Bill Stainton, Author at Connect the Dots

How a Different Perspective Can Make You a Better Leader

I spent several hours yesterday helping a colleague (whom I’ll call Poppy, because it’s fun) rewrite her website. She was concerned—rightly so—that her site was too wordy, didn’t really capture who she was, and just plain didn’t pop. (This is especially important when you’re named Poppy. Which she is not. But, for the purposes of this article, she is. So there.) So we spent several hours rewriting, revamping, and revising—after which we had a delightful Italian dinner.

Now, I’m not a ...

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29
MAR
2017

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Leadership, Producing Results

attitude, Bill Stainton, business communication, change, communication, communication skills, creative ideas, goal setting, goals, innovation, innovative thinking, keynote speaker, leadership speaker, leadership training, making decisions, motivational speaker, producing results, productivity, professional speaker, running a business, running your business, sales, small business, small business success, success, team building, teambuilding, teams, teamwork, thought leader, work ethic

How Bruce Springsteen Can Make You a Better Boss

Posted by: Bill Stainton

There’s nothing quite like seeing a world-class team operating at the highest level, is there? For example, let’s take Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. The video below shows Bruce (“The Boss”) and his team working out an audience-requested song—not one of Bruce’s—live, in front of 45,000 people. Watch the entire video (it’s about 8 minutes—and turn it up as loud as you can!), and then read on for my thoughts on how what “The Boss” does with his ...

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22
MAR
2017

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Leadership, Producing Results, Teams, Videos

attitude, award winning performance, Bill Stainton, business communication, change, communication, communication skills, competition, creative ideas, creativity, exceeding expectations, innovation, innovative thinking, leadership speaker, leading through change, motivational speaker, professional speaker, running your business, small business, small business success, success, team building, teambuilding, teams, teamwork, thought leader, work ethic

TED Talk Secrets That Will Make You a Superior Leader

Posted by: Bill Stainton

A little over a week ago, I was on a stage in Vancouver, BC, giving a TEDx talk about creativity to 2,700 people. The video will soon be available online, where it could be seen by (fingers crossed!) millions.

The road to a TEDx talk—whether it’s seen by millions or just dozens—is a long one. At this point, of course, I don’t know whether my talk will hit millions of views, dozens, or somewhere in between. But I do know two ...

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15
MAR
2017

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Change, Creativity, Leadership, Producing Results

attitude, award winning performance, Bill Stainton, business communication, business integrity, business speaker, change, communication, communication skills, creative ideas, creativity, exceeding expectations, goal setting, goals, innovation, innovative thinking, keynote speaker, leadership, leadership speaker, leadership training, motivational speaker, producing results, productivity, professional speaker, small business success, success, teambuilding, teams, teamwork, thought leader

Where to Find the Idea That Will Make You Rich

Posted by: Bill Stainton

I can’t tell you what your next million-dollar idea will be—but I can tell you, with near 100% certainty, where you’re going to find it. And it probably won’t be where you think.

In order to understand this, you have to understand what creativity is—and what it isn’t. Because **your next million-dollar idea will be, by definition, a creative idea**. And creativity, contrary to popular belief, doesn’t come from nowhere.

Creativity is not the “lightning bolt” that comes out of the blue. ...

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1
MAR
2017

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Change, Creativity, Leadership, Producing Results

attitude, award winning performance, Bill Stainton, business communication, business integrity, business speaker, change, communication, communication skills, creative ideas, creativity, exceeding expectations, goal setting, goals, innovation, innovative thinking, keynote speaker, leadership, leadership speaker, leadership training, motivational speaker, producing results, productivity, professional speaker, small business success, success, teambuilding, teams, teamwork, thought leader

How To Be a Terrible Leader

Posted by: Bill Stainton

You’ve probably watched a TED Talk video or two (or ten) at some point over the past several years. But have you ever been to a TED/TEDx event in person? It turns out there’s a huge—and important—difference between watching one or two TED videos and being immersed in a dozen or so TED Talks over the course of a single day.

In just under two weeks, I’ll be standing on stage at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver BC as the ...

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22
FEB
2017

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Change, Leadership, Producing Results, Teams, Work Ethic

attitude, award winning performance, Bill Stainton, business communication, business integrity, business speaker, change, communication, communication skills, creative ideas, creativity, exceeding expectations, goal setting, goals, innovation, innovative thinking, keynote speaker, leadership, leadership speaker, leadership training, motivational speaker, producing results, productivity, professional speaker, small business success, success, teambuilding, teams, teamwork, thought leader

The #1 Skill to Improve for Better Leadership Results

Posted by: Bill Stainton

I recently sent out a survey to over 600 leaders, asking them one question:

In thinking about your leadership, what would you most like to change/improve this year?

As you can imagine, the responses ranged widely, from “organize myself to be more productive” to “I’m retiring and want to leave my company in better shape than it was when I took over.” These are, of course, valid and important concerns. But one area of leadership garnered the biggest response. In fact, a ...

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15
FEB
2017

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Communication, Leadership, Producing Results, Teams

attitude, award winning performance, Bill Stainton, business communication, business integrity, business speaker, change, communication, communication skills, creative ideas, creativity, exceeding expectations, goal setting, goals, innovation, innovative thinking, keynote speaker, leadership, leadership speaker, leadership training, motivational speaker, producing results, productivity, professional speaker, small business success, success, teambuilding, teams, teamwork, thought leader

How to Tell If Your Leader Is a Risky Pilot

Posted by: Bill Stainton

This morning I discovered that the hard drive on my Mac was completely full. Zero empty space. I discovered this when I tried to check my email, and I couldn’t even download one message. I had about 50 gigabytes free a week ago, and haven’t downloaded anything. I have no idea why the drive is filling up.

This is not a good situation.

So I deleted several gigabytes worth of stuff and called a guy, who is currently booked through the end ...

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8
FEB
2017

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Communication, Leadership, Producing Results, Teams

attitude, award winning performance, Bill Stainton, business communication, business integrity, business speaker, change, communication, communication skills, creative ideas, creativity, exceeding expectations, goal setting, goals, innovation, innovative thinking, keynote speaker, leadership, leadership speaker, leadership training, motivational speaker, producing results, productivity, professional speaker, small business success, success, teambuilding, teams, teamwork, thought leader

How to Make Your Team Members Feel Like Crap

Posted by: Bill Stainton

Here’s the scene: You’re at a party, or a conference, or a meeting—somewhere with a lot of people around. You see someone whom you’d like to talk to, so you walk over and start a conversation. And after a few seconds, they begin The Scan. You know what I’m talking about, right? It’s the moment when they break eye contact and start surveying the room, looking for someone better to talk to.

Feels pretty crappy, doesn’t it?

So why are you doing ...

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1
FEB
2017

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Communication, Customer Service, Leadership, Producing Results, Teams, Work Ethic

attitude, award winning performance, Bill Stainton, business communication, business integrity, business speaker, change, communication, communication skills, creative ideas, creativity, exceeding expectations, goal setting, goals, innovation, innovative thinking, keynote speaker, leadership, leadership speaker, leadership training, motivational speaker, producing results, productivity, professional speaker, small business success, success, teambuilding, teams, teamwork, thought leader

One Simple Equation That Will Help You Achieve Remarkable Results

Posted by: Bill Stainton

Like many of you, I hold a planning retreat for my business at the beginning of each year. (I also do a smaller one at the beginning of each month, which is a practice that I strongly recommend.) My annual retreat was this past weekend, and in looking over what I accomplished last year, something that I already knew about myself was strongly reinforced:

When I have a clear goal, set my mind to it, and combine these two things ...

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25
JAN
2017

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Change, Communication, Leadership, Producing Results, Work Ethic

attitude, award winning performance, Bill Stainton, business communication, business integrity, business speaker, change, communication, communication skills, creative ideas, creativity, exceeding expectations, goal setting, goals, innovation, innovative thinking, keynote speaker, leadership, leadership speaker, leadership training, motivational speaker, producing results, productivity, professional speaker, small business success, success, teambuilding, teams, teamwork, thought leader

The One Thing Better Than Good Intentions

Posted by: Bill Stainton

I was talking to a colleague earlier this week. Like me, she runs her own business. She told me that one of her “beginning-of-the-year” practices is to sit down in a quiet place, with a cup of coffee and a pad of paper, and write down her intentions for the new year. She sets intentions in several areas of her business: income, number of clients, marketing strategies, and others.

Sounds good, right? Making intentions, and setting them down on ...

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18
JAN
2017

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Change, Communication, Leadership, Producing Results, Teams, The Beatles, Work Ethic

attitude, award winning performance, Bill Stainton, business communication, business integrity, business speaker, change, communication, communication skills, creative ideas, creativity, exceeding expectations, goal setting, goals, innovation, innovative thinking, keynote speaker, leadership, leadership speaker, leadership training, motivational speaker, producing results, productivity, professional speaker, small business success, success, teambuilding, teams, teamwork, thought leader

In order to understand this, you have to understand what creativity is—and what it isn’t. Because your next million-dollar idea will be, by definition, a creative idea. And creativity, contrary to popular belief, doesn’t come from nowhere.

When I have a clear goal, set my mind to it, and combine these two things ...

In order to understand this, you have to understand what creativity is—and what it isn’t. Because **your next million-dollar idea will be, by definition, a creative idea**. And creativity, contrary to popular belief, doesn’t come from nowhere.