Caskey and Friends Debut

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On June 27, we’ll be hosting a program called Caskey and Friends. It’s really a time for us to share some of the strategies that are working for our clients in helping them grow their business.

Yes, I know if you’re not in Indianapolis there is no way to get access to this, although we will be recording the sessions. But if you are close to Indy, tickets are free and I encourage you to click on the link below which takes you to the sign-up page.

CASKEY AND FRIENDS - LEADERSHIP EVENT INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA

We selected four speakers, Chip McLean, Brooke Green, Bryan Neale and myself to tell a little of our story that might help others to use lessons in growing their business.

Just to be clear, this is not actually a training session where we’ll be doing role-playing or discussion. There will be some audience interaction, but this is mostly a time for you to sit back and take in personal growth.

It’ll give you a chance to hear from four people who do this work full-time. If you’re interested in coming or in merely seeing what some of the topics are click here and it will take you to the sign-up page.


The Fiscal Cliff, Kicking the Can Down the Road and Rotten Leadership

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Every businessperson has a story about a time they paid a price for not addressing the root causes of a problem. Some of these stories involve a decision to put up with a non-achieving salesperson for years knowing they’re never going to make it, rather than pulling the trigger and letting him or her go. Others involve leaders who remain rigid in their business-as-usual approach despite rapidly thinning margins caused by the commoditization of their product or service.

In light of the looming “fiscal cliff,” such anecdotes support the widespread belief that pushing through a quick, temporary fix, rather than reaching a long-term solution is not answer. Unfortunately for us, it takes only a quick look at recent history to see that Congress and the White House have been indecisive and playing for time—kicking the can down the road—instead of addressing the root causes of the financial crisis.

While I don’t claim to know which road steers our country away from the fiscal cliff (nor do I own the parachute that guides us safely down should we tumble over), I can say with absolute certainty that this saga is a dramatic example of very poor leadership.

As leadership coaches and advisers, we often watch as organizations opt to kick the can down the road to buy more time or wait for it to become someone else’s problem, rather than making a timely decision that might hurt a little in the short-term, but will pay dividends down the road.

Most business leaders have employed “kick the can down the road” leadership at one point in time. Here are some all too common examples: Read more

The Case for Developing High Potential Leaders

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If you’re a company leader, are you devoting any time at all to thinking about developing your high potential leaders of tomorrow?

If you are, then this video might shed some light on some tactics/best practices on that path. It’s done by Dr. Robert Hogan, CEO and Founder of Hogan Assessments. While not always politically correct (I actually love that about him), Dr. Hogan shares his years of experience in assessing and developing leaders.

He talks about how to identify high-potential leadership talent as well as how to nurture it. He also addresses Basic Employability, that we find most companies miss when selecting talent.

Simon Sinek: How Great Leaders Inspire Action

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Our team is meeting with a strategic planner today an before we meet with him, we were instructed to watch a few videos.

This one in particular really hit home for me!  I can guarantee it will inspire you to look at yourself, your business and your message in a different way.

About the Video

Simon Sinek has a simple but powerful model for inspirational leadership all starting with a golden circle and the question “Why?” His examples include Apple, Martin Luther King, and the Wright brothers …

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this!

Do you agree with Simon?  Why do you do what you do?

 

When Selecting Leadership Talent

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Occasionally, we get a call from a company who is about ready to hire a new leader.

They want us to run a Hogan Personality test on them to make sure they’re the right person for the job. And frequently, we must break the news to them that the person they were interviewing was not the perfect fit for the job.

In this video, Bill Caskey addresses a real-life situation where the client was about to send the offer letter.

The advice was: DON’T HIRE. And here’s why.

 

A Con Game Is NOT a Good Leadership Strategy

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The Background Story

Several months ago, I was sitting with Sam who had just been named a VP of Sales at a company who was struggling.  Sam had an engineering background and had had no leadership skills at all which is why they were seeking our help.

Sam’s boss, the CEO, felt like Sam’s energy and enthusiasm for sales and his competence at the subject matter end of the business would be a perfect match for him leading a sales team.

But there was a problem… Read more

3 Ways to Inspire Your Sales Team

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Sales managers and leaders:

Here is a 5-minute video giving you some insightful ideas on how to inspire or reinvigorate your sales team.  This takes a slightly deeper look at what causes people to bring their best game to the field everyday.

Sales managers have to be part time psychologists if they are to create behavioral change that brings results. So this is a way to begin. Bill Caskey is an author, speaker and trainer in Indianapolis.

 

Mentioned in the video:

 

 

 

 

Josh Hamilton – A Refreshing Relapse

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Texas Ranger outfielder Josh Hamilton recently made sports headlines when he relapsed from his drug and alcohol treatment program.  Although celebrity relapse is not new, I thought the way he handled it was.

In an era when politicians and celebrities find it impossible to accept responsibility – instead, blaming others for all bad things that happen, Josh got up in front of the microphone the next day and said, “I messed up. I hurt people. I let down people who lean on me.”

You can argue all day about Josh’s baseball talent. He has been injured a lot and had some very average years. But in this case, he came through victorious.

Alcohol and drug recovery is a one-day-at-a-time game. I have a little experience in that game. Sometimes, when you feel vulnerable and weak, you have to put your game face on and be vigilant about relapse.  Apparently, Josh wasn’t.

But rather than be quick to judge him for why it occurred.  I am quick to judge how he handled it.

We sales people and business leaders can take a page from the Hamilton playbook when it comes to accepting responsibility, taking the blame and doing it in a ‘stand-up, head-on’ way. Wouldn’t it be refreshing if some of our politicians had the courage to stand up and say, “I screwed up by voting for that bill. I messed up. I don’t know what I was thinking. I’m sorry I hurt people inadvertently.”

Wouldn’t that be refreshing–especially if it came from the heart?

Or wouldn’t it be nice if a company leader had the bravery to stand up in front of the executive team and admit an error in judgement? Or, if a sales person who wasn’t achieving at the level he/she desired, to stand up and admit that it’s, “all on me” instead of blaming the pricing, the website, the customer demands, the weather?

Or, if a sales manager would go into the President’s office and accept responsibility for weak sales performance instead of blaming his sales team? Or, if a customer service person would admit that they screwed up the shipping instructions?

As we go about our day in our business lives, check out when we take accountability and when we shirk it. It probably would surprise us. The great paradox is that we think it’s a strategy of strength to never admit errors. But it’s quite the opposite.

How To Keep Talent. How To Grow Talent. – Video Reaction To A Forbes Article

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We received a link recently from an Advanced Selling Podcast Listener to an article in Forbes called 10 Reasons Large Companies Fail to Keep Their Best Talent.

In this video, Bill Caskey reviews the Forbes list then comes up with one of our own on HOW TO GROW YOUR TEAM’S TALENT. Read more