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When I started in sales and Social Selling, I had to visit 8 clients physically, every single day. No jokes! In our wildest dreams we could not have imagined a tool like email, never mind social media and Building Relationships Online. Social media has created so many incredible opportunities for us, and it is about […]
In organizational culture, there are two types of people: those who look for reasons to be offended, and those who look for ways to understand others. The former type tends to lash out at coworkers, saying cruel things in private or criticizing them in public. They seek revenge on their managers if they feel they […]
What’s Your New Year’s Addiction? Here are 6 Simple Steps To Avoid Changing Who You Are and Instead, Changing Your Addictions. It happened for years. Too often I would come home from work, open the refrigerator, then the freezer. I’d sigh and think, “F*ck, I have no idea what to make for dinner.” Sometimes I’d […]
Boost Your Optimism and have Positive affirmations for anxiety are often used to reinforce positive thinking among people, especially during times of stress. These positive statements help us manage our anxiety levels to live a daily life without having to worry about anxiety and depression ruining our usual daily routine. It can really be tough to […]
We’ve recently been on an investment drive to raise massive capital for our product, Lohocla and the number we are gunning for is rather massive relative to what we were thinking years ago and as such we Earn Your Stripes, The funny thing is that the people we are contacting today are the very same […]
Almost every industry today is undergoing a radical reimagining and a Transformation story about leadership. Yet simple catchphrases’ like ‘strategic pivot’ and ‘disruptive innovation’ do little leadership to encapsulate the complex challenges that organizations face in the accelerated world unleashed by the pandemic. The problem is particularly acute for technology companies. When decision-makers are inundated […]
You don’t have to be a genius to be a leader of genius! – my earliest challenges were to rebuild a broken Porsche brand and then to inspire the team at BMW GB to achieve a 500% improvement in profit while transforming the service levels of an industry. Since then, Kevin Gaskell has founded start-ups, […]
When Lance Armstrong was bust for using performance enhancing drugs through most of his career one of his defences was that it was part of the racing culture of the time and many other riders were doing it too. So, Would you use performance enhancing drugs at work? In order to be competitive, he believed […]
Know What You Want and Success is actually fairly simple. Firstly, set a goal. Then break it down into actionable activities. Do the activities. Add in some patience, resilience, hard work and discipline, and voila…..Success! Easy, right? Well, if it were that simple, we wouldn’t need an entire industry dedicated to motivation, training and coaching. […]
Master Your Mind will expand your sphere of influence and drastically increase your confidence. The executive coaching services and leadership training offered here empower leaders to engage their teams by empowering themselves first. James R. Elliot is a board-designated and certified leadership coach offering training and coaching services to leaders who: Need to discuss personal […]
If you’re struggling to Become A Better Presenter, or are new to the field, here are some ideas that I’ve incorporated in my 28 years as a keynote speaker/presenter. Feel free to check them out and see if any can help you along the way! 1) Know your audience better than they know themselves […]
In the traditional sales world, Engaging and Interactive Meeting, a professional salesperson would prepare for, and focus on, commanding the room, the conversation and the sales process, and you would be prepared to maximise the chances of success at whichever stage of the sale you are because that’s how you win deals for an Interactive […]
Do you remember THE BAIT SWITCH DOES NOT WORK and the first time you were disappointed by a large organisation? My earliest memory of corporate greed (we all have those, right?) was what I recall being a few months after Smarties Mini Eggs were launched in South Africa. As a lifelong fan of the traditional […]
It is All about perspective as I type this, I am in Jeffreys Bay in a Motorhome overlooking the ocean with my woman after traveling over 1000kms through the country and I am in awe of the things that I’ve been able to witness. Driving through the small towns that literally span not more than […]
In April, 2020 I wrote an article describing four possible scenarios for how the The Coronavirus Scenarios could play out: “Much Ado About Nothing”, “The Camel’s Straw”, “Spain Again” and “Walking the Tightrope”. At the time the cumulative number of global cases was 2 400 000 and deaths 165 000. Seven months later, the figures are 60 000 000 and […]
The relentless pace and uncertainty of business today is taking a serious toll on all of us. Mental Health Leadership Priority might strive to be purpose-driven, impactful and innovative, but they are often hijacked by constant crisis management and the pressure to give everyone a voice. As if that’s not enough, add in the exhaustion […]
Life has suddenly become potentially very thorny. The goal posts have shifted completely and now the Necessity is the mother of reinvention. The COVID-19 pandemic has thrust us all into a strange new world. The rules of engagement have been turned completely upside down. There is no more ‘normal’. We don’t even know where or […]
I have worked with corporate teams that measure what seems like everything. My concern with these teams isn’t what they are measuring, but rather what they are not measuring — leadership effectiveness. Teams measure on-time delivery, sales call per day, employee engagement, and so many more useful metrics. I’ve even seen a team measure coffee […]
THE STRUGGLE OF ALL SALESPEOPLE, UNDERSTANDING THE MONEY VALUE Here’s what you should know about salespeople, and really people in general. They don’t struggle with time management, they struggle with self-management. You can’t manage time, time ticks whether we want to or not. Here’s why we struggle with self-management In the absence of a clearly […]
It’s that time of the year for New Years resolutions again, where most of us put together a comprehensive list of resolutions and goals to be a better version of ourselves by thinking what we would ideally look like in the future: lose weight, get fitter, be a better spouse, etc and Why New Years’ […]
If you’ve been having trouble concentrating recently, you’re not alone and here are some tips on how to Conquer Burnout at Work. A recent survey conducted by FlexJobs and Mental Health America found that 75% of people have had work-related burnout, with 40% feeling burned out during the pandemic. And according to a July MetLife […]
Vancouver, Canada | Disembarking On a beautiful sunny morning, the Captain brought Seabourn Odyssey alongside Canada Place in Vancouver at 7am. Long before the ship is cleared and guests are allowed to disembark, the activity begins. A massive fuel barge is brought alongside to refuel (bunker) the ship, and the quayside is lined with […]
I mean, isn’t that the nature of goals to begin with? What’s missing between you and your goals might be walking the walk of your goals — not just talking the talk. Or rather, running the run of your goals. I’ll tell you what I mean. Goals are easy to think of but harder to achieve, aren’t […]
A lot has happened in the past few years since my book, We’re Really All In This Together: Creating a Team Culture of High Performance, Trust, and Belonging, was first published in the spring of 2020. I completed the manuscript for this book (which was just released this week in paperback) at the end of 2019. I […]
Now that we are in the midst of the world’s largest remote work does not work experiment, it’s worth asking: what does it take to run a good virtual meeting? It is all too easy to just focus on what can be controlled and configured: security, bandwidth, platforms or devices. However, when it comes to […]
Push through the bad to get to good / Shifting spaces / Challenges of the Pacific / Don’t get run over / Injuries / Warnings / Water struggles & just Figuring it out then Man overboard-Captain! Over the last 12 days, I’ve traveled just over 400 Nautical miles SW. I’ve passed by the US […]
The best way to predict the future is by Creating a Personal Strategy A powerful quote! Do you know that Abraham Lincoln considered even himself a failure for the most parts of his life? He failed far more than he ever succeeded in life, yet most people remember and reference his success rather than his failures. […]
IT’S A NORMAL DAY ON ALIWAL SHOAL. ABOVE TWENTY DEGREES CELSIUS, BLUE WATER WITH SMALL PARTICLES, A LITTLE BIT OF A CURRENT PUSHING, WE DRIFT ALONG WITH IT, WAITING FOR THE SHARKS… (THIS IS THE STORY OF MY FIRST EVER FREEDIVE WITH SHARKS) It’s a clear blue sky, warm air and a slight breeze- […]
I’ve recorded a short video about the value of taking time ‘in’ to help with solve problems, creating, sorting & strategising. I like to call it ‘time-in’ because these insights don’t come from our busy external world, nor from our noisy internal chatter. They come from a place within us that very few of us […]
Getting absolutely clear about HOW TO UNCOVER YOUR PASSION is critical to your success as an entrepreneur. You want a passion that you are willing to shout from the rooftops—that you’ll share with everyone, even strangers at a cocktail party. Why is identifying your unique passion so important? Because passion is fundamental to your forward progress. […]
Some say great leaders are born. We say great leaders are made, HOW TO BE A GREAT LEADER. There are many different types of leaders and leadership styles. While it’s important to find your own style, there are many qualities of leaders throughout history that have stood the test of time. While we will view […]
Don’t you just love when prospects ask you that question? – What Makes You Different? If you recognize the question as the true trap that it is, and you know how to deal with it, then you love it. If you don’t treat that question as the trap that it is, you’re toast. For […]
Care About and Challenge Each Other – The Two Keys to Team Performance I’ve been a part of lots of teams, in sports and business, and over the past 20 years I’ve had a chance to work with many high-performing teams, at companies like Google, Wells Fargo, Microsoft, Schwab, eBay, and others. I’ve also studied […]
How to bounce back after retrenchment or a job loss. Got retrenched? Here’s how to recover and step up One of the most devastating feelings is the realization of the loss of your income. It puts you in an immediate spiral of fear, anxiety, and uncertainty. Retrenchment affects you emotionally and the whole process can […]
This The Incredible Desert Elephants expedition was the first in a series of five Beyond Expeditions with Jacques Marais and Peter van Kets. The idea was to mountain bike the edge of the incredible Namib Desert from Serra Cafema on the Angolan border to Swakopmund along the coast of Namibia. In this episode, we take […]
When I was in high school i realized Leaders You Dont Need To Have All The Answers, there was a teacher that had a brilliant line when he was asked a question that he didn’t know the answer to in the moment. He would state: “That is beyond the scope of this course,” with a […]
Not all exercises are created equal. My grandfather, or gramps as we affectionately called him was a disciplined exercise man. It wasn’t so much the amount of exercise he did but rather the 100% commitment with which he did it. He never missed a day unless he was ill and flat on his back. Every […]
The Status Quo of Crisis Preparedness Puts You at a Disadvantage—and It’s Time For That To Change. Over the last couple of years, I’ve found myself increasingly frustrated with my industry, the crisis management profession. To put my frustration simply, the status quo of crisis preparedness and crisis management no longer suffices and, as a […]
Successful women in leadership roles manage their Personal Branding Benefits on a daily basis; and they started focusing on creating theirs early-on in their careers. Why do they focus on Personal Branding? And why has it become such a hot topic in the workforce today? Smart women in business understand the basic concept that every […]
How do you motivate yourselves and others in a brand new year when you are out of oomph. Many business leaders are entering 2021 feeling rather hesitant, concerned and uncertain. 2020 was challenging in many ways and I believe that many business owners and managers had the fight of their lives to keep their businesses […]
I chuckled as I read the words in Kevin Kruse’s insightful book, 15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management: “Throw away your task list.” In my time management and Juggling Elephants training programs I am continually surprised at the number of people who still use such a list as their primary guide for their […]
In his new book, “Can’t Hurt Me,” David Goggins, who many call the “toughest man alive,” recalls how he overcame a difficult childhood to become a Navy SEAL. He sits down with Craig Melvin to discuss the lessons he learned about the body’s capabilities. READ FULL ARTICLE Contact Us at WeSpeak Global and […]
“Consider how hard it is to change yourself, and you’ll understand what little chance you have in trying to build your teams” – Unknown. Being a leader means you need to accept responsibility. Not only for the team but for yourself too. I have attempted to be an authentic leader, allowing my team to see […]
According to leadership guru Warren Bennis, “leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.” Rugby and Leadership captains have that innate ability to do just this, Rugby and leadership go hand-in-hand . Here in South Africa we have witnessed numerous leaders connected to the sport of rugby who have displayed such qualities. I have […]
Ten years ago, I was retrenched from a marketing and sales position. My story is the same as many other people. Sometimes losing a job can point towards a better life and opportunities you never thought possible and now Ten Years as an Entrepreneur. After my retrenchment, I didn’t have an epiphany about starting a […]
While The Future of Optimization has permeated our culture at large, it is Gen Z that has grown up in era when technology has enabled them to optimize everything from their sleep and their workouts to their study habits and even their intellect. Last year, I interviewed executives who work in the vitamin division of […]
A former 9-figure corporate CEO gives you 10 powerful questions to help you seal the deal in your next interview. Just like dressing professionally, showing up on time, and wielding a firm handshake, asking the right questions can make or break the outcome of a long-awaited interview for a super-coveted position. Asking no questions at […]
This has been a year like no other in Defying the odds. It has no doubt tested every ounce of our faith, our resilience and our belief in the future in owning your life. Some of us have already reached our tipping point whilst others are hanging on by a sheer tread. I acknowledge all […]
Over the last four weeks, I’ve elaborated on what I call the Closing the Loop with Cycle of Listening. This consists of: Step 1: Recognizing the Unsaid – Unspoken things in your culture’s organization to recognize that your people aren’t telling their entire truth. Step 2: Seeking to Understand – Leaning in to understand someone’s perspective and […]
How many times have you written off an entire company based on your interactions with ONE employee? Don’t make the choice Xfinity made… A few weeks ago I got a call out of the blue that left me so shocked I have to share the story. Let’s get into it… We’ve all been […]
I’m not going to pretend that this is easy stuff for Second Best, especially given all the uncertainty in the world. Over the course of the last three weeks, as corporate America has made the transition from meetings in conference rooms and common spaces to Zoom calls and other online sessions, I’m struck by the […]
Season 2 of review leadership highlights live is coming to an end with one final episode that celebrates a thrilling season of conversations, coaching sessions, and a few solos – 57 episodes in total! That’s something to celebrate. The big themes of the season are: Self-awareness Thriving through challenges Defining your leadership style with daily […]
To risk or not to Risk – could I cope with 12 pairs of gloves? The quandary: There’s a question on many female’s hearts and minds this week as the 29th looms ahead about whether to really pop THE question. It might also be on everyone’s hearts and minds wondering if they might be the […]
Veteran business writer Theodore Kinney interviews Dane Jensen and shares his takeaways from The Power of leading under Pressure for strategy+business. Pressure is a goad. Whether it arrives in the guise of a burning platform or a project deadline, a strategic goal or a performance target, a high-stakes deal or an aggressive competitor, pressure can […]
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