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Recent Articles from Laurence Valant
Reward the people you can count on
There are two types of people in the world above and beyond the lifters and the leaners. They are those who must make excuses and those who refuse to make excuses.
Stay in the moment for success
I find it very tempting to focus on yesterday and the things I could have done differently, or to give my attention to tomorrow and be concerned about how I can make tomorrow turn out well. In the process, I pay too little attention to today.
How to build an accountability bridge
It is the role of leadership to provide the foundation for this bridge, a vision statement which defines where the firm is, where it wants to go, and how it is to get there in terms of detailed strategies and plans.
Here's how to be a true leader
Positions of leadership rarely are filled by true leaders. To begin with, there are very few true leaders, so there is a small pool from which to choose. And rarely are the decision-makers knowledgeable about true leadership.
Is it time for a reality check?
If you are willing to look openly and honestly at your environment, be it personal or work, you cannot help but see reality. This, simply put, is the concept of ERR, the early recognition of reality.
Why effective execution must come first
Having observed literally hundreds of organizations, both large and small, privately and publicly held, spanning a broad range of industries, and through more than four decades, it is absolutely true that much as parents deserve their children, so do managers deserve their organizations and, for ultimately the same reasons.
Do what you can—delegate the rest
I observed a partner in a CPA firm who preferred to do the simpler work himself because it "saved time". He found himself constantly falling behind because the complex work that only he could do remained in piles on his desk.
Best of ColoradoBiz: Obstacles? They're doable
The single most important factor in dealing with obstacles is to identify them accurately, neither understating nor overstating their importance or the degree of difficulty in solving them.
Best of CoBiz: Only good managers get to manage
Editor’s Note: This is an excerpt from business performance improvement expert Larry Valant’s book, Stop Breaking These Rules! 100 Hard-Hitting Truths for Business Integrity and Performance. Only good managers get […]
Best of CoBiz: Same old way, bad old way
Most managers don't know what their key people are up to. This lack of understanding results from a failure by the manager to regularly and clearly communicate what is expected, what is to be delivered, by when it should be delivered, and what success looks like. My often used phrase, "clear unamb...
Best of CoBiz: Job of the CEO — Build value
Companies that are led and managed in a superior fashion consistently outperform their competition. Good leadership and management are generally poorly understood by those who lead and manage, but more tragically, they are poorly understood by those who hire, i.e., the boards of directors. Poor se...
Best of CoBiz: A top-notch leadership model
Editor’s note: Here is another valuable excerpt from the new success book by national business consultant Laurence B. Valant and partner Gayle W. Hustad, “Lead and Manage! The definitive guide […]
