Episodes

In marketing, word-of-mouth testimonials are among of the most effective ways to promote a product or service. For professionals, having people on your side is always valuable. In this episode, I encourage you to take the first step by doing something positive for someone else. Perhaps, down the road many of these people will reciprocate and come to your aid as your personal advocate. The post Ep. 386 – The Power of Proactive Advocacy appeared first on Just Saying.

The most interesting people have a unique ability to be much more interested in those around them. In this episode, I explore the possibility of making the choice to be more curious and focus on those around you. By not making it about you, ironically you stand apart. The world needs more interesting people like that. The post Ep. 385 – It’s better to be interested than interesting appeared first on Just Saying.

While watching a sports interview with a Hall of Fame NFL quarterback, I learned a powerful lesson: loneliness leads to mastery. It takes dedicated time alone to achieve greatness. And hard work on the field with others means taking time in solitude to get ready to perform at a high level. The post Ep. 384 – The Loneliness of Excellence appeared first on Just Saying.

You can’t create the next big idea in a sea of chaotic collaboration. Innovation can be deliberately accelerated by giving small teams time together to brainstorm and sufficient time alone to think, plan and prepare. In this episode, I provide a do-it-yourself (DIY) approach to host a one-day team experience as a catalyst for innovation. The post Ep. 383 – Jumpstarting Innovation in a Single Day appeared first on Just Saying.

Have you ever been stuck in a conversation that was going nowhere? Feeling helpless, what could you do to avoid the dead-end direction? Unfortunately, this happens frequently to us both inside and outside work. This week, I outline three “U-turn” tactics to get the conversation back on course. The post Ep. 382 – Pulling a U-turn in a Conversation appeared first on Just Saying.

In meetings, it’s easy to run out of time. Participants rarely allocate sufficient time to summarize what’s been discussed and assign action items with any time to spare. In this episode, I provide a few practical ways for meeting leaders to think and act with the ending in mind. The post Ep. 381 – Having the meeting end(ing) in mind appeared first on Just Saying.

When Amazon infamously ditched PowerPoints in meetings and opted to use a six-page written narrative format, many professionals took notice of their bold move. However, very few followed their lead. After reading a book on Amazon’s leadership philosophy (“Working Backwards”), I decided to experiment with a new meeting format. In this podcast, I provide a detailed overview of the BRIEF Executive Summary Technique (B.E.S.T.) that combines quiet reading, a visual outline and a short executive summa...

What happens when managers have too many people and priorities to handle? A recent Wall Street Journal article highlighted a growing concern when organizations are trying to get much more from a thinning front line of leaders. One of the results is that bosses are running out of time to spend with their extended teams. In this episode, I propose six ways to adjust to this challenging, demanding reality. The post Ep. 379 – Your boss doesn’t have time for you appeared first on Just Saying.

Polished leaders all master these three areas. They can frame their role powerfully, share courses of action convincingly, and summarize complexity consistently. In this episode, I provide very practical ways to improve in each area to rise above the rest. The post Ep. 378 – Roles, recommendations, and re-caps appeared first on Just Saying.

We can speak very different languages, from finance, tech and science to logistics, legal and engineering. What are some simple ways to increase your awareness and avoid common tendencies to talk past people and lose them along the way? In this podcast, I share a clip from a 1960’s show “Flipper” and provide some common-sense tips to achieve simplicity and clarity. The post Ep. 377 – You’re speaking dolphin appeared first on Just Saying.

What’s the return on investment (ROI) if your organization is filled with clear communicators? In a recent conversation with a business consultant, I was challenged to measure it mainly in time savings. In my experience, however, that’s the easy answer. The deeper one is calculating the hidden impact when you cause chaos and confusion? The post Ep. 376 – What’s the cost of confusion? appeared first on Just Saying.

As new leaders step into new roles, many of them fail to help their subordinates understand the best way to communicate with them. Rather, they let vague assertions, false assumptions and ongoing trial-and-error observations shape the way they get and give information. In this episode, I provide a simple two-step process to gain clarity about ways to share what works for you and what doesn’t. The post Ep. 375 – Defining your communication preference (no more guessing) appeared first on Just Say...

If you want to become a clear and concise communicator, getting your extended team to commit would go a long way. After more than a decade of teaching our BRIEF system, we have introduced an annual subscription service that is designed to drive accountability and predictable outcomes. In this podcast, I shed some light on a series of service elements that can really help your team create sustainable results. The post Ep. 374 – BRIEF Team Builder: a new annual subscription service appeared first...

According to “Shark Tank’s” and entrepreneur Kevin O’Leary, Steve Jobs and Elon Musk had incredibly high signal-to-noise ratios. In other words, they could maintain high levels of clarity without succumbing to distractions, disruptions or low-level chatter. In this episode, I share some practical ways to manage your noise and increase your ratio. The post Ep. 373 – What’s your signal-to-noise ratio? appeared first on Just Saying.

Call Back Episode 209: Tech Timeouts, originally recorded on October 18, 2021. When you are always on, that means you’re never off. Living in a 24/7 world of pervasive connectivity, we are challenged to find rewarding moments during the day to disconnect. The post Call Back Episode – 209 Tech Timeouts appeared first on Just Saying.

A 1980’s self-help guru predicted that if you “go into the silence” for 30-60 minutes, you will get clarity 100% of the time. In an environment that doesn’t allow even a few minutes alone, we may find this hard to believe or impossible to achieve. Well, in times that are highly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA), we need to follow the advice of the Brian Tracy’s of the world. The post Ep. 372 – You’re better left alone appeared first on Just Saying.

Think about being in a meeting and seeing someone who has no vital role and nothing to say. They just fill a chair and add no immediate value. Like a potted plant, they may be there to fill a space. In this week’s episode, I challenge conventions about not inviting people that don’t need to be there. The post Ep. 371 – Meeting participants (and potted plants) appeared first on Just Saying.

Whether it’s an important conversation or a very difficult one, we need to be ready. In this week’s episode, I will walk you through six different considerations to put you in a frame of mind that improves your chances that the exchange will go better than planned. The post Ep. 370 – Making key conversations count (the 6 T’s) appeared first on Just Saying.

Watching someone communicate with no purpose and no plan is brutal. It’s like seeing a poor farmer scatter seed blindly into the wind. If this is how you show up, it’s going to take a toll. Many people communicate like this, with little or no plan with what they want to say. This is where ideas, attention and reputation all perish. The post Ep. 369 – You’re all over the place appeared first on Just Saying.

Great leaders are authentic and willing to share when they’ve struggled, been tested and have failed. Success is often the result of severe challenges, stupid mistakes and painful losses. By being able to open up and share these personal stories, leaders can connect with people more deeply than by barking orders and giving speeches. The post Ep. 368 – Sharing crucible stories appeared first on Just Saying.

Many professionals aspire to be thought leaders, yet few have what it takes. If this is what you (or someone you might know) feel compelled to pursue, be warned that with this role comes responsibilities. Not only do you need to be experienced, knowledgeable and respected, but you also must be a clear communicator who has some humility and lots of generosity. The post Ep. 367 – Becoming a thought leader (not a thoughtless one) appeared first on Just Saying.

If you can’t sit still for a moment, it will be hard to extract the real value AI. As these mind-bending developments increasingly take root, we may be too busy to even take notice. The irony – harsh reality, actually – is that we absolutely must embrace quiet time to slow down, learn and embrace it so that we can advance. The post Ep. 366 – Working with AI slowly and quietly appeared first on Just Saying.

Boomers, Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z all think they’re somehow superior. When it comes to communication, there are definitely differences but people share more in common than they’d like to admit. In this episode, I provide an limited overview that gets you thinking more about what we all value. The post Ep. 365 – An imperfect guide to generational communication differences appeared first on Just Saying.

Professionals may worry too much about their presentation skills and fail to improve their daily conversations. Whether it’s calling someone, providing an update or having a side-bar discussion, these moments happen far more than standing at a podium and wowing an audience. The post Ep. 364 – Botching your day-to-day conversations appeared first on Just Saying.