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Lessons Learned – #1

We’ve counted down the Top 10 Lessons I learned during 2015. Here’s #1:

Gift Giving – The true spirit of the holidays comes from sharing with others – and there are many worthy charitable causes to support. Here is one that helps those who risked their lives to protect ours:

Remembering The 22 – Each day, 22 men and women who served in the U.S. military take their own lives due to untreated combat-related stressors and injuries. Warriors for Freedom Foundation is dedicated to supporting mental, physical and holistic services for veterans and their families through outdoor activities, scholarships, and promoting mental health and wellness awareness.

This completes a dozen years and 144 issues of Fast:Forward. I leave you with this reflection from the late inspirational author Roy L. Smith: “He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree.”

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Lessons Learned – #2

Two more remain. The #2 lesson I learned during 2015:

Clear Foresight – Two years ago in this same issue, I advised you to keep an eye on a talented youngster who might become golf’s next superstar. In 2015, that athlete far surpassed the future I envisioned – winning two Majors, becoming world number one and being named PGA Player of the Year. Of the many accolades announcers use to describe Jordan Spieth – tough competitor, incredible putter, humble person – the best I heard is the 22-year-old has an amazing ability to put the last hole behind him. That’s a skill of great business leaders, too: Let yesterday pass. Focus on the now.

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Lessons Learned – #3

We’re to the top 3 most important lessons I learned this year:

Environmental Marketing – Some creative types are encouraging clients to start advertising at people’s feet – and not just the colorful printed ones you see in grocery stores. With ‘clean graffiti,’ power washing sidewalks around a stencil removes some dirt and leaves behind an ad. Still too early to know if this approach drives major sales; however, it definitely would freshen up the front of your building.

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Lessons Learned – #4

Continuing to countdown the Top 10 Lessons I learned in 2015, here’s #4:

Interviewing Success – I keep an active Word document to share with clients questions they might want to ask potential employees – and there are more than 50 entries. Based on that Ft. McMurray interaction, the three latest additions are: “What is your experience with being coached by your boss?” “How do you react when your supervisor or a peer provides candid feedback to you?” “What is your most recent example of taking feedback and doing something with it?”

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Lessons Learned – #5

The 5th best lesson I learned this year:

Mentoring Skills – I spent so much time coaching leaders in Canada this year that my accent may have changed. On a trip to Ft. McMurray in far north Alberta, I was the last person sitting in the hotel banquet room after our group breakfast… watching the service manager work with a new employee: “Remember yesterday when I showed you how to place the salt and pepper shakers on each table? Let’s do it together right now.” That’s a tasty recipe for effective delegation: show someone how to do it; do it with her; watch her do it; let her do it. As this training unfolded, I got up to put my plate on the dirty dishes cart. The new employee rushed over and said, “Please allow me, sir. It’s my job.” That young lady is going to be a good one.