Ideas

Question: "My company is trying to develop a performance management framework based on a competency model we established...

It's tough to be in sales right now. Budgets are tight. Competition is stiff. While the economy is showing signs of improvement, companies are still wary about spending money. Now more than ever, you need a competitive edge to be a top sales performer. What's yours?

Before launching my training and consulting practice, I worked for three Fortune 50 corporations, each ranked No. 1 in their respective markets.

This column has always been about shedding traditional ways of selling. More specifically, I have encouraged salespeople to reinvent themselves by adopting what I call a "business resource mindset."

It's still early in the year, so it's only fair for CEOs, company presidents and executive leaders to ask: what things do we know for sure about 2010, and what's really just pure speculation?

We all experience tension when an inner conflict is batting itself back and forth in our minds and bodies. Many times the physical tension is so small that we are unaware of it being there at all.

All the champagne bottles are empty, the noise makers are now silent and the clock has welcomed in the New Year. It is tradition to make personal resolutions, like start a diet, exercise more often, call your mom on a regular basis and clean out the attic.

While January in Wisconsin typically brings cold weather and snow, the start of a new year also brings hopeful feelings and anticipation of what lies ahead. A new year can also be a time for making resolutions, commitments to alter or change various behaviors.

"The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is...

Most employers haven't had employee retention on their minds. Last year, it's been quite the opposite. Many employers have had to reduce their workforce to remain in business.