leadership Archives - Page 15 of 44

Stop Treating Creativity as an Option

Turning creativity into money.

That’s how I sometimes described my job as the Executive Producer of a hit comedy TV show in Seattle.

Turning creativity into money.

See, our job, week after week, was to be creative—on demand. BUT, that creativity had to lead to profit. If what we created—jokes, comedy sketches, parodies—didn’t draw an audience that advertisers would pay to reach, our creativity would have gone nowhere (and our careers would have quickly followed). But we did draw that audience, ...

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9
NOV
2016

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Communication, Creativity, Leadership, Producing Results, Sales, 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, thought leader

Are You Solving the Right Problem?

Posted by: Bill Stainton

Albert Einstein once said, “If I only had an hour to solve a problem, I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and five minutes thinking about solutions.” And while I don’t necessarily agree with Mr. Einstein about the ratio, I think his quotation does highlight a common mistake that leaders and their teams make in the creative thinking process, and it’s this:

If you jump to solutions too quickly, you may find you’re solving the wrong problem.

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2
NOV
2016

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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, thought leader

The Smartest Thing You Can Do as a Leader

Posted by: Bill Stainton

As a leader, the smartest thing I ever did was hire people better than me.

For 15 years, I was the Executive Producer of a comedy TV show in Seattle. I was also a writer and performer for the show, but my main job was being “the boss.” And as the boss, I was responsible for hiring the rest of the team.

Now, let’s understand something. When you’re on TV, there’s generally a fair amount of ego involved. I don’t ...

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26
OCT
2016

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Change, 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, thought leader

Are You Ready for the High Winds?

Posted by: Bill Stainton

Hurricane level winds.

That’s what they’re telling us here in the Pacific Northwest. As I write this, there’s a storm coming, and they’re telling us to prepare for hurricane level winds. So I prepared. I bought extra food and water. I put fresh batteries in my flashlights and smoke detectors (my power almost always goes out in high winds). I made sure I had candles. And wine. Because, you know, high winds.

Now, what if the forecasts prove wrong? What ...

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19
OCT
2016

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Change, 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, thought leader

Are You Playing “Monkey See, Monkey Do” Leadership?

Posted by: Bill Stainton

“Bill’s been to a seminar!”

I was a new leader, barely into my twenties, and the TV station I worked for had sent me to a leadership seminar. I eagerly returned to the office the next day, head and notebook brimming with ideas, recommendations, and “best practices.” In a classic mistake, I just as eagerly shared nearly all of these ideas with my staff, excitedly telling them about all the great changes we can now make.

Silence.

They all just looked ...

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12
OCT
2016

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Change, 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, thought leader

Why Coming Up With a Great Idea is Worthless

Posted by: Bill Stainton

“I hate coming up with a great sketch idea.”

That’s what Bob Nelson told me when he was one of the writers on Almost Live!, the comedy TV show that I executive produced in Seattle for 15 years. (For the record, Bob Nelson went on to earn a Best Original Screenplay Oscar nomination for the movie Nebraska.)

“I hate coming up with a great sketch idea.”

Now, why would he say something like that?

Because coming up with the idea is the fun part. ...

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5
OCT
2016

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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, thought leader

Stop Whining About “Change”!

Posted by: Bill Stainton

As I look out my office window, I see the leaves on the trees are starting to change color. Believe it or not, I’m not shocked by this. Nor am I wailing about the fact that the temperature is dropping and that dusk is coming earlier than it did a month ago.

Am I superhuman? Perhaps, but not because of this. The simple truth is that, if you’ve been alive on the planet (Earth) for more than a few ...

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28
SEP
2016

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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, thought leader

Profitable Creativity May Be Closer Than You Think!

Posted by: Bill Stainton

Would you like to find a creative solution to your current challenge du jour? It may be as close as the morning newspaper. (Note to younger readers: the “morning newspaper” used to be an actual thing. It was truly a marvelous invention. It appeared magically on your doorstep, required no scrolling, and never needed to be recharged.)

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21
SEP
2016

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Communication, Creativity, Leadership, Producing Results, Sales

attitude, award winning performance, Bill Stainton, business communication, business integrity, business speaker, 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, thought leader

What’s Going to Move Your Needle?

Posted by: Bill Stainton

Options, options, too many options!

Don’t you feel like that sometimes?

· Which of these hundred mayonnaises should I buy?

· Which of these hundred TV series should I Netflix?

· Which of these hundred Kardashians should I ignore?

For those of us fortunate enough to live in the developed world, we’re faced with a mind-boggling number of options every day. But, for the moment, let’s leave mayonnaise, Netflix, and the Kardashians out of it.

Let’s just focus on business.

Whether you’re a solopreneur, a ...

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14
SEP
2016

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Change, Communication, Creativity, Leadership, Producing Results

attitude, award winning performance, Bill Stainton, business communication, business integrity, business speaker, 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, team building, teambuilding, teamwork, thought leader

How Are You Filling Your Idea Pipeline?

Posted by: Bill Stainton

I’ve just been reading a terrific new book called High-Profit Prospecting by my friend and colleague Mark Hunter. Mark is a consummate sales professional, and his book is about how to keep your sales pipeline full so that you never run out of valuable prospects.

I’m not a sales professional, but I am an idea professional. And, just like I think it’s vital for people in the sales business to keep their sales pipelines full, I think it’s ...

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7
SEP
2016

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

attitude, award winning performance, Bill Stainton, business communication, business integrity, business speaker, 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, team building, teambuilding, teamwork, thought leader