productivity Archives - Page 14 of 17

Great Teams Focus on the Mission, Not the Squabbles

This weekend I was lucky enough to have VIP seats to see a performance by the U.S. Navy’s precision flight demonstration team, the Blue Angels. They are, by any standard, an incredible team. They fly 18 inches apart at 400 miles per hour, while simultaneously doing coordinated turns and maneuvers — all of this in a plane that costs $56 million. And if you don’t think that’s a big deal, think about how mad you were when you got that ...

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11
AUG
2016

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Communication, Leadership, Producing Results, Teams, Work Ethic

attitude, award winning performance, Bill Stainton, business communication, business integrity, business speaker, creative ideas, creativity, exceeding expectations, goal setting, goals, keynote speaker, leadership, leadership speaker, leadership training, motivational speaker, producing results, productivity, professional speaker, team building, teambuilding, teams, teamwork, thought leader

3 Ways to Practice Intentional Creativity

Posted by: Bill Stainton

According to Fast Company, creativity is now the most important leadership quality for success in business. Why is it, then, that so few leaders do little (or nothing) to make creative thinking a conscious part of their personal development?

In short, why do so few leaders practice intentional creativity?

When I was producing my multiple Emmy® Award ...

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3
AUG
2016

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Creativity, Leadership, Producing Results

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

Will They Be Sorry To See You Leave?

Posted by: Bill Stainton

“Some people brighten a room when they enter it; others when they leave.”

You’ve probably heard this quotation or some variation of it. I have no idea who said it originally, but it certainly is true. I’m sure you know people on both sides of the semicolon. Today I’d like you to consider a slight variation, this one mine:

“Some leaders brighten a workplace when they enter it; others when they leave.”

The question, of course, is: which ...

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27
JUL
2016

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Creativity, Leadership, Producing Results, Work Ethic

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

Why Your Workplace Needs to Be a Classroom

Posted by: Bill Stainton

I’ve written quite a bit about how and why leaders need to be continuous learners. I believe that, as a leader, if you’re not continuously — and intentionally — learning, then you’re not really a leader.

I mean, c’mon — would a real leader ever think, “Well, that’s it. I’ve learned everything I need to. My brain is full, so I’m done.” Outside of Congress, that is.

But let’s leave aside for a moment the question of whether ...

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20
JUL
2016

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Creativity, Leadership, Producing Results

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

An Open Letter to Would-Be Leaders

Posted by: Bill Stainton

Leadership doesn’t begin when you get the job.

Whether you aspire to lead a department, a sports team, a company, or a country, if you think that leadership begins once you get the job, you’ve got the equation backwards.

“Put me in charge, and I’ll show you what real leadership is!”

Nope. Show me what real leadership is, and maybe I’ll put you in charge. Show me that I can trust you with my department, my sports team, my company, my country. Don’t ...

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13
JUL
2016

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Creativity, Leadership, Producing Results

award winning performance, Bill Stainton, creative ideas, creativity, exceeding expectations, innovation, keynote speaker, leadership, leadership speaker, leadership training, producing results, productivity, professional speaker, thought leader

10 Books to Boost Your Creativity

Posted by: Bill Stainton

Last week I posed the question, “What Are You Reading?” In case your answer was, “Nuthin’,” I wanted to — as a public service — both give you some ideas on where to start and spur your creativity at the same time! By the way, I was going to call this article My 10 Favorite Books About Creativity, but I realized that I’ve got about 25 that belong in my Top 10. So you see, the math doesn’t work ...

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6
JUL
2016

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Creativity, Producing Results

award winning performance, Bill Stainton, creative ideas, creativity, exceeding expectations, innovation, keynote speaker, leadership, leadership speaker, leadership training, producing results, productivity, professional speaker, thought leader

What Are You Reading?

Posted by: Bill Stainton

Quick quiz: What do all of the following people have in common?

Bill Gates
Warren Buffett
Mark Zuckerberg
Elon Musk
Mark Cuban
Oprah Winfrey

Here are some possible answers:

They’re all financially set for life, as long as they die before their 25,732^nd birthday (although Bill Gates could probably make it another 250,000 years if he budgeted).
They’re all wicked smart.
They all like coffee ice cream. [Full disclosure: I don’t know if this last one is correct. And anyway, I said these were possible answers, not necessarily accurate]

But here’s ...

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29
JUN
2016

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Communication, Leadership, Producing Results

attitude, award winning performance, Beatles, Bill Stainton, business communication, business speaker, communication, communication skills, creative ideas, creativity, customer service, diversity, exceeding expectations, innovation, innovative thinking, keynote speaker, leadership, leadership speaker, leadership training, motivational speaker, producing results, productivity, professional speaker, success, team building, teambuilding, teams, teamwork

The Question You Need to Start Your Day With

Posted by: Bill Stainton

Does this scene sound familiar?

It’s the end of the day, and you’re sitting at your desk. As you shuffle some papers around for the hundredth time, you think to yourself, “Well, I got pretty much nothing done today. Eight hours of wasted time that I’ll never get back.”

You’ve had days like this, right? I know I have. And honestly, they feel pretty crappy. Or rather, I feel pretty crappy when I have a day like that. But mostly I feel ...

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22
JUN
2016

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Communication, Leadership, Producing Results

attitude, award winning performance, Beatles, Bill Stainton, business communication, business speaker, communication, communication skills, creative ideas, creativity, customer service, diversity, exceeding expectations, innovation, innovative thinking, keynote speaker, leadership, leadership speaker, leadership training, motivational speaker, producing results, productivity, professional speaker, success, team building, teambuilding, teams, teamwork

Learning Leadership from a Bad Boss

Posted by: Bill Stainton

Most of us have experienced bad bosses at some time in our lives. Maybe you’ve had one in the past; maybe you have one now. Maybe you were one in the past; maybe you are one now. So, for most of us, the question isn’t if we’ll run into one of these disagreeable creatures, but when.

But there’s a better question regarding bad bosses, and it’s this:

What can you learn from them?

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16
JUN
2016

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Communication, Leadership, Producing Results

attitude, award winning performance, Beatles, Bill Stainton, business communication, business speaker, communication, communication skills, creative ideas, creativity, customer service, diversity, exceeding expectations, innovation, innovative thinking, keynote speaker, leadership, leadership speaker, leadership training, motivational speaker, producing results, productivity, professional speaker, success, team building, teambuilding, teams, teamwork

How Simple Is Your Vision? Great! Now Make It Simpler!

Posted by: Bill Stainton

The leader is frustrated. “I don’t know why I’m having such trouble getting the team to buy-in to the company vision! It couldn’t be simpler!”

Then he shows me the company vision. It’s five paragraphs long. It contains sentences like, “To enhance the long-term value of the investment dollars entrusted to us by our shareholders,” and “To consistently strive to improve efficiency and productivity through learning, sharing, and implementing best practices.” It reeks of having been written by a committee—a committee ...

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8
JUN
2016

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Communication, Creativity, Producing Results

attitude, award winning performance, Beatles, Bill Stainton, business communication, business speaker, communication, communication skills, creative ideas, creativity, customer service, diversity, exceeding expectations, innovation, innovative thinking, keynote speaker, leadership, leadership speaker, leadership training, motivational speaker, producing results, productivity, professional speaker, success, team building, teambuilding, teams, teamwork