Mike Figliuolo's Blog

Our reader poll today asks: When a team member communicates with you in a passive-aggressive way, how do you handle it?

I ignore it – they probably didn’t mean to come across that way – 18%I seek clarification – I point out how their message came across poorly – 51%I directly confront them and explain why their message was inappropriate – 25%I’ve never had someone be passive aggressive with me – 6%

Passive aggression is still aggression.

Read the rest of this post at thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World.

 

Use these six techniques as you go through your negotiations. They can be very effective, but each one has their downsides. So be deliberate around picking the technique and understanding the risks that come along with it.

Over the years, I’ve learned some great negotiating techniques and tactics, and I’d like to share them now.

The Invisible Man

The first is called The Invisible Man, and that’s where you’re in the heat of a deal and you don’t want to give an answer right now, or you don’t like the position that the other party is taking, and you just say, well, I have to check with my colleagues before I can give you an answer. 

Read the rest of this post at thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World.

The fast-paced business environment is sometimes necessary, especially when making a name and space for your brand.

Today’s post is by Francisco Serrano, author of Brain-Ding. This is an archived post, originally published in 2020.

When you talk about branding, you are talking about constant change. This fast-paced environment leaves brand managers with no choice: they need to favor SPEED over perfection. That is, if they want to succeed.

Read the rest of this post at thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World.

Our reader poll today asks: How often do you see associates successfully complete a performance improvement plan (PIP) and fully rectify their performance issues?

They succeed all the time – 2%They succeed most of the time – 18%They succeed some of the time – 40%They rarely succeed – 35%They never succeed – 4%

Your role in performance improvement.

Read the rest of this post at thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World.

Anchors are initial points from which you’re going to negotiate. They can lock you into a position, and unfair anchors can kill a deal. 

There’s an interesting dynamic that can happen in negotiations. It’s called anchoring. Anchors are initial points from which you’re going to negotiate. They can lock you into a position, and unfair anchors can kill a deal. If you get one, consider walking away. Also understand, if you give the other party an unfair anchor, they may walk away.

Read the rest of this post at thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World.

It seems to be that everyone has that one coworker that they can’t seem to get along with, but here are a few tips to help you along the path of dealing with a difficult coworker.

Today’s post is by Kourtney Whitehead, author of Working Whole. This is an archived guest post, originally published in 2020.

We’ve all worked with someone who makes us roll our eyes, cringe when we see their name in our inbox, or dread an upcoming meeting. 

Read the rest of this post at thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World.

Our reader poll today asks: What kind of incentive do you find to be the best motivator of performance?

Private verbal and written praise – 22%
Public awards and recognition – 15%
Promotions or assignment to special projects – 27%
Cash. Cold, hard cash – 28%
Something else – 8%

Finding the right incentive.

Read the rest of this post at thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World.

 

By understanding your deal’s structure, you’re going to be able to identify opportunities to get a better deal as well as make the deal easier to go through because you can make it better for all parties involved.

Deal structure is going to impact your negotiating approach. There are several things you should look at as you lay out what the structure is. What are the objective criteria that exist and what are the assumptions you’re making about the deal structure? 

Read the rest of this post at thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World.

Technology has been an integral part of our lives for years now, but what happens when technology starts to make doing work even more difficult.

Today’s post is by Dr. Brian Smith, author of Individual Advantages. This is an archived guest post originally published in 2019.

Patience is waning in all aspects of human interaction; impatience is being felt throughout the whole of society.

Read the rest of this post at thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World.

Our reader poll today asks: When your business slows down, how does your organization react?

We frantically try to boost revenue by trying a lot of new things – 7%We’ll push core sales and marketing efforts even harder – 19%We’ll tighten our belts and cut expenses dramatically – 26%We’ll continue with our plan but build contingency plans if things don’t go well – 38%We continue with business as usual and ride things out – 10%

Riding it out.

Read the rest of this post at thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World.