, training, and p

4. Create a competency model that clearly identifies the characteristics, skills, abilities, knowledge, and attitude you are looking for in both current and future employees.

5. Conduct a survey to assess the current culture of your organization and the level of engagement of your employees.

I listen carefully for ambiguous words or words that I do not understand and then politely ask my counterpart to more clearly define what he or she is trying to express to me.__________________

At the first sign of emotional escalation, a great communicator stops, asks questions, and listens intently. No arguing, no defending, no pointing out mistakes—just genuine, authentic, empathetic listening. Here is an example of what you might say in the first stage: “I can see that you are frustrated and upset about the situation, and you have eve

this book, I am not merely going to tell you what the pattern of successful companies is. I am going to tell you exactly how to apply these critical strategies in your organization and give you lots of examples and workshops to help make sure that you execute them effectively and consistently.

8. Why do you think respect has become such an important issue for employees? 9. Explain what it is about your organization and the work you do that would cause your employees to feel that their work was genuinely meaningful and important? 10. Do you think that the majority of employees in your organization are proud of where they work and the work th

Speed rules because customers have zero tolerance for waiting. Expectations are measured in download speed. There was a time when you could tell customers to expect four to six weeks for shipping and delivery. Now if you can’t get it there the next day or faster, you don’t get the sale. Speed rules because the first one with a successful new produc