Interesting article from a company that clearly has had success in meeting their objectives.   

It's hard to believe we are days away from the end of the 1st Quarter of 2017! Many of you  will be having Quarterly Reviews next week, & I thought this article was timely. Ultimately, setting & achieving goals is what work ( & life, for that matter),  is all about, so having clear, set goals, and a definitive path to achieve those goals, is critical to meeting those objectives.  It always amazes me how often employees are not clear on precisely what is expected of them, and what will earn them a promotion, and conversely, what will cost them their job. There are also  many managers out there that do not set clear, achievable goals for their employees. As always, communication is the key to success. Making a point to continually be touching base with your direct supervisor, verifying that you are doing the right thing, and asking what you can do to be a superstar, will set you head and shoulders above 90% of the others. It makes no sense to hold your breath during your review, wondering what the reaction of your manager will be. You should always be cognizant of your goals and objectives, and be focused on achieving those goals on a daily basis. If you are not crystal clear on what you need to be doing in order to get the biggest raise possible and align yourself for a promotion, ASK!  If you are a manager and your employees are consistently not meeting their objectives, work on making those objectives as clear as possible, and then focus on holding your team accountable during the execution phase, rather than just at the finish line. Read more to learn 'Best Practices' in coming out of your Reviews with a 5 Star Rating!  

Invaluable advice for anyone that ever plans on interviewing for a job. Honing your interviewing skills, so you can be confident that you will always get the offer, is something to be learned sooner, rather than later. Read more to learn the 3 easy things that if implemented, will consistently put you at the head of the pack.    

Cardinal rule # 1...NEVER put anything in an e-mail, that can at any point in the future  be referred to as 'Exhibit A".  Read more to learn of 5 more important rules to keep in mind when utilizing e-mail to communicate. 

I recently read that in any given sales team, only 20% will take advantage of free training that is offered after-hours. Can you guess where that 20% falls in terms of sales performance ranking within the team? You guessed it. The TOP 20% of any given sales team will typically be the people that take advantage of additional sales training. How telling is that in terms of the traits of those that are constantly pushing themselves to improve?  

Have you ever tried to help someone, only to have them immediately become defensive?

How frustrating is it to take your valuable time to try to help someone, only to be told that they have been doing something X number of years, and have always been successful?

We can ALL always stand to gain added skills to our abilities, and when someone takes the time to give you a suggestion, are you open to it, or immediately shut down? 

Being COACHABLE is a trait of someone that will continually improve their skill set, and rise above the competition.

When hiring managers, it pays to look for someone that is open to learning and improving, rather than being a brick wall that 'knows it all'.   

Read on to learn the 8 habits of coachable leaders, and how to spot them.

Are YOU coachable?