I am often asked to speak to groups of middle and senior managers about leadership. When I meet these groups I usually start out by asking them to think about all the bosses they have ever had and raise their hands if they think their bosses have been satisfactory or if they have been less...Read More

Every now and then the links seem to fade away.  Since there still seems to be a great deal of interest for my World’s Shortest Marketing Plan Template I have updated the links again and am reposting. There seems to be a never ending supply of new marketing plan templates. A google search gave 215,000,000 hits on “marketing plan”....Read More

Following is an email that was sent to me some time ago by someone who attended one of my speaking engagements. From: ………Sent: ……….To: kelly@thinktank.seCopy: ………Subject: What should I do? Dear Kelly, Thank you for a great speech at the ……… conference. I went away inspired and stayed that way for several days but then...Read More

When I am out at various speaking engagements I am frequently surprised at how easy it is to get managers and employees to accept and agree to various management concepts and yet how hard it is to get them to apply these concepts when they get back home in their work Everyone agrees with Gallups...Read More

Long-term sustainable growth is the result of creating value for the Holy Trinity of Customer, Employee and Shareholder. Growth is the reward companies reap when they succeed in satisfying the needs of these three groups. The Holy Trinity of Sustainable GrowthAmong these three groups the shareholders needs are usually the easiest to understand since they...Read More

Influence: Psychology of Persuasion by B. Cialdini Sun Tzu on the Art of War The Oldest Military Treatise in the World The Naked Ape by Desmond Morris The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell Leading with Soul-An Uncommon Journey of Spirit by Lee G. Bolman and Terrence E....Read More

Another fundamental building block of growth is to create what many call an innovation culture within the company. Creating an environment where everyone takes risks and where failures are seen as learning opportunities. Many companies strive to minimize risk or even eliminate risk but as anyone who ever took a basic course in economics knows...Read More

Most business leaders agree that growth is a prequisite for success and yet few actually succeed in creating sustainable long-term growth. One key problem is that companies attempt to create growth by focusing on results instead of working to create the right behaviors in their organizations that will lead to results. In order to create...Read More

Many business leaders run their business on a combination of financial targets and ratios that at best give a view of where the company has been but say nothing about where the company is going. Despite the common use of Vision statements and balanced scorecards with targets for customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction, business leaders...Read More

International trade is a prerequisite for lasting peace in the world. Our soldiers and police are doing everything they can to protect us from the immediate threat of terrorism. They may be our peace-keepers but it is our international corporations and the people working in them that are our peace-creators. International business, like local business,...Read More