Executive Spotlight: How To Handle Working With Difficult Customers

Executive Spotlight: How To Handle Working With Difficult Customers

You don’t have to work in customer service to work with difficult customers. In the business world, a customer is anyone (an individual or business) that purchases your goods or services. Some might be your “clients,” but no matter what you call them, they have the potential to give you headaches on the job. Fortunately, there are many strategies and philosophies you can use to handle those difficult customers.

We recently asked our leading executives how they handle working with difficult customers.

Here are their responses…

John Schembari, Senior Education Executive

Customers come in all shapes and sizes and what may be a difficult relationship for one executive might be in the charm zone for another. However, as a consultant, I sometimes struggle with clients who come to me because they have a problem that they could not solve but then do not give me the autonomy to solve it if this means that new strategies/systems proposed run counter to how the client had tried to solve their pain point in the past (and was unsuccessful).

This is an issue of control that often comes down to fear. So, to ease my client’s fears, I will communicate much more often and during each step of the process/service being provided—i.e., the creation of the initial work plan, ongoing impact/milestone reports, and a checklist of next steps/desired impact based on interim milestones/results of our work together. Some folks just like to have the road map out while they are driving down the road.

John Schembari is a current K-12 teacher/school leader academic improvement coach and former school building and district administrator. He loves to draw, travel, swing dance, and read nonfiction.

Lynn Holland, VP Sales & Business Development

Woman talks to a customer/client during a meeting

In our pressurized world, frustration and raw emotion can lurk beneath the surface. When triggered by unmet expectations, these are eight tips I’ve used to disarm and preserve goodwill throughout the buyer journey:

1. Seek to understand by interpreting their words and body language then reflecting back the thoughts and feelings heard.

2. Remember the affect heuristic mental shortcut that influences decisions and judgments based on views or past experience vs. the actual situation.

3. Begin with an “I don’t know” mindset vs. prejudging them or their situation.

4. Focus on listening, understanding, and discerning the next steps vs. forcing an insta-solution.

5. Break a big problem into bits to solve one at a time.

6. Expect anger, don’t personalize it, and realize they’re merely feeling misunderstood or undervalued and attempting to gain control.

7. Give them calm as an emotional signal to mirror.

8. Leverage available resources like a strategic pause to de-escalate, a screenshot to better explain, or a colleague’s confirmation about the solution.

Lynn Holland is a business development executive with 18+ years of experience taking operational, IoT & retail technologies, products, & consumer engagement to market with a focus in petroleum & convenience retail.

Mark Taylor, Product & Operations Executive

Serious man talks to a customer/client during a meeting

​I am currently being a difficult customer with a professional services company.

I’m a “reasonable person.” They have driven me to being difficult by losing my trust. I now question whether they are addressing my needs and doing their work correctly.

Firstly, they are unable to proactively and clearly communicate that the work is being done in a timely, accurate, and complete manner.

Secondly, I’ve had to chase them up over 1) not hearing from them as deadlines approach, 2) finding simple errors in their submissions, and 3) not having a crystal clear sense that they have considered “everything.”

So, to answer the original question:

Win and keep the customer’s trust by doing the work. Make sure it is timely, accurate, and complete.

Most importantly, PROACTIVELY communicate this timeliness, accuracy, and completeness in a crystal-clear manner. Rinse and repeat on a regular basis and in a consistent format.

Mark Taylor has 20+ years of risk, technology, and product management experience working in global and regional financial services firms in the UK and the U.S. He’s managed teams of 40+, successfully addressed 100+ regulatory issues, and has saved companies $15M+.

Kathryn Marshburn, Music Program Manager

Random act of kindness concept

​One of the amazing benefits of working for a marquee music artist is you get to travel on tour and see shows (like at Wembley Stadium – Summertime Ball) from a different perspective. I’ll never forget watching Flo Rida perform for HP and their top sales achievers meeting at a small awards dinner in Anaheim, California at the House of Blues. Flo Rida is known amongst booking agents as a professional, warm act that performs at a very high level for small and large branded events for C-Suite executives. Pure acts of kindness are always a part of his show, including jumping into the crowd. People touch him and hug him. (He holds toddlers too.) Most artists never engage like this; they pick up their check, perform, and fly out.

Flo Rida takes the time to learn the CEO’s name of the company or brand, prepares and repeats the product name in his mouth several times before he goes on stage, and includes the C-Suite spouses on stage to dance with him for his hit “Low.” If there are kids in the room he always brings them on stage and takes off his $20,000 diamond solitaire necklace and puts it on the child to make them feel special. (One show at a state fair someone accidentally walked off with it.)

I think I’ve watched the show 50 times and I am almost in tears every single time because it’s so good he’s such a great entertainer.

His mindset for customer service could and should be very arrogant based on his huge catalog of number one hits and gold records that he’s developed over his 30 years in the business, but he’s not. He doesn’t operate that way. His mindset is always humble, and to not only meet but exceed his customers’ expectations, and to do that he makes his show very personal. His mindset is to make sure that he connects with the audience and with the VIPs in the room and recognizes the brand in his performance, by name, in his shoutouts. He extends random acts of kindness in this way, giving his fans, new corporate friends, and others a really close visibility into who he is, almost as though he provides a show that no one expected. He thinks through who would be in the audience, what would make an impression, and how could he make sure to re-book.

To me dealing with difficult customers starts with the mindset of including daily random acts of kindness and personalization in your daily routine as part of great customer service. Providing a personalized style of connecting with difficult customers in a different way and recognizing their personal interests. For example, for the customer that is upset over late shipping could a personal call or handwritten note with an extra product change the dynamic? Could a quick search on social media provide that the customer is located in Florida and loves football and, in addition to an apology and correction of the mistake, you try connecting with them by sending a custom Bucs flag from eBay? These random acts of kindness can offer a surprising result and create a snowball effect into other positive results beyond great customer service. Those word-of-mouth stories about receiving something personal are the key to managing difficult customers.

Kathryn Marshburn has spent 12+ years in the music and gaming industries guiding teams on identifying targeted goals with an agile approach resulting in driving revenue and reducing risk.

Ana Smith, Talent Architect & Global Learning Strategist

Woman talks to her boss about difficult customers/clients

Having difficult customers is really harsh, right?

It’s not all doom and gloom, though. Taking prompt steps to turn difficult customers into ideal ones does not involve changing their personalities or getting them to see things only from your point of view.

It just takes a little bit of empathy and knowing how to approach the situation. Here’s what has helped me in the past:

1. Find the common ground

The first step is to determine what you and your difficult customer have in common. What are their goals? What do they want out of this situation? Once you’ve identified that, it will be easier for both of you to come up with solutions that will satisfy everyone involved.

2. Communicate effectively

Next up, make sure that everyone knows exactly where they stand. If there are any miscommunication issues or unclear expectations, it’s important to address these problems ASAP and make sure everyone understands the situation before moving forward with any plan or solution development process (or else we risk falling back into those same old patterns!).

3. Be flexible but firm

Once everything has been clearly communicated and agreed upon by all parties involved (and make sure that if/as needed things are in black and white).

The bottom line, I think it all comes down to communication. Let’s not forget that in addition, in this day and age, we have:

  • Global clients who also come from different cultures, backgrounds, and languages
  • Clients from four different generations at the same time

If we can communicate effectively and openly with our customers, we can figure out what their needs are and how we can meet them. If there is any misalignment or misunderstanding between us and our customers, this is where it will occur. If there’s no clear understanding of what they need from us and why they’re buying from us (or not), then we’ll have trouble getting through to them. We need to be able to answer questions like:

  • What are their goals?
  • What problems are they trying to solve?
  • How do they currently solve those problems?
  • Why aren’t they happy with their current solution?
  • How would they prefer solving these problems moving forward?

Ana Smith helps people & organizations achieve their full talent potential by developing and co-creating people strategies and customized solutions, and turning them into impactful outcomes and collaborative relationships, using coaching as the “red thread.”

Percy Leon, Digital Media Content Executive

Man talks to difficult customers/clients on the phone

As a content creator and also doing sales and marketing, it’s important to know how to handle difficult customers.

I do want my customers to be happy and satisfied with the product or service that I provide. But, when that doesn’t happen, I need to know what steps to take next.

Here are some tips for dealing with those tough customer conversations:

1. Stay Calm: During a difficult conversation, it’s important to keep my cool and not get too emotional. If I can remain calm during the exchange and remain professional, then I’m more likely to find a resolution that is agreeable to both parties.

2. Listen Carefully: Difficult customers are often the ones who are the most vocal. Instead of trying to talk over them, I take a step back and really listen to what they are saying. This gives me an opportunity to understand their point of view and come up with a solution that works for both parties.

3. Be Proactive: If I can anticipate the customer’s needs, then it’s easier to provide resolution or possible solutions. I try to communicate as much as possible and offer solutions before my customers have a chance to bring this up, as this shows that I’m on top of the situation and willing to work together to find a suitable solution.

4. Be Understanding: No one wants their problem to go unresolved and customers are no different. If there is a problem with the way the content is shot or lit, or something else, I show understanding and empathizing with their situation will help them feel like they’re not alone in their struggle.

5. Follow Up: After the conversation is over, I feel it’s important to follow up with the customer and make sure that their issue was resolved correctly. This will help build trust and show them that you value their business this also adds repeat customers.

By following these tips, I can ensure that my customers are happy and that their issues are taken care of in a timely manner. Handling difficult customers can be tough. It does take practice and a lot of empathy, but with the right approach, I can ensure every party is happy.

Percy Leon is a digital media content producer specializing in educational technology and entertainment. He is interested in web3, metaverse, and the use of virtual reality for storytelling.

Lisa Perry, Global Marketing Executive

Woman talks to a difficult customer/client on a video call

We can all relate to dealing with a difficult customer at some point. As a brand marketer, I don’t interact with the typical customer. My direct customer interaction tends to be with internal customers, influencers, and strategic partners. Some of my most difficult customer interactions have been dealing with an internal customer who doesn’t respect my team or me, which results in the challenge of getting anything done. Here are several tips on effectively handling working with a difficult internal customer:

  1. Remain Calm: It’s important to remain calm, professional, and composed, even if the customer is aggressive and disrespectful. Maintain a positive attitude. Try not to take it personally (this is really hard to do).
  2. Active Listening: Try to understand their concerns, ask open-ended questions, repeat back to them what you heard to ensure alignment, and find a solution that works for both parties.
  3. Empathize: Show empathy for their situation. This can help to de-escalate the situation and build rapport with the customer.
  4. Offer Solutions: Work with the customer to find a solution that meets their needs and expectations. Offer several options and be flexible in finding a solution that works for both parties.
  5. Escalate When Necessary: If the situation is escalating and you feel threatened or unable to handle the situation, it’s important to escalate the issue to a manager or someone with more authority to handle the situation.
  6. Documentation: Document the situation and solutions offered, and ensure they are satisfied with the outcome. This will help avoid similar situations in the future, help maintain a positive relationship, and build trust.

Remember that dealing with difficult customers is difficult, but it’s important to remain professional and not take their behavior personally. By remaining calm and working with the customer to find a solution, you can turn a difficult situation into a positive experience.

Lisa Perry helps companies build leadership brands, driving loyal customers & delivering profitability. She does this through a process that builds brands consumers love. Her goal is to help companies develop, monetize, and grow their brands.

How do you handle working with difficult customers? Join the conversation inside Work It Daily’s Executive Program.

Executive Spotlight: The Biggest Career Move These Executives Ever Made

Executive Spotlight: The Biggest Career Move These Executives Ever Made

In life, if you want to achieve your goals and get where you want to be, you need to take risks. This includes taking career risks. For many professionals, making a big career move is a risky decision, but it might be necessary in order to reach one’s career goals. The most successful people you know took a big risk, and it paid off. If you want to reach new heights in your career, you might need to ask the leaders in your industry how they made it to the top.

We recently asked our leading executives what the biggest career move they ever made.

Here are their responses…

John Cox, Advertising & Marketing Executive

I’ll cheat once again just a little bit and reference two different moves that turned out to be pivotal to my career.

First, early in my career, I was approached through a tentative connection within my professional network with what essentially amounted to an offer for trial employment. That meant leaving a full-time job with benefits when I was young and single, relying solely on my own income.

Still, I had been ready for a change for quite some time and gambled that this was a move worth making. I made that move, and it turned into multiple promotions, positioning me for where I am today.

Secondly, later in my career, I gambled on a new role for which I didn’t feel entirely qualified. I actually ended up being hired into the role and, ultimately, it too was transformative in shaping me into the leader I am today.

Both anecdotes, I hope, serve as advice to early and mid-career professionals that risks wherein you’ve amply measured the pros and cons can really pay off. I’m not necessarily one to take bold jumps in life, but sometimes there is that leap of faith that you simply have to try. And my experience has been that it’s oftentimes more than worth it.

John Cox has 20+ years of performance excellence in advertising and marketing, leveraging Google-certified skill sets in pay-per-click (PPC) advertising and paid search strategy, web planning and conversion measurement, and creative direction and graphic design.

Michael Willis, Sports Business Operations Executive

NFL flag

My BIGGEST career move was when I decided I wanted to work in sports.

While working at KPMG Peat Marwick, I was not fulfilled doing the debits and credit. I wanted to do more than record the month’s transactions. I wanted to be the one to make the transactions happen.

I had a unique opportunity to join the Football Operations Department at the National Football League. I learned some new skills, such as payroll and budgeting. I was putting budgets together from start to finish.

During my years at the NFL, I developed and expanded the role by doing analysis and forecasting. These skills allowed me to forecast year-end outcomes.

My newfound skills allowed me to summarize multi-page excel spreadsheets into one page.

Making this career move has ignited a new fire inside of me. My passion for this work allowed me to serve the game officials at a very high level.

Michael Willis has 18+ years of experience working with accounting & sports organizations and has managed P&Ls of $10M – $125M+ with budgets of $3M-$50M+. He worked for the NFL for 22 1/2 years, mainly with the game officials working on the financial/accounting side of the business.

Lynn Holland, VP Sales & Business Development

lumber shop concept

My first BIG career move came as a regional sales rep for a packaging and supply distributor in the Pacific Northwest, the mecca for the U.S. lumber industry. My territory included a handful of lumber mills, so I was riveted when a new supplier attended a sales meeting offering lumber wrap as a new product to sell.

Other reps reacted with “meh,” but for me, it was magical! As a large, essential spend for these mills, I made it my mission to become their supplier, learn everything about the product and competition, then kicked off my sales campaign. I quickly discovered that printed wrap was a must, so I found a needed source…which my company didn’t buy into.

I saw an enormous opportunity; they saw uncharted territory and risk, so I bet on myself! I spent the next six weeks writing a business plan in my off-hours, partnered with domestic and offshore manufacturing sources, got a HELOC on my house, gave my notice, and became an entrepreneur!

Lynn Holland is a business development executive with 18+ years of experience taking operational, IoT & retail technologies, products, & consumer engagement to market with a focus in petroleum & convenience retail.

Andrea Markowski, Marketing Executive

Career move, career growth, professional growth concept

Going back to school for my MBA changed the trajectory of my career (and of my life).

A golden opportunity came along to join an internal start-up team while working as a marketing creative in the publishing industry. I helped to ideate and test a new digital product and pitched it to the senior leadership of our Fortune 500 company.

Along the way, I learned basic business principles not taught to commercial artists. Dazzled, I vowed to learn more. I aimed to incorporate research, strategy, and data analysis into my everyday job.

That’s when I was laid off. While job searching, an agency specializing in business innovation interviewed me twice. I didn’t get the role. But again, I was fascinated by new ideas brought to life through business. I read all of the staff bios from that company. Every single one of them had a graduate degree.

Soon after, I had a new job, but it wasn’t challenging. Always wanting to go back to school, I casually interviewed people with MBA degrees to see if that path might work for me. Those I asked highly encouraged it, and my new journey began.

While getting an advanced degree, quitting your job to go back to school full time, AND moving across the country to do so aren’t for everyone, in my case, I wanted to accelerate as quickly as possible. Throw a pandemic into the mix (bad timing, just as I was graduating), and I still came out transformed, with a new career I love, and happier for it all.

Andrea Markowski is a marketing director with specializations in strategy development, digital tactics, design thinking, and creative direction. She has superpowers in presentations and public speaking.

Ana Smith, Talent Architect & Global Learning Strategist

HR management, human resources, recruiting concept

The biggest or certainly one of the biggest career moves I ever made was offered to me and I didn’t even see it coming!

I was working as a senior HR manager in a global organization, handling different responsibilities regarding management and leadership development, onboarding, talent acquisition, talent development, etc., and one day, I had to go talk to a newly promoted sales director, about the profile she would be looking for in the new talent who would fill the position (her old job).

As the conversation about the role and her expectations, timing, and process was being discussed, after about 40 minutes or so, she offered me the job! I was shocked to be honest since I did not have any experience or training in the sales space, yet she was offering me what seemed to be the opportunity of a lifetime.

I was a bit concerned thinking about this option (wow!), and she offered me 1) the chance to think about it for a week or so and 2) to come on a trip with her and the VP. They were going to evaluate and learn about how other regions in the U.S. were implementing a new selling model.

I went on the trip, had a blast, learned a lot, and decided to say yes to the opportunity!

As a leader, there were two very important learnings with this career move: 1) this hiring manager saw something in me, talent potential that I didn’t know I had myself, and 2) taking this opportunity gave me a chance to try a completely different function, which challenged and stretched me in many ways.

I’m thankful for the experience. It has allowed me the possibility to have a customer-centric approach to the HR and people experiences, initiatives, and strategies I’ve led or been part of.

Ana Smith helps people & organizations achieve their full talent potential by developing and co-creating people strategies and customized solutions, and turning them into impactful outcomes and collaborative relationships, using coaching as the “red thread.”

Mark Taylor, Product & Operations Executive

Businessman/professional walks up stairs carrying a briefcase

Moving to the U.S. from the UK with my job.

I’d always wanted to live in Manhattan and, when the opportunity arose, I seized it.

Looking back, what did I learn:

The difference one word can make. I “wanted” to go—not I “should” go…

There were a number of challenges that I came up against once I arrived, both personal and professional. However, because I wanted to be here, that’s what they were, “challenges”: situations that drove growth in all aspects of my life.

If I’d come here because someone had suggested I “should” to further my career, the challenges would have felt more like persecutors. I would have hated the city and the work—and hightailed it back to the UK as fast as I could.

So, dare wisely. Get out of your comfort zone—and make sure your decisions are aligned with what YOU want…

Mark Taylor has 20+ years of risk, technology, and product management experience working in global and regional financial services firms in the UK and the U.S. He’s managed teams of 40+, successfully addressed 100+ regulatory issues, and has saved companies $15M+.

Carla Biasi, Personal Stylist

Woman/personal stylist with her new clothes

I spent decades in corporate America in fashion, advertising, and financial services. My heart and passion stayed in fashion, and I knew I wanted to get back into it. In 2020, I left my position as a trust officer at a bank to start my personal styling business. It wasn’t even scary. I felt so comfortable like it was meant to be.

I had my first client within a week of announcing my new career, and she has worked with me ever since. I continue to grow my business and work now more than ever but can’t imagine doing anything else.

Carla Biasi is a personal stylist living on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. She currently has her own business and works part-time at an upscale women’s boutique and as a virtual and kit stylist for a women’s specialty brand.

Kathleen Duffy, Founder, CEO, And President Of Duffy Group

Professional woman on the phone while working from home

My biggest career move was to start my business. I had worked for a boutique executive search firm for eight years and planned to grow with the organization. When the partners decided to move the company to another state, I found myself unemployed and looking at three options: corporate recruiting, executive search, or do something on my own. My husband and I were trying to start a family so I was looking for something that would provide work-life balance (it was the early ’90s and no one was talking about this yet). I was able to take my expertise in recruitment research and pivot from the executive search path and introduce the approach to corporate America. I was able to work from home as we adopted our son and 18 months later gave birth to our daughter. I was able to grow a workforce of professional mothers who wanted to balance work and life. Thirty years later, we are still 100% remote with work-life balance as the foundation of our culture. I didn’t start with a plan but I knew my “why”…to be in control of my career and ensure I was able to be the best wife and mother possible.

Kathleen Duffy is the founder, CEO, and president of Duffy Group. The company’s vision is to elevate recruitment research as an alternative to contingent and retained search. Since its founding, Duffy Group has been a remote workplace and a culture of work/life harmony.

Lisa Perry, Global Marketing Executive

Walt Disney Company concept

Several big career moves impacted my overall career, but the biggest was my first job, which set the tone for my career trajectory. I got my BS in Marketing from San Diego State University and searched for that perfect job. I interviewed with several companies while being on a roller coaster of emotions, waiting to hear back. I finally accepted a position with Enterprise Rent-A-Car within their manager trainee program. Four days before I was to start, The Walt Disney Company reached out with a job offer. I was faced with many challenges. First, it was a secretarial position, not a manager trainee program that I wanted. Second, it was The Walt Disney Company (a Fortune 100 company). How could I pass that up? Third, I had already accepted the job at Enterprise Rent-A-Car. What was I going to do? I called Enterprise and let them know I couldn’t move forward with the job offer and then picked up the phone to accept The Walt Disney Company’s job. Even though I was a secretary, it was the best career move I ever made. Having the Walt Disney Company on my resume opened up many job opportunities. I learned from some of the industry’s top marketing leaders. And to this day, I still maintain connections that have benefited my career.

Lisa Perry helps companies build leadership brands, driving loyal customers & delivering profitability. She does this through a process that builds brands consumers love. Her goal is to help companies develop, monetize, and grow their brands.

John Hoffman, Creative Producer

Producer, audio engineer on keyboard

My career move at 28 was my most significant decision ever. Even though I loved my TV and event production work, the company I adored, now in its fifth year, had changed. It became routine. I felt disenchanted. It was a tough call, but I had to trust my gut and follow my heart. I loved working with start-ups and wanted to travel to become a freelance producer. I craved the challenge of working on new projects and new companies and collaborating with talented people to build something unique for every show.

It wasn’t always easy by any means but, today, as a creative producer, I get to cherry-pick outstanding teams for one-of-a-kind projects. We combine music, theater, TV production, advertising, marketing, PR stunts, and live experiences into lifestyle-branded entertainment. But, of course, the can-do attitude and love for the work and the people I work with are everything. That start-up passion, energy, and togetherness have always driven me to improve everything I touch. I learned this lesson early on, and it still holds true today.

When you enjoy what you do, it’s not just a job. It’s your life’s work, so why not love it? Follow your heart, trust your gut, and keep striving. It’s the best way to make your career feel like a living, breathing part of who you are. My oxygen is creating, mentoring, improving others, and loving my family. And I breathe deeply every breath.

John Hoffman has 15+ years of leadership experience creating and producing video content, branded entertainment, PR stunts, and experiential and live events. At his core, he’s a storyteller who has mastered the creative map and can scale logistical mountains.

What’s the biggest career move you ever made? Join the conversation inside Work It Daily’s Executive Program.

Executive Spotlight: The #1 Skill Executives Need To See In Every Employee

Executive Spotlight: The #1 Skill Executives Need To See In Every Employee

Every hiring manager looks for different skills in the job candidates they’re hoping to hire. Not only are job candidates being evaluated on the hard skills they possess; they’re also being evaluated on their soft skills—the skills that don’t belong on a resume but can be identified during a job interview. It’s these soft skills that separate the good employees from the great ones. Executives, managers, and other leaders within an organization keep this in mind when interviewing job candidates and reviewing the performance of current employees.

We recently asked our leading executives what’s the number one skill they need to see in every employee who works for them.

Here are their responses…

John Schembari, Senior Education Executive

Growth mindset. We live in a world of constant change. Even the best-laid plans are often shifted due to unexpected circumstances. For example. educators had no choice but to switch to teaching remotely during the pandemic. There was no time to become comfortable with the technology first—we had to dive in! To remain profitable, many companies also need to reconfigure services and/or products from time to time and the most successful employees are those who are always open to learning new things. One can teach skills—the core competencies needed to do a job in many cases. However, it is not as easy to get inside someone’s head and affect an employee’s will unless one is able to tap into that employee’s intrinsic motivations. When a growth mindset is already present, this makes any change—even difficult ones—just a tad easier to implement.

John Schembari is a current K-12 teacher/school leader academic improvement coach and former school building and district administrator. He loves to draw, travel, swing dance, and read nonfiction.

John Cox, Advertising & Marketing Executive

Curiosity concept

Curiosity is one of the top things I need out of each of my team members.

That is, they must possess an acknowledgment of the fact that no one of us knows everything and they must be curious in proactively seeking out new knowledge to add to their personal toolboxes.

In my team’s work on brand development and activation, and more specifically, digital marketing, it especially holds true that the industry, best practices, and tools used are ever changing and evolving. Maybe that involves consuming the latest books, blogs, podcasts, or following subject matter experts on LinkedIn.

In total, each team member must really have a passion for lifelong learning and constantly seek out new ways to stretch and grow in their own expertise and in the execution of their work.

John Cox has 20+ years of performance excellence in advertising and marketing, leveraging Google-certified skill sets in pay-per-click (PPC) advertising and paid search strategy, web planning and conversion measurement, and creative direction and graphic design.

Mark Taylor, Product & Operations Executive

Man types something on his laptop at work

Clear, concise written communication. Less is more.

For example, when it comes to project status “decks,” my expectation is no more than one page (two at a push). So:

1) On-point title: sets the scene.

2) Background: one or two single-sentence bullets (the story so far).

3) Status: three to five single-sentence bullets detailing tasks completed since the last update (bad news first please).

4) Next steps: two to three bullets detailing key tasks to be done next (win my trust by making sure that these tasks are clearly reflected in the “Status” section when we have the update next time).

Make removing every word from the deck until it stops making sense a game.

And don’t confuse ruthless editing with time wasted on “perfection.” The process of creating crystal clear prose with no excess fat is a pathway for you to get a deeper understanding of the project’s current challenges.

Mark Taylor has 20+ years of risk, technology, and product management experience working in global and regional financial services firms in the UK and the U.S. He’s managed teams of 40+, successfully addressed 100+ regulatory issues, and has saved companies $15M+.

Steve Barriault, Global Technical Sales Management

Businesspeople discuss sales during a work meeting

Resilience in front of adversity.

Look, sales and field engineering are not for the faint of heart. They can often be exhilarating, but there is no doubt that they can be hard.

Each time that you step into a new account (or even an existing one), life can throw you a curveball. The budget you thought was there for your project is gone. The client forgot to tell you one key factor in their development environment that will make your deployment hell—assuming they knew anything about it at all.

Oh, and you travel for work? What do you do when the airline throws a wrench in your plans?

Trust me, I went through it all.

The best sales and field engineers are the ones that can deal with this. When facing a seemingly insurmountable challenge, they make a plan, execute, and when they fail—and fail they will!—they try again. And again. And again. Until it works or the clock times out.

No experience? I can deal with this with education. You made a mistake at times? If you never did, I would say you are not trying hard enough.

But when the going gets tough, you can’t stop and get discouraged. And that needs to come from you.

Steve Barriault is a multilingual presales, sales, and business development management professional with 20+ years of experience in the sales and marketing of software & technological solutions worldwide. He’s built sales infrastructure from the ground up, going from $0 to millions of $ through both direct sales and distributors.

Lisa Perry, Global Marketing Executive

Professional woman learns a new skill while watching a training/webinar

The most important skill I look for in an employee is their willingness to learn. This includes being open-minded to new ideas, sharing their thoughts and insights with co-workers, and being able to think on their feet and solve problems at a moment’s notice, with a “can-do” attitude. These skills are crucial for an employee’s personal and professional growth and contribute to the company’s overall success. The willingness to learn allows employees to adapt to new challenges, develop creative solutions to problems, and continuously improve their skills and knowledge. It also helps to foster a culture of innovation and improvement throughout the organization.

As an employee, focusing on your willingness to learn is essential to staying relevant in your career while maintaining a competitive edge in the marketplace. As the business world is constantly evolving, employees need to be able to adapt and acquire new skills and knowledge to stay current and relevant in their field. Learning new skills also enable employees to be proactive in identifying and addressing challenges and opportunities, which can lead to greater success for both the employee and the company.

Lisa Perry helps companies build leadership brands, driving loyal customers & delivering profitability. She does this through a process that builds brands consumers love. Her goal is to help companies develop, monetize, and grow their brands.

Andrea Markowski, Marketing Executive

Executive talks to her employees during a team meeting

Combining the many bits of knowledge and skills gathered over your life and applying them to your current work role can make you stand apart as a valuable asset.

For example, I learned a practical structure for theatrical acting and directing while in college. As a marketing director today, I use a modified version for a strategic framework.

How can this be? Well, both the art of theatre and the art of marketing possess crucial elements of audience psychology and message communication.

Would just any marketer know this tie-in? Probably not.

Is this something an employer would ever teach me? Nope.

When you successfully adapt a learned approach to a different function, you bring a fresh perspective through pattern recognition and critical reasoning.

Your ability to connect the dots from your past jobs and life experiences to your current role brings creativity and innovation that just can’t be taught. It is a skill I seek and highly encourage in team members.

Andrea Markowski is a marketing director with specializations in strategy development, digital tactics, design thinking, and creative direction. She has superpowers in presentations and public speaking.

Ana Smith, Talent Architect & Global Learning Strategist

Self-awareness concept

Self-awareness would be the skill that I would like to see in every employee I work with!

The main reason is that self-awareness is a mindful consciousness of your strengths, weaknesses, actions, and presence. And therefore, self-awareness requires having quite a clear perception of your mental and emotional states.

When you have a deep and meaningful self-awareness, it allows you to react to different situations and understand what triggers habitual responses for you, how you relate to other people, and why you feel the way you do toward certain individuals, amongst other areas.

Self-awareness is very important and can bring benefits in both your personal life and professional life. For example, it can help you identify what you like about your job and how to build a successful career path that can keep you motivated and fulfilled by your work.

How do you build this skill? These are a few ideas:

  • Assess your own capabilities – with a high level of self-awareness, you’ll see where you can excel and where you can grow.
  • Find a peer coach – someone you trust and respect who is willing to support you in your self-awareness journey.
  • Practice mindfulness – being aware of your surroundings without imposing any personal biases.
  • Be willing and open to receiving feedback – in order to grow you need to listen to different perspectives.

And let’s not forget that like with any skill, it is a journey!

Ana Smith helps people & organizations achieve their full talent potential by developing and co-creating people strategies and customized solutions, and turning them into impactful outcomes and collaborative relationships, using coaching as the “red thread.”

What’s the #1 skill you need to see in every employee who works for you? Join the conversation inside Work It Daily’s Executive Program.

Executive Spotlight: What Word Defines Your Professional Development Focus For 2023?

Executive Spotlight: What Word Defines Your Professional Development Focus For 2023?

At Work It Daily, we have a saying: “If you’re not growing, you’re dying.” For context, we’re talking about your career. You must constantly work on your career to grow as a professional so you can stay relevant and employable. Professional development should always be on your mind as a business-of-one. But what you do to grow as a professional might change over time. What you focus on developing this year might be completely different from what you focused on last year.

We recently asked our leading executives what word defines their professional development focus for 2023.

Here are their responses…

John Schembari, Senior Education Executive

Investment. How do we invest participants in the professional development that they receive? Far too often, professional development is a one-size-fits-all, lowest common denominator, sit-and-get rather than an opportunity for participants to review relevant data, define personal and collective areas for growth, prioritize initiatives (1-3) that will target the growth area, and then analyze impact. Therefore, I’m not a fan of “one and done” trainings but, rather, a huge proponent of ongoing PD in the form of revolving professional learning communities (PLCs) and affinity networks.

John Schembari is a current K-12 teacher/school leader academic improvement coach and former school building and district administrator. He loves to draw, travel, swing dance, and read nonfiction.

Carla Biasi, Personal Stylist

Creativity, creative ideas, light bulb concept

Creativity!

I want to find fun ways to engage my followers and bring more of my personality to my communications. It will make me think more out of the box and focus my content. And I’m really looking forward to connecting with viewers.

Carla Biasi is a personal stylist living on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. She currently has her own business and works part-time at an upscale women’s boutique and as a virtual and kit stylist for a women’s specialty brand.

Michael Willis, Sports Business Operations Executive

Man talks during a work meeting

My professional development word for 2023 is “articulate.”

By definition, articulate means expressing oneself readily, clearly, and effectively.

In everything we do, we must find the words to articulate our intentions with vigor to make ourselves believable.

The first question in any job interview will be, “Tell me about yourself.” You will be asked to do this. Your answer will set the tone for the rest of the interview. Many job seekers get stumped on this question. You must be able to “articulate” a persuasive and illuminating response.

A picture may be worth a thousand words, and you may have an excellent visual presentation. But with that graphic, you must be able to “articulate” communicatively and understandably what the visual is trying to show the audience.

In 2023, I will work on my “articulation” skills.

Michael Willis has 18+ years of experience working with accounting & sports organizations and has managed P&Ls of $10M – $125M+ with budgets of $3M-$50M+. He worked for the NFL for 22 1/2 years, mainly with the game officials working on the financial/accounting side of the business.

Mark Taylor, Product & Operations Executive

Commitment concept

“Commitment.” Doing the best I can at any one moment, striving to be “better,” and letting go of those things I can’t control.

Why? Well, I’m forever on the hunt for practical methods of becoming more effective. As such, I recently watched Stutz on Netflix. It’s a documentary directed by Jonah Hill about his therapist, Phil Stutz.

Phil, and fellow practitioner Barry Michels, have written two books: The Tools and Coming Alive. I started reading the latter recently.

There are a number of nuggets in the book that have made me sit up and take notice, not least this quote:

“The reason you can’t commit to anything is because it hurts you too much if it fails. Success means putting everything on the line and, if it doesn’t work out, doing it again. And again. No blaming. No excuses.”

So, here’s to true “commitment” and “success” in 2023…

Mark Taylor has 20+ years of risk, technology, and product management experience working in global and regional financial services firms in the UK and the U.S. He’s managed teams of 40+, successfully addressed 100+ regulatory issues, and has saved companies $15M+.

Ana Smith, Talent Architect & Global Learning Strategist

Connection, teamwork concept

Connection is my development focus for 2023!

Our workplaces play a significant role in our lives. Work affects both our physical and mental well-being in good ways and bad. The COVID-19 pandemic brought the relationship between work and well-being into clearer focus. According to the Surgeon General 2022, Workplace Mental Health and Well-being report, one of the biggest challenges we faced in 2022 (and onwards) is connection and community.

Connection is essential for human well-being. Connection is a basic human need, and people who feel a strong sense of connection to others are happier, healthier, and more resilient!

One of the ways that connection is important is that it helps to combat loneliness and isolation. When we feel connected to others, we feel less alone and more supported. This can be especially important in times of stress or difficulty, as it can provide a sense of security and comfort.

Connectedness also allows us to feel seen, heard, and valued. When we share our thoughts, feelings, and experiences with others, and they respond with understanding and empathy, it can help us to feel understood and accepted. This can be especially important for people who may feel marginalized or excluded in some way.

Especially important to me, connection plays a critical role in our ability to learn and grow. When we are connected to others, we have the opportunity to gain new perspectives and insights, and to learn from the experiences of others. This can help us to develop new skills, knowledge, and understanding, which can be valuable for personal and professional growth.

Finally, it is a key factor in our ability to experience joy, love, and belonging. When we feel connected to others, we can experience deep and meaningful relationships that bring us a sense of fulfillment and purpose. This can be especially important for people who may be struggling to find meaning or purpose in their lives.

Ana Smith helps people & organizations achieve their full talent potential by developing and co-creating people strategies and customized solutions, and turning them into impactful outcomes and collaborative relationships, using coaching as the “red thread.”

Debra Shannon, IT Executive

Intentionality, strategy concept

My 2023 focus is intentionality. In the past, I’ve tried to do everything but realized that I couldn’t do it all despite my best efforts. There’s a quote by Andrew Benintendi: “You’re going to struggle. You’re going to do well. You can’t really let the past or the day before – whether you had a good day or bad day – dictate the day you have that certain day.” A few things happened during the pandemic that made this really hit home for me. Everything happens for a reason and only worry about what you can control.

There will always be more personal/professional opportunities than I can physically do. I’ve learned that I need to be purposeful and prioritize and continually re-prioritize what is and isn’t important—each day is important. I can’t do it all and that’s ok (and I’m getting better at admitting that). I’m going to continue to be more intentional in what to plan and accomplish.

Debra Shannon is an IT executive who is also a CPA, CIA, and CISA. Her passion is turning chaos into calm. With her unique blend of experience in technology, project management, and auditing, she can break down complex business problems, identify practical solutions, and lead executive teams and business partners to embrace the value of technology changes.

Lisa Perry, Global Marketing Executive

Watching the sunset/sunrise, abundance concept

For 2023, I’m focused on abundance. An abundance of five professional areas: connections, fulfillment, wealth, success, and happiness. I’ve worked to clearly define what this means for me across each of these five areas. For an abundance of professional connections, I’m looking to grow my social media network by 40% in 2023, as an example. I’ve laid out a detailed plan as to what it will take to achieve. To grow my social media network by 40%, I will post 2-3 times a week on LinkedIn, TikTok, and Instagram and connect with 100+ new people per week. I will track weekly, making it easier to measure my ongoing progress and success.

I also find it important to state the intentionality of my word, abundance, daily if I can, to stay focused, motivated, and driven toward my goal, which increases the likelihood of achieving it.

I know some things will come easy, but for other things, depending on how big they are, I will have to work at them. I will have to fight the busyness, distraction, intimidation, and fear that will show up. The key will be to stay persistent and motivated to remain committed. But my goal is to focus on the result of abundance.

Lisa Perry helps companies build leadership brands, driving loyal customers & delivering profitability. She does this through a process that builds brands consumers love. Her goal is to help companies develop, monetize, and grow their brands.

What word defines your professional development focus for 2023? Join the conversation inside Work It Daily’s Executive Program.

Should We Blow The Whistle On Labor Unions?

Should We Blow The Whistle On Labor Unions?

What Is A Labor Union?

A labor union can be described as an employee organization that advocates for the rights of employees.

A labor or trade union is an organized group of workers who advocate work conditions, economic justice, and unfair treatment by employers. Labor unions have collectively advanced their members’ interests by negotiating with employers.

Unions are organized much like democracies. The members of the associations elect officers who make decisions for their members. The primary purpose of the officers is to provide power and control for their members.

How Do Unions Make Money?

Labor union, worker protection, team concept

Union members pay dues to cover the union’s costs. Most unions have paid full-time staff that help to manage their operational costs. Some of the union members volunteer their time and talents to the association. Some unions create strike funds that support workers in the event of a strike.

Are Labor Unions Still Effective Today?

American flag/worker concept

Unions have played a significant role in workers’ rights for centuries. Labor unions’ roots in the United States date back to the 18th century when the Industrial Revolution and big business were in their infancy and relied heavily on human labor. This quickly led to widespread abuse of workers, including children, who were forced to work many hours daily for low wages and benefits.

Today there are federal and state labor laws to protect workers. For example, these two agencies are responsible for setting industry standards, such as safe working conditions and minimum wage standards.

What Are The Critics Saying About Labor Unions?

Workers huddle up at work

​Critics say that labor unions work against employers, making it more difficult for a company to manage its employees for the company’s good. Some say that labor unions make it difficult for companies to fire unproductive employees. Also, companies complain that unions are driving up payroll costs and benefits costs that leave the company with less revenue to operate the company or force the company’s hand to raise the price of goods and services.

Which Industries Have Labor Unions?

NFL football

The public sector has the highest rate of union members, such as police officers, firefighters, and teachers. In the private sector, industries with high union rates include transportation, warehousing, utilities, motion pictures, and sports.

When I worked at the National Football League, labor unions played a large part in the game. The players union was known as the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA). The NFLPA represents all players concerning wages, retirement, insurance benefits, and working conditions, and protects their rights as professional football players. Lastly, the NFLPA ensures that the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) terms are met.

Just as the players benefit from union representation, the game officials also belong to a union. The game officials union was called the National Football League Referees’ Association (NFLRA). The NFLRA represents all game officials concerning wages, retirement, insurance benefits, and working conditions, and protects their rights as professional game officials. Lastly, the NFLRA ensures that the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) terms are met.

The Pros And Cons Of Organized Labor

Union concept

Labor unions have been part of American culture for a long time. Due to government-regulated employment laws, memberships and the need for unions have declined. Gone are the days when unions were in place to protect child labor, unfair working conditions, pay disparities, and workday hours unfairness.

Pros

1. Unions promote higher wages and better benefits.

2. Unions can economically be a pacesetter.

3. Unions provide worker protection.

Cons

1. Labor unions discourage individuality—the group is treated the same.

2. Unions can protect failing employees.

3. Unions can drive up costs for the company.

The Last Resort Or Bargaining Play

Engineer/factory workers unionize

A strike or lock-out is evidence of discontent and an expression of dissatisfaction by unions. When negotiations between company management and labor unions fail, unions must take action to disrupt the company’s workflow and production. The best course of action is when the company and the labor union continue to discuss their differences that keep an agreement from being agreed upon.

When the two sides refuse to budge on the sticking points while negotiating, companies are sometimes forced to hire replacement workers to continue operations. Many of these replacements might be unskilled, but this temporary move by the company is an attempt to keep the company open for business. Hiring replacement workers might also be a bargaining ploy by the company to let the union know that the company can move forward with these non-unionized workers.

Lastly, as company management and labor unions negotiate an agreed-upon contract, neither side will get everything they started out to get. There will be give and take on both sides. Finding common ground so that management and labor can co-exist to work together should be a goal for both sides. Let’s work together so we can all continue to do what we all love. Working. Playing. Making a better world!

Executive Spotlight: How To Deal With Difficult Stakeholders & Peers

Executive Spotlight: How To Deal With Difficult Stakeholders & Peers

In a perfect world, it would always be easy to deal with stakeholders, co-workers, bosses, and other peers. The truth is, sometimes we have to deal with difficult people in our personal and professional lives. How we deal with people, difficult or not, will be a factor in how far we go in our careers. So, how can we successfully deal with difficult stakeholders and peers without hurting our professional reputations?

We recently asked our leading executives how they deal with difficult stakeholders and peers at work.

Here are their responses…

Ana Smith, Talent Architect & Global Learning Strategist

Managing stakeholders is one of any project manager’s most complex and important responsibilities. The success of any given project or initiative can frequently depend upon stakeholder collaboration and satisfaction, which is why it’s essential to give careful attention to their needs.

However, managing difficult stakeholders and peers can be, and therefore become, quite challenging, so it’s important to anticipate and manage them effectively. They might not be open and forthcoming in their communications, or they may only offer negative feedback. Some stakeholders may be frustrated at the progress of the project or may not seem to be very engaged in the work. These are some basic areas that you need to focus on in successful stakeholder management: identifying stakeholders (internal and external), understanding stakeholder needs, meeting their needs, underpromising and overdelivering, listening to stakeholder concerns, frequently communicating, amongst others. If not done properly, they can result in spectacular project failures.

There is an “Iron Triangle” on which experienced project managers focus on. This consists of 1) quality/scope, 2) budget, and 3) time. If stakeholders or sponsors want more in the deliverable (i.e., more features) then something has to give. The project will take longer, or it will cost more, or it will be a little of both. If they want to lower costs, they probably cannot do it without decreasing scope or increasing timelines. Stakeholders will need to understand that, and the project manager needs to be consistent on this point.

A poor appreciation of stakeholder management can often lead to catastrophic decision-making which ultimately leads to more cost, longer timelines, and diluted benefits.

Ana Smith helps people & organizations achieve their full talent potential by developing and co-creating people strategies and customized solutions, and turning them into impactful outcomes and collaborative relationships, using coaching as the “red thread.”

Andrea Markowski, Marketing Executive

Coworkers argue about something during a work meeting

When I think of difficult people, my college job years ago as a part-time credit card bill collector comes up. People were often on their worst behavior when I called.

Thankfully, we were trained to handle these situations. In essence, you must listen to ALL objections before you can ask someone to agree to a request. It was a valuable lesson about human nature, listening, and empathy.

What does this look like, and how can you use this method?

Step one: Be patient and listen while someone might vent, complain, or express the issues preventing them from doing something.

Step two: Acknowledge what they’ve said and the feelings expressed.

Step three: Repeat steps one and two until there is no more air to clear. Do not move on until the upset person has had their complete say.

Step four: Transition to what you need and “what’s in it for me” (them)—a WIIFM—if they comply.

Also, never accept insults or rude language. In the bill-collecting world, we had permission to hang up if things got out of hand. In your real life, you have permission to leave the situation until cooler heads prevail.

Andrea Markowski is a marketing director with specializations in strategy development, digital tactics, design thinking, and creative direction. She has superpowers in presentations and public speaking.

Lynn Holland, VP Sales & Business Development

Man talks to a difficult coworker

Take a job, win a client, use a dating app, and you’re amongst people with hurts, hang-ups, and emotions like fear, anger, and insecurity near the surface. Add modern pressures and poof! Disagreement, bias, and attitude. An inevitable evil, here are some tools for influence and goodwill:

Peers

1. Seek to understand their POV and why (internal/external influences)

2. Suggest reaching the best company/collective outcome vs. personal preferences

3. Consider if ideas #1 and #2 can be combined for an even better solution (ideal outcome)

4. If #3 fails, translate #1 and #2 into their respective cost/benefit for the company/collective

Stakeholders

1. Build individual profiles – job responsibilities, fears, and biases that internally motivate rejecting or buying into ideas or initiatives

2. Correlate ideas or initiatives to serving their inner personal interests without risk

3. Partner and collaborate with an internal champion motivated to build support for ideas or initiatives that improve the workplace

Lynn Holland is a business development executive with 18+ years of experience taking operational, IoT & retail technologies, products, & consumer engagement to market with a focus in petroleum & convenience retail.

Michael Willis, Sports Business Operations Executive

Difficult stakeholder gives the thumbs-down during a work meeting

How to deal with difficult stakeholders and peers:

1. The first step is to identify the stakeholder. While everyone on the team has value, I would identify the threat to the team. The overall mission and objectives of the team must be met. If there is a weak link, executives and team leaders need this information.

2. Like any other threat the team encounters, the difficult stakeholder’s activities must be monitored.

3. Meet them one-on-one to discuss the facts that have been gathered. Don’t just rely on second-hand information. Keep the conversation free-flowing. Let the difficult stakeholder do all the talking.

4. Determine the motivation behind the recent behavior.

5. Remind the difficult stakeholder of their place on the team and, most importantly, the mission and goals the group must meet.

6. Determine their motivation. Try to find out what triggered the behavior. Offer remedies or solutions.

7. Create a success story to create new energy and purpose. Tell the stakeholder how the team is valued and viewed by the company.

8. Develop a perpetual communication stream that flows in every direction. As executives, it’s our job to fix problems. But I feel it’s even more important to get ahead of issues before they become problems.

Michael Willis has 18+ years of experience working with accounting & sports organizations and has managed P&Ls of $10M – $125M+ with budgets of $3M-$50M+. He worked for the NFL for 22 1/2 years, mainly with the game officials working on the financial/accounting side of the business.

Mark Taylor, Product & Operations Executive

Coworkers talk about a project while a difficult stakeholder interrupts

“Dancing Monkey (DM): the length of time between giving someone work to do and your brain wondering why you haven’t seen any product yet.”

If a stakeholder’s DM works on a more frequent cycle than yours, they might come across as “difficult.”

To work out a stakeholder’s DM and stay one step ahead, use informal, face-to-face communication.

E.g.: “Accidentally” walk past their office the day after you were given the work.

YOU: “Hi, not stopping, know you’re busy…”

THEM: “How’s it going?”

YOU: “All good. By the way, I’m cracking on with that work from yesterday.”

THEM: “Great. Could we review what you’ve done so far now/later/tomorrow/next week?”

(Here’s where you find out whether you’ll be burning the midnight oil—or if you have a few days’ grace.)

Do this a few times and you’ll soon become calibrated with a stakeholder’s DM, a means of managing their “difficult” tendencies better.

Mark Taylor has 20+ years of risk, technology, and product management experience working in global and regional financial services firms in the UK and the U.S. He’s managed teams of 40+, successfully addressed 100+ regulatory issues, and has saved companies $15M+.

Lisa Perry, Global Marketing Executive

Coworkers argue during a work meeting

At this point in my career, I am an expert in dealing with difficult stakeholders and peers regarding how often this has happened to me in a work situation. That said, it’s never easy and takes patience, empathy, communication, collaboration, and your eye on the end goal to ensure you succeed. Here are a few tips I’ve learned that might help you with this situation:

  • Patience: The key here is to keep your cool as temperatures rise. Take the emotion out of the equation. If that means you need to step away, do it. It’s essential to be objective, calm, and professional.
  • Empathy: Remember the saying, “Seek first to understand, then to be understood,” from Steven Covey’s book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People? People want to be heard. Let them talk, and have them get their frustrations out. Even if you disagree, be quiet. It will be to your advantage. It’s important to understand where their negativity is coming from so you can address it. You will have time to speak. Give them the first round.
  • Communication Is Key: It’s essential to tailor your communication to their style when dealing with difficult stakeholders and peers. Ask them what works for them. I’ve also found that asking these two questions in emails helps clarify any miscommunication: does this match what you need, and did I miss anything?
  • Collaborate: Above all, you need to collaborate and show that you have their best interest at heart and you want to work with them and figure out the best path forward.

If you stay focused on the end goal and try not to get caught up in the emotional turmoil of dealing with difficult individuals, you might be surprised at how effective this approach can be.

Lisa Perry helps companies build leadership brands, driving loyal customers & delivering profitability. She does this through a process that builds brands consumers love. Her goal is to help companies develop, monetize, and grow their brands.

How do you deal with difficult stakeholders and peers? Join the conversation inside Work It Daily’s Executive Program.

Executive Spotlight: New Year’s Resolutions Every Leader Should Make In 2023

Executive Spotlight: New Year’s Resolutions Every Leader Should Make In 2023

The new year is a time to set personal and professional goals, often in the form of resolutions. Most of us have made New Year’s resolutions for our personal lives, but what about our careers? If you’re an executive or other leader in your industry, making New Year’s resolutions for your career is essential if you want to remain at the top.

We recently asked our successful executives what New Year’s resolutions they think all leaders should make in 2023.

Here are their responses…

Michael Willis, Sports Business Operations Executive

By definition, a resolution is a decision to do something or not. For me, that means a plan.

I like planning because it gives way to a structure or a framework. There are six elements to a successful plan:

1. Gather information – Will this be short or long term?
2. Set objectives for the plan – What’s the end game?
3. Devise strategies to meet the goals – Build a timeline.
4. Implement the plan – Kickoff time – Let’s play!
5. Monitor plan performance – Let’s kick the tires on a scheduled basis.
6. Evaluate the effectiveness/success of the plan.

This is an excellent time for executives to be resolute in three things: A company’s…

1. Mission – The overall direction the company’s heading
2. Goals – The desired accomplishments
3. Competitors

a. Existing competitors
b. Potential competitors
c. New market entrants

With an executive plan in place, my 2023 New Year’s resolution is set!

Michael Willis has 18+ years of experience working with accounting & sports organizations and has managed P&Ls of $10M – $125M+ with budgets of $3M-$50M+. He worked for the NFL for 22 1/2 years, mainly with the game officials working on the financial/accounting side of the business.

John Schembari, Senior Education Executive

Businesspeople pointing at target taking about goals

As Michael Willis states, a resolution is a decision to do something or not and, in most cases, this means developing a plan for success/impact. However, in organizational settings, most plans require the support and engagement of many employees/stakeholders.

So, for me, one New Year’s resolution that all executives should make is to be proactive in vesting others in the implementation of organizational goals. Even if you are a business-of-one, how do you get clients to invest in/value what you are creating/offering?

I heard it said recently that people change for four reasons. We can extend this line of thinking to staff/client engagement. People change—or vest—when they hurt enough (must); when they see enough (inspired); when they learn enough (want); and when they receive enough (able). This year, as I consider how to be more impactful in the delivery of my coaching services, I know that I will be reflecting upon people’s musts, wants, abilities, and dreams.

John Schembari is a current K-12 teacher/school leader academic improvement coach and former school building and district administrator. He loves to draw, travel, swing dance, and read nonfiction.

Percy Leon, Digital Media Content Executive

Executive looks toward 2023 vision concept

As executives, 2023 should be a year of new beginnings and new resolutions. It’s time to make some big changes that will benefit our careers and help us become better leaders in the new year.

One resolution executives should make is to stay organized. Whether it’s setting reminders for meetings or creating a system for filing reports, staying on top of everything you have going on will help keep your career running smoothly.

Another great New Year’s resolution every executive should consider is to create goals and stick to them. Goals can be anything from increasing sales numbers in the new quarter to creating a new team within their department. Having defined goals that you are committed to achieving gives you something tangible to reach for and makes it easier to stay motivated.

Executives should also make a resolution to take care of themselves. This means taking time out of the day to relax, get some exercise, or even just spend time with friends and family. Taking care of yourself helps you be more productive at work and it can help reduce stress levels that may have been building up over the past year.

Finally, executives should make it a priority to continue learning new things in 2023. Learning new skills related to your job can help you be more efficient at what you do and can even open new doors for career advancement. Take classes, attend seminars or webinars, read books—anything that will enrich your knowledge base will benefit you in the new year.

Last year was a tough one for me, but I’m proud of the accomplishments I’ve made in spite of it all. To measure and celebrate my successes, I laid out specific goals for 2022 across different categories—business, personal health, friends & family, etc.—reflecting on how much progress has been achieved over the course of last year. And as if that wasn’t enough to be excited about, I’ve now set new ambitions with strategies tailored towards each quarter mark throughout 2023!

Make it a goal to stay organized, create and reach new goals, take care of yourself, and continue learning new things. These resolutions can help you have a successful new year ahead!

Percy Leon is a digital media content producer specializing in educational technology and entertainment. He is interested in web3, metaverse, and the use of virtual reality for storytelling.

Sarita Kincaid, Tech Media & Influencer Relations Executive

Executive talks to his employees during a work meeting

Over the past few years, we’ve faced a variety of unprecedented workplace challenges. One of those is the recent trend of “quiet quitting” which is defined by Investopedia as “doing the minimum requirements of one’s job and putting in no more time, effort, or enthusiasm than absolutely necessary.” (Jennifer Aniston’s character in Office Space comes to mind.)

A recent Gallup poll found that quiet quitters make up “at least 50% of the U.S. workforce — probably more.” Given the obvious repercussions this trend can have on both workplace productivity and employee satisfaction, executive leaders should prioritize employee communication as their number one resolution for 2023. Two easy ways to get started:

  1. Communicate directly with each of your employees at least a few times a week. Don’t waste 1:1 time going through task lists. Instead, have strategic discussions about the business and how their role is contributing to the bottom line.
  2. Learn what motivates your employees. Increased compensation (salary, bonus, stock), recognition for achievements, and investment in their skill sets/career trajectory are top incentives.

Really listening to your staff and addressing their needs will lead to a better work experience for employers and employees alike and should be at the top of every executive’s 2023 resolution list!

Sarita Kincaid is a tech media executive with a demonstrated ability to build and grow award-winning programs. She brings a data-driven approach to influencer relations with a focus on developing strong brand advocates and aligning them with sales programs.

Maria Grandone, Director In Higher Education

Teamwork, growth, reaching/achieving goals concept

In recent years, we have learned how to adjust to change and uncertainty in the work environment. Many organizations have implemented new hiring strategies for diversity and inclusion, created opportunities for hybrid workplaces, and acknowledge the need for core success skills in this new and changing environment.

This year, you can unleash your potential by leading with sensitivity, adapting quickly to change, and being open to supporting others. There are a few important considerations:

  • Change is constant and this is the time to support your team members’ development. Think ahead about learning opportunities by discussing with your direct reports their goals, areas they should focus on, and how they can get the most out of each development opportunity.
  • Cultivate a growth mindset and resilience. This is a great opportunity to foster discussions with each team member on their learning, how they’ll apply it, and what you can do to continue supporting them.
  • Reflect on your direction, alignment, and commitment. Listen to yourself and your team. Set aside time to review, refresh, or recreate. This will provide the opportunity to stay aligned and collaborate effectively.

This year, you have a unique opportunity to inspire and support your team by modeling the behaviors you want to see. It’s a great time to recalibrate, adjust, and embrace change with an agile and collaborative mindset.

Maria Grandone is dedicated to student access and success, particularly of underrepresented students in higher education. She loves to wake up early to meditate, go for an early morning run, and meet people from all walks of life.

Dr. Hannah Hartwell, Learning & Development Executive

Executive talks to her employees during a team meeting

We made it! Onward to 2023! There’s excitement in the air when the new year begins. Part of that excitement comes from a fresh beginning and needed changes. Some feel inspired to make those changes into New Year’s resolutions.

As leaders, we, too, need to keep ourselves developing professionally. It’s helpful to have goals that vary from previous years. Based on my interactions with executives and various leadership roles for professional associations, I recommend the following three resolutions:

1. Industry trends: Learn and share from colleagues who are doing similar types of work. Get acquainted with thought leaders within your field and have conversations. Consider applying what you learn to your existing workload.

2. Internal networking: Get to know your colleagues within different teams, departments, subsidiaries, and even new hires. There’s so much value in expanding your own knowledge with the intricacies of what your company does and sharing that with your team.

3. Rotational mentoring: Mentoring relationships should be mutually beneficial. Traditionally, mentoring is considered only beneficial for the mentee. Everyone can benefit from a different perspective. Consider partnering with a shorter-term mentor every six months to maximize your impact on the company.

Dr. Hannah Hartwell is a learning and development executive and change management practitioner with 15+ years of business transformation experience in the healthcare, pharmaceutical, higher education, and professional services industries.

Lisa Perry, Global Marketing Executive

"New year, fresh start" concept

As we kick off 2023, making New Year’s resolutions is a great way to lean into the new year. Here are three ideas executives should consider for 2023:

  1. Prioritization, Prioritization, Prioritization: When you learn how to prioritize your most important work, it’s easier to increase your productivity and performance. Allocate your resources, time, and effort where they’re needed the most.
  2. Embrace Agility & Flexibility: The key to organizational agility is leadership speed. Successful leadership allows for the freedom to be flexible in an agile workplace which leads to increased employee engagement and outcomes.
  3. Daydreaming Creative Thinking: Daydreaming is a source of creative inspiration and a way to make space for more creativity, innovation, and success. Find the time to get lost in your thoughts.

No matter what New Year’s resolutions you make, making one is important as it is a step toward positive change.

Lisa Perry helps companies build leadership brands, driving loyal customers & delivering profitability. She does this through a process that builds brands consumers love. Her goal is to help companies develop, monetize, and grow their brands.

What New Year’s resolutions do you think executives should make in 2023? Join the conversation inside Work It Daily’s Executive Program.







How To Appreciate Your Team Members

How To Appreciate Your Team Members

Is the Great Resignation (and/or quiet quitting) still happening? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, over four million workers have quit every month, creating an average employee turnover rate of ~47%, so the answer is yes. Some individuals are burnt out or looking for security or more money, but many just want to be valued and appreciated.

Have you heard the saying “people don’t leave jobs; they leave bad bosses”? You don’t want to be that “bad” boss taking your team for granted. Instead, be authentic and genuinely care about each of your team members.

Ways To Appreciate Your Team Members

Appreciation quote by Margaret Cousins

You’ve empowered the team to change the world, and now they are working together and meeting the company’s plans and goals. Alfred North Whitehead said, “No one who achieves success does so without acknowledging the help of others. The wise and confident acknowledges this help with gratitude.”

There are many ways to show your gratitude and appreciation and to make the team feel valued and special. Note: It’s important to remember that everyone is different so tailor and customize to the individual’s preferences. For example, some won’t like public recognition so do something more private.

Below are some scenarios to consider:

  • When a new employee starts, do you provide a “welcome box,” branded gear, branded backpack, and/or other swag on their first day? Scheduled lunch with the team?
    • Make new hire announcements on social media (such as LinkedIn) or newspaper.
  • Do you routinely walk around and greet each team member and see how they’re doing and feeling? See if they need anything.
  • Does the company announce major milestones such as promotions, work anniversaries, monthly birthdays, etc. on the intranet or company newsletter?
    • Work anniversary letter signed by the CEO/President.
    • Employee Appreciation Day is observed on the first Friday in March.
  • Do you provide positive feedback or other verbal recognition (often)?
  • When you’re wrong, do you apologize?
  • Can any employee submit a “shout-out” for another employee on the intranet?
  • What do you typically do when the team successfully implements/completes a project or meets a major sales goal? Reward with a bonus or additional paid time off?
  • Do you celebrate personal development goal achievements? Holidays? TGIF? Or for no special reason?
    • If so, with food, certificates, cards, balloons, flowers, swag, or other items?
    • Off-site events (e.g., escape room, Topgolf, karaoke, volunteering).
    • Gift exchanges like a white elephant or secret santa.
    • If you’re not sure, ask the team.
    • I love to bake cookies and other treats. For me, homemade = heartfelt.

Sincerity Is Key

Thank you cookies

The key is to be genuinely sincere. One of the easiest forms of appreciation is to simply say thank you. How often do you say thank you to each team member? Daily? Or when is the last time you handwrote a thank-you note? Yes, handwritten because for me handwritten = personal.

Remember how special you felt when your boss gave you a handwritten thank-you note—like a true Hallmark moment? These types of simple yet sincere gestures can go a very long way.

For more information about appreciating your team, follow me on LinkedIn!

Executive Spotlight: How To Stay Relevant In Your Career & Industry

Executive Spotlight: How To Stay Relevant In Your Career & Industry

Staying relevant is the secret to long-term success as a leader, no matter your industry or profession. Leaders who fail to stay relevant in their careers will eventually get pushed out of their jobs and will find it difficult to get another one at the same level that offers their desired salary. So, as a leader, you need to ask yourself, “Am I doing enough to stay relevant in my career?”

We recently asked our successful executives how they think a leader can stay relevant in their career and industry.

Here are their responses…

John Schembari, Senior Education Executive

Want to stay relevant? Increase your influence. Influence can be exhibited both in-person and virtually. Not only should you join associations and attend conferences, which are making a comeback post-COVID-19, but you should also present on current topics of interest to peers at these events. Online, influence can be demonstrated by curating others’ social media content as well as through the creation of one’s own. Write articles as a guest blogger on industry-specific websites. Add voice to industry conversations by commenting on others’ posts (on whichever online platform “your people” live and play) as well as by participating in podcasts; I have particularly enjoyed networking with educators from around the globe by serving as a panelist on live virtual events and as a guest on different podcasts. What can you provide/give back to the community at the same time you seek to develop your own career?

John Schembari is a current K-12 teacher/school leader academic improvement coach and former school building and district administrator. He loves to draw, travel, swing dance, and read nonfiction.

Michael Willis, Sports Business Operations Executive

Older professional gives a presentation

How to stay relevant in your career and industry:

1. Find the source of wisdom – Notable influencers often utilize blogs and podcasts to share ideas or interview other professionals. Stay positive as you listen to these new ideas.

2. Social media – CNN, Twitter, and LinkedIn are great resources for information, along with professional conferences and seminars.

3. Keep learning – Take advantage of free online courses. Be aware of what’s changing around you. Watch trends and remain familiar with them. Don’t get stuck in your comfort zone.

4. Share the wealth and speak up – As you find interesting information, pass it on to others. Open a dialogue with other professionals. Be on the lookout for new opportunities.

5. Know your competitors – I love this one. We as professionals should know our current, future, and new market entrants’ competitors. Some people view competitors as the enemy. I like to keep competitors close. Maybe they’re doing something that we are not doing. Maybe our competitors are doing something in better ways than we are. As a point of sharing, we may have something that we do that our competitors can use in their business models.

Michael Willis has 18+ years of experience working with accounting & sports organizations and has managed P&Ls of $10M – $125M+ with budgets of $3M-$50M+. He worked for the NFL for 22 1/2 years, mainly with the game officials working on the financial/accounting side of the business.

Maria Grandone, Director In Higher Education

Leader motivates a work colleague

How to stay relevant in an ever-changing environment:

1. Stay ahead of the curve. You are willing to learn from others, take advice, do your research, and stay driven by your passion to effect real change.

2. Innovate through collaboration. Provide a voice to your stakeholders in the process to gain support because they will support what they help create.

3. Invest in your own development & network. Find strategic opportunities to develop yourself and your network. Your organization might offer opportunities through conferences, podcasts, books, and colleagues who are willing to mentor/coach you.

4. Practice active listening & learn. The ability to really listen to understand interests, ideas, opinions, concerns, and challenges facing your organization.

5. Keep it all in perspective. As you seek opportunities for collaboration with lasting approaches to the work, you must be transparent and look at the challenges with the appropriate lens.

Maria Grandone is dedicated to student access and success, particularly of underrepresented students in higher education. She loves to wake up early to meditate, go for an early morning run, and meet people from all walks of life.

Ana Smith, Talent Architect & Global Learning Strategist

Executive/leader works on her laptop at work

In this highly competitive digital business environment, it is crucial to stay relevant, competitive, and marketable. You’ll need to make sure that you’re continuously improving and evaluating yourself regularly. There are several areas; we will focus on these five fundamental ones today:

1. Specialize in your area, not in everything – Don’t try to be a jack-of-all-trades, while becoming a master of none. Instead, discover your natural aptitude and excel in that discipline.

2. Focus on the big picture – Build a reputation for yourself in your own company as a doer and problem solver.

3. Focus on great communication – Communication skills are still imperative in the globalized workplace environment. Also, in this hybrid, remote, and in-office workplace, effective and frequent communication is key.

4. Staying social – Social media is a great way to stay in touch with clients and customers. It allows users to express concerns, ask questions, and even praise you for great work.

5. Networking – Building and nourishing business-related relationships are fundamental to a successful career.

Ana Smith helps people & organizations achieve their full talent potential by developing and co-creating people strategies and customized solutions, and turning them into impactful outcomes and collaborative relationships, using coaching as the “red thread.”

Mark Taylor, Product & Operations Executive

Executive/leader talks to his employees

There isn’t a monolithic playbook or magic bullet that will address the challenge. Pragmatic insight and speed are better options.

Firstly, understand at its most fundamental level what your company does and why it needs you to do what you do.

Secondly, speed is of the essence; get your work done quickly. The more you do in a shorter time, the sooner you iterate your way to a fundamental understanding of your job. Speed will also allow you breathing space to craft a view of what this “fundamental job” becomes in the future.

Perhaps most importantly, could your role be eliminated? Rather than being on the receiving end of that, could you be the one to drive that change proactively? After all, you now know the essence of the job better than anyone else. Who better than you to take the lead in retiring the old and embracing the new?

Mark Taylor has 20+ years of risk, technology, and product management experience working in global and regional financial services firms in the UK and the U.S. He’s managed teams of 40+, successfully addressed 100+ regulatory issues, and has saved companies $15M+.

Dr. Hannah Hartwell, Learning & Development Executive

Executive/leader holds a tablet while traveling for work

We’re fortunate to have access to so much information. Think about it. Even 15 or 20 years ago, there was not nearly as much access to information on any subject and topic.

Here are three ways to stay relevant:

1. Read – Find fascinating thought leaders that give you a different point of view.

2. Listen – Since you now have a different perspective, engage with others to have a mutually beneficial conversation. Expand your knowledge and share what you know with others.

3. Contribute – Here’s your chance to shine! Share with others what you found to be most helpful, or even what you found to be not so helpful. It’s important to have conversations about both of these topics, and figure out how to contribute to your professional network.

Dr. Hannah Hartwell is a learning and development executive and change management practitioner with 15+ years of business transformation experience in the healthcare, pharmaceutical, higher education, and professional services industries.

Sarita Kincaid, Tech Media & Influencer Relations Executive

Leader communicates with her team

The top three actions leaders should take to stay relevant in their careers are to prioritize learning, networking, and giving back. These seem like simple things to do but they require both an investment of time and a well-defined purpose. Take action by:

  • Actively participating in professional organizations: Most professional associations offer workshops/classes as well as networking opportunities.
  • Don’t let your skill set lapse, even if you’re in a leadership position: Know and use the tools your team uses every day.
  • Speak at industry events: Leverage your network and professional organizations for opportunities to share your experience and learnings. These events can be great for market visibility and networking as well.
  • Mentor: In addition to helping mentees on their career paths, I am always learning from them. A new college grad, for example, might share what’s important in terms of recruiting and retention—this information is invaluable and not easy to come by!

Sarita Kincaid is a tech media executive with a demonstrated ability to build and grow award-winning programs. She brings a data-driven approach to influencer relations with a focus on developing strong brand advocates and aligning them with sales programs.

Lisa Perry, Global Marketing Executive

Older leader/executive smiles while holding a tablet

As a global brand marketer, there are five things I do every month to stay relevant and advance my career forward monthly.

1. Set Intentional Goals: I set career goals for myself. I write them down, list out the steps that it will take to get there, and track my progress. For example, a year ago I had a goal of publishing a book. This week, I will have accomplished that goal, officially publishing my first book.

2. Thought Leadership: I’m leveraging my brand marketing expertise to create content that people find helpful and informative. I do this by writing one article a month, participating in a weekly LinkedIn Live executive table talk, and posting 2-3 LinkedIn, TikTok, and IG posts/videos a week.

3. Networking: I have a goal to expand my network, connecting with 50 new professionals every week, meeting 1-3 new people each week to see how we can help each other professionally, and being available to my current network of professional friends, to help in any way I can.

4. Reading: I haven’t been much of a reader until this last year or so. I decided to change that and joined The Marketing Book Club driven by Musa T. The books are excellent and the discussions are insightful. I’ve learned so much from this talented group of individuals.

5. Learn New Skills: I love learning new skills and pushing myself into new and uncomfortable areas. Right now I’m learning as much as I can about the metaverse and how this will impact business growth in the future.

Lisa Perry helps companies build leadership brands, driving loyal customers & delivering profitability. She does this through a process that builds brands consumers love. Her goal is to help companies develop, monetize, and grow their brands.

How do you think a leader can stay relevant in their career and industry? Join the conversation inside Work It Daily’s Executive Program.

Executive Spotlight: Tips For Team Goal Setting & Business Planning

Executive Spotlight: Tips For Team Goal Setting & Business Planning

It’s that time of year again! Companies are setting goals and finalizing their business plans for the next 12 months. Business leaders might have high-level goals for their organization, but each team within the organization must have its own goals it wants to achieve to make the high-level goals a reality, and a detailed plan on how to accomplish them.

We recently asked our leading executives to share their best tips for team goal setting and business planning.

Here are their responses…

John Schembari, Senior Education Executive

Have the team review performance data. What does the data say? Why is this important? What should we do next? To help in this analysis, the team can review its organization’s mission, vision, and/or brand statement. Once the team has determined two to three main goals on which to focus within its strategic plan, consider department—or organizational—strengths, opportunities, weaknesses, and threats. What strengths does the team currently have to meet these goals? How might the team seize new opportunities to achieve success? How will the team compensate for its weaknesses and mitigate the potential impact of threats?

After, consider the milestones/benchmarks—data, artifacts/evidence, etc.—that will determine progress toward each goal, articulate what ultimate success for each goal will be, define who is responsible for each goal, and the time stamp when each goal will be met. Goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely (SMART).

John Schembari is a current K-12 teacher/school leader academic improvement coach and former school building and district administrator. He loves to draw, travel, swing dance, and read nonfiction.

Kathleen Duffy, Founder, CEO, And President Of Duffy Group

SWOT analysis concept

We began planning for 2023 in August. Our session was facilitated by an outside consultant who sent our 2022 plan to all participants and asked us to look at the SWOT. We met in person to update the SWOT; critical strategic issues were identified from the “W” section, and our strategic initiatives to support the critical issues were developed. A work plan was created for each strategic initiative with target dates for completion; we meet monthly to review the dashboard coloring our progress—red, yellow, or green. We also reviewed and updated our three-year metrics of success, such as company revenue, client retention, quality, and efficiency, to share a few metrics we collect.

Kathleen Duffy is the founder, CEO, and president of Duffy Group. The company’s vision is to elevate recruitment research as an alternative to contingent and retained search. Since its founding, Duffy Group has been a remote workplace and a culture of work/life harmony.

Ana Smith, Talent Architect & Global Learning Strategist

OKRs (objectives and key results) concept

A quite popular and effective goal-setting framework for teams is OKRs (objectives and key results). They are an effective method for not only planning but also for measuring success on a team level. One shortfall at a company level is when they try to apply OKRs at an individual level.

The complexity that comes from setting individual OKRs generally leads to goals that are either not indications of meaningful progress or easily gamed. Instead, individual contributors should be assessed based on the extent to which their work contributes to team goals that add real value to the company and its customers.

Objectives and key results, or OKRs, have become one of the most popular frameworks for teams looking to plan and measure the success of their work.

With this system, leaders at each and every level of the organization start by:

  • defining high-level, qualitative, inspirational goals, called “objectives”
  • defining who will be the consumer of their team’s work, and
  • determining what behavioral changes, they would expect to see in those consumers that could be used to quantify whether the team is achieving its high-level goals.

Ana Smith helps people & organizations achieve their full talent potential by developing and co-creating people strategies and customized solutions, and turning them into impactful outcomes and collaborative relationships, using coaching as the “red thread.”

Michael Willis, Sports Business Operations Executive

Woman creates a budget plan at work

I believe every employee should know three things about the company they work for:

  1. Mission
  2. Goals
  3. Competitors

While we work in teams, our goals and business planning should align with the company’s objectives. Everyone must be working toward the same outcome.

Team setting goals and objectives should be measurable. This is my favorite part. As a part of the accounting/finance world, I am heavily invested in the company’s annual budget. The budget can drive an opportunity to develop metrics.

Budget Comparisons:

Ø Prior year actuals to current year’s budget

Ø Current year’s budget to current year’s forecast

I like to calendarize the budget. This means that I spread the budget out over 12 months. So I don’t have to wait until the end of the year to realize a problem or opportunity. This kind of analysis will drive something to talk about every month.

By capturing trends in your analysis, you can visualize past performance versus how you are pacing in real time.

Michael Willis has 18+ years of experience working with accounting & sports organizations and has managed P&Ls of $10M – $125M+ with budgets of $3M-$50M+. He worked for the NFL for 22 1/2 years, mainly with the game officials working on the financial/accounting side of the business.

Mark Taylor, Product & Operations Executive

Team members set goals and create a business plan during a work meeting

It seems reasonable to assume that the tsunamis of work pushed our way in 2022 will not abate in 2023.

Setting goals and planning will be ineffective—the equivalent of holding one’s hand up against incoming tidal waves.

If planning is an attempt to manage overwhelm, a more effective practice is self-prioritization. Consider it the ongoing art of identifying and understanding those tasks that need to be done right now—and ensuring you stay half a step ahead.

Similarly, if goal setting is the company making sure they get value from you, delivering your tasks on a timely, accurate and complete basis—and presenting the results in an easily digestible form—will address this need.

Come the end of 2023, if you’ve identified and delivered strongly on those tasks that the business deemed important, you’ll be considered effective…

…and live to do it all again in 2024.

Mark Taylor has 20+ years of risk, technology, and product management experience working in global and regional financial services firms in the UK and the U.S. He’s managed teams of 40+, successfully addressed 100+ regulatory issues, and has saved companies $15M+.

Sarita Kincaid, Tech Media & Influencer Relations Executive

Team talks about goal setting and business planning during a work meeting

The most important rule of thumb when creating goals is to always align with the top business goals in your organization. These CEO-level goals are usually around revenue and market share growth but may also be, to a lesser extent, about brand, customer experience, or thought leadership.

Analyst and media relations professionals should always, especially in challenging economic times, ensure that their planning process starts with business goals to ensure that the value they bring contributes directly to C-level priorities. If top-level business goals aren’t being cascaded through the organization, interview relevant C-level executives to find out what they are being tasked to achieve.

Other than starting with organizational business goals as the guiding light of the planning process, I advise analyst relations professionals, in particular, against setting “counting” goals. These are metrics around the amount of outreach. Conducting 100 briefings a year isn’t significant if it doesn’t result in an increase in analyst perception, likelihood to recommend your company/product, or improved positioning in landscape vendor reports.

More on best practices for building an effective analyst relations plan.

Sarita Kincaid is a tech media executive with a demonstrated ability to build and grow award-winning programs. She brings a data-driven approach to influencer relations with a focus on developing strong brand advocates and aligning them with sales programs.

Lisa Perry, Global Marketing Executive

Goal setting and business planning concept

With the new year approaching, it’s time to set your business goals for 2023. Here are five things you can do to get ahead of the new year.

1. Analyze Past Performance – Before developing your business goals, it’s crucial to analyze past performance to determine the health of your business. The results can help provide a snapshot of what’s going on with your business. The time spent analyzing, strategizing, collaborating, and building consensus is a valuable part of the process.

2. Set Goals – Eighty-three percent of the population does not have goals. Fourteen percent have a plan in mind, but goals are unwritten, and 3% have goals written down. The 14% who have goals are 10 times more successful than those without goals. The 3% with written goals are three times more successful than the 14% with unwritten goals. Source. I recommend using the SMART or OKR framework. A SMART goal is specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely. OKR stands for “objectives and key results.”

3. Align With Company Objectives – Ensure your goals align with the company’s overall objectives.

4. Prioritize – Now that you have developed your goals, it’s time to prioritize them based on their urgency, value, and importance. Allocate your resources, time, and effort where they’re needed the most.

5. Track & Measure Results – Evaluate your progress towards your goals by tracking and measuring your results on a weekly or monthly review. Look at the progress you’ve made, what challenges you’ve encountered, and what you need to change or do next. Most importantly, celebrate the wins!

Lisa Perry helps companies build leadership brands, driving loyal customers & delivering profitability. She does this through a process that builds brands consumers love. Her goal is to help companies develop, monetize, and grow their brands.

What are your best tips for team goal setting and business planning? Join the conversation inside Work It Daily’s Executive Program.

Personal Development For Lifelong Learning

Personal Development For Lifelong Learning

One portion of an employee’s personal development is work-related, but there is more. When you think of an employee’s personal development do you think of the skills for them to keep current, get a promotion, or transfer to another department? Improving core skills such as analytical abilities, critical thinking, and/or decision making? Skills to take on a leadership role and manage staff? Obtaining higher credentials?

Assuming so, organizational leaders should:

1. Make sure you understand what employees do and how it aligns with the company’s goals
2. Let employees do the job you hired them to do (leveraging their strengths and interests); nobody likes to be micromanaged
3. Challenge employees with stretch goals
4. Encourage employees to learn new things and give them the tools they need to learn:

  • Read books, magazines, trade journals, newsletters, blogs
  • Watch online videos, listen to podcasts
  • Take courses (in-person, online) and attend webinars, workshops, conferences
    • Company-provided training – Microsoft Office, application-specific courses
    • Hard skills such as an SQL class, foreign language
    • Effective communication skills – writing classes or speaking training (e.g., Toastmasters)
    • Other soft skills – time management, problem solving
    • Learning platforms – LinkedIn Learning, MasterClass
  • Leadership-related training
    • Supervisor skills, management trainee program
    • Some will want to manage people, but others won’t and that’s ok
  • Professional license, certification (e.g., PMP, CISSP), college degree
    • Don’t forget to support CPE (continuing professional education) requirements
  • Groups – professional associations, networking groups, etc.
  • Other – internships, volunteer opportunities

These are great work-related considerations, but there is more. There is a saying by Confucius: “I want you to be everything that’s you, deep at the center of your being.” Do you encourage employees’ personal development (and the key word is personal) to be the best version of themself? Have you asked them what is important to them? If it’s important to them, it should be important to you too.

Developing A Growth Mindset

Personal development is lifelong learning and it’s never too late to start. Encourage employees to develop a growth mindset and continue learning while working for the company. This includes opportunities to:

1. Enhance their quality of life such as health/fitness, self-care, self-confidence

2. Self-improvement to fully develop their character, capabilities, and potential

  • Develop a reading habit
  • Personal finances, personal creativity, or other personal-related learnings
  • “Work-related” skills listed above even if they aren’t relevant to their current role
  • Some organizations (such as Amazon, Chipotle, and Starbucks) have free or practically free college programs for front-line employees, which removes financial barriers

3. Realize their dream – maybe to become an entrepreneur and start their own business

How To Create A Custom Personal Development Plan For Employees

Online learning, education concept

Has your organization recognized that they need to think differently about developing employees? They should work together with the employee to create a custom personal development plan (PDP) based on what the employee is interested in (including both work and personal aspects). Four basic steps are:

1. Perform a self-assessment

2. Establish and prioritize goals (both short and long term) breaking up the goals into manageable tasks

3. Create a step-by-step plan identifying required resources, timelines, etc.

  • Identify objectives to reach the goals as well as strategies to achieve the tasks
  • Identify any weaknesses, development needs, barriers

4. Measure progress

  • Reward and celebrate accomplishments
  • Be prepared for setbacks – adjust and course correct

As a leader, be available when employees want to talk with you as well as periodically check in with them to ensure they have a good work-life balance. Both of these could be good coaching/mentoring opportunities.

When there is a comprehensive personal development plan, the employee is more likely to be and stay excited about what’s next (and stay with the organization longer). For more information about personal development, follow me on LinkedIn!

Executive Spotlight: The Technology Every Executive Needs To Know How To Use Right Now

Executive Spotlight: The Technology Every Executive Needs To Know How To Use Right Now

If you want to be an effective leader in your industry, you need to know how to use technology—specifically, the types of technology that are relevant to your job. Nobody wants to work for a manager who isn’t tech savvy. Not knowing how to use technology is the surest way to become irrelevant in your career. For executives, the need to stay up to date on technology is greater, since there is always a younger, more relevant leader moving up the ranks who knows how to use the technology that could take your company to the next level.

We recently asked our successful leaders what they think is the technology every executive should know how to use right now.

Here are their responses…

Michael Willis, Sports Business Operations Executive

In finance/accounting, the Microsoft Office Timeline is a handy tool for what I do. It is easy to understand how multiple possibilities for creating a timeline are. With them, we can better understand the relationship between important events, analyze the evolution of individual stories, understand turning points, and, ultimately, visualize how one event influences, or does not influence, the other. Timelines can show not only current data but I can also create a visual history of multiple years.

Timelines can take on many different displays. You can design linear timelines with flags of important dates or deadlines.

You can also create a vertical timeline to show top-down or bottom-up data.

What I like most about timelines is the visual way I can tell a compelling story.

I can quantify these stories with visual effects.

Lastly, timelines in Microsoft keep expanding its reach in all types of visual possibilities. The possibilities are endless!

Michael Willis has 18+ years of experience working with accounting & sports organizations and has managed P&Ls of $10M – $125M+ with budgets of $3M-$50M+. He worked for the NFL for 22 1/2 years, mainly with the game officials working on the financial/accounting side of the business.

Maria Grandone, Director In Higher Education

Woman on laptop uses a new technology for work

As an educator and administrator, I enjoy helping young adults as well as adult learners with their academic journey. In my role, I oversee policies and procedures that help support student learning and success. Therefore, I implement multiple innovation projects to support students and meet them where they are.

My solution is Monday.com. The Work OS work management platform helps my team manage projects and workflows more efficiently. The project management includes the scope, time, and budget. What I like about Monday.com is that is a very easy and intuitive all-in-one work platform that uses apps and integrations to create a custom workflow for the project. Its versatility helps me (as well as my team) stay on track and the integrations with apps such as Outlook, Microsoft Teams, Gmail, and Excel, allow me to easily continue working with my favorite tools from within the platform.

Since I work on several projects, Monday.com software allows me to assign tasks and prioritize what’s most important for the team to execute. To do this, I break down the components by color and timeline. For example, our digital badge project had a short implementation timeline, milestones, and deliverables. The platform allowed me to manage the entire workload all in one space.

My biggest takeaway: the platform fosters creative collaboration with my team and other departments. More importantly, the collaboration is seamless and provides visibility into the progress of our work. It saves time and money. You may want to give it a try!

Maria Grandone is dedicated to student access and success, particularly of underrepresented students in higher education. She loves to wake up early to meditate, go for an early morning run, and meet people from all walks of life.

Steve Barriault, Global Technical Sales Management

Google Calendar

Sales and field engineering have in common that they both are customer-facing positions. You get to meet lots of people in customer meetings.

If you are an executive in these types of occupations, you also must recruit at times. That means even more meetings—aka interviews.

Add necessary internal meetings to the mix, and it makes for a busy calendar.

Clients get priority, and I negotiate mutually agreeable timings. But for interviews, I go with Calendly.

There is simply no way I can spend valuable time negotiating interview timings piecemeal. Instead, I send candidates links. They pick and choose their own time. Problem solved!

Calendly integrates with my Google calendar, meaning it won’t double-book me. It will also enforce time zones when I am not available (4 am is a tough sell for me!) and not let candidates book time over “focus time.”

I wouldn’t say that this tech is all-purpose. I would not dream to ask clients to pick a time on my Calendly link. But if you need to recruit folks into your team, it can be a lifesaver.

Steve Barriault is a multilingual presales, sales, and business development management professional with 20+ years of experience in the sales and marketing of software & technological solutions worldwide. He’s built sales infrastructure from the ground up, going from $0 to millions of $ through both direct sales and distributors.

Mark Taylor, Product & Operations Executive

Microsoft Excel

Reporting and analytics. The primary means of gaining insight into your business. The challenge is, it’s easier for them to be wrong than right. Incomplete data, stale data, the wrong data source, the list goes on.

How might you “trust but verify” that the information you are making business decisions on is correct? Taking a dump of the raw data and creating a pivot table in Microsoft Excel is a simple way to gain insight.

There are added benefits too. For example, you see firsthand the quality of the underlying data. You might unearth assumptions that were made when the reports were initially created that are now incorrect. Again, the list goes on.

Sixty minutes of pivot table creation and analysis every reporting cycle seems like a small price to pay for the sense of security that comes from knowing that key business decisions are based on firm data foundations.

Mark Taylor has 20+ years of risk, technology, and product management experience working in global and regional financial services firms in the UK and the U.S. He’s managed teams of 40+, successfully addressed 100+ regulatory issues, and has saved companies $15M+.

Don Schulz, Senior Operations & Commercial Real Estate Executive

Executive uses a new technology on his laptop

Executives need to ensure they are operating at a strategic level and avoid getting buried in day-to-day details. To do this well requires a clear understanding of your company’s rhythm of business (ROB). It is therefore imperative that executives have a good ROB technology tool to help them easily see the “big picture.”

TeamUp is a free, easy-to-use tool that allows for easy displaying of ROB events of various durations and frequencies throughout the year. For executives, they are strategic and include things like annual planning, budgeting, product releases, financial reporting, shareholder meetings, significant company events, etc. Events are color-coded by function, type, team, etc., making them easy to see in aggregate and giving executives a quick, easy-to-digest understanding of key events over the next month, quarter, or year. It is very easy to turn events on or off to simplify or add to a display as needed. We used TeamUp to manage a midsize company’s ROB very effectively.

Rhythm Systems is a more complex and robust tool. It takes a greater time investment up front to get data in and to build proficiency. Although we reviewed it but, ultimately, did not implement it, I know of others that swear by its value.

The primary point here is that all businesses need to effectively manage their ROB and a good technology tool is key to doing it well.

Don Schulz is a 25+ year commercial real estate executive & COO. On the personal side, he likes to ski, hike, golf, and run, and is an occasional homebrewer.

Melodie Turk, Learning Experience Executive

Group of leaders talk during a virtual and in-person business meeting

Every executive needs to know how to post on social media platforms, as well as use their unique features.

With the amount of information being exchanged publicly, as well as within an organization, having a good understanding of how social media platforms work is essential.

Whether it’s short messages, longer articles, infographics, or even a video message, knowing how to post it yourself will save time. No need to work with the marketing team or some other tech-savvy individual. Your message can be posted to make an immediate impact on your audience.

In addition, knowing how to set up a new group, start a video chat, record a video chat, and share from any of those features will make your life and those that work with you much easier.

Externally, you’ll want to learn how to post on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and even Tiktok. Internally, Slack, Yammer, Workplace Facebook, and Microsoft Teams. Once you get familiar with a couple of platforms, the learning curve isn’t so fierce, and before you know it, others are coming to you for advice.

Melodie Turk is a learning experience executive with a unique background in the learning and development arena as well as change management. She is passionate about bringing change to the workplace—change that is meaningful and change that will last.

Lisa Perry, Global Marketing Executive

Woman uses virtual reality (VR) headset at work

The global augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) market is expected to grow to $209 billion by 2023. Consumers currently own 26 million VR headsets globally. VR and AR is the technology that marketing executives need to consider to drive innovation, consumer engagement, and relationship building.

Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated real-world experience that can be interacted with in a seemingly real or physical way using special electronic equipment. VR is an excellent opportunity for businesses to create an immersive experience that promotes engagement through:

  • Employee Training: Virtual training environments, doctors trying out new tools, pilots utilizing flight simulators, teachers testing teaching methods in a virtual classroom, and virtual boot camps.
  • Events: 360-degree view of an event room set up to attending an event in the form of an avatar.
  • Marketing, Sales, & Retail: Visit virtual showrooms and pop-up or retail locations, interact with sales reps, and try out the merchandise.

Augmented reality (AR) augments your experience of the real world, enhancing it with sound, touch, and smell. AR is designed to add to the things you already do, like work, play, shop, explore, and have fun.

  • Try Before You Buy: Excellent way for customers to try products before they buy (clothing, cosmetics, jewelry, cars).
  • User/Instruction Manuals: Digital interface that displays the content visually during setup, configuration, troubleshooting, maintenance, and demonstration.
  • Marketing Materials: Scan marketing materials with your mobile device to access various features (video, speak with customer service, access a digital coupon).

The potential is enormous. Are you prepared for the future?

Lisa Perry helps companies build leadership brands, driving loyal customers & delivering profitability. She does this through a process that builds brands consumers love. Her goal is to help companies develop, monetize, and grow their brands.

What technology do you think every executive needs to know how to use right now? Join the conversation inside Work It Daily’s Executive Program.