Lawrence Fine

People frequently think of managers and leaders as being the same. We assume if someone is a manager they must also be a leader or if someone is a leader they must also be a manager. In some cases people are both but in many they are completely separate

A manager organizes, plans, strategizes, staffs etc. A leader does

A manager tells others what to do. A manager trains others. A manager schedules others. A manager delegates to others. A manager tries to reduce risk.

A leader initiates. A leader is the first in line. A leader puts his life/career on the line every day.

If we think of it from a military standpoint, the manager is behind the troops giving the orders. The leader is out front heading the charge.

It’s not a case of managers being better than leaders or leaders being better than managers but it’s important to know the difference and to not assume just because a person is one that they are automatically the other.

Just something to think about.

Have a great day!

Lawrence

Tags: Uncategorized by Lawrence Fine
No Comments »

When you send an email think whether you would want what you sent in the middle of Times Square.

Too often we send an email thinking it’s only going to be read by the intended recipient. The thing to remember is once you hit “send” it’s completely out of your control. The recipient can forward it to whomever they choose.

For this reason, don’t send anything in an email that you wouldn’t be willing to have on a billboard in the middle of Times Square.

Just something to think about.

Have a great day!

Lawrence

Tags: Uncategorized by Lawrence Fine
No Comments »

When a person or organization hits rock bottom they can either change/improve or die. Change will happen either way. Hopefully it’s for the better.

When a person or organization hits the middle (on the way down) it’s too easy to try to hang onto what you had and milk it for all it’s worth. Unfortunately, this is just another step on the down.

If you are hitting the middle, be willing to make a dramatic change to reverse the trend and work your way toward the top. It might result in a quicker trip down but it gives you the potential to get up to the top.

Sometimes people need to hit rock bottom before they can even try to work their way up. Others are fortunate to be willing to try to change directions midstream.

Just something to think about.

Have a great day!

Lawrence

Tags: Uncategorized by Lawrence Fine
No Comments »

The other day I wrote about people not knowing what they can have. When people aren’t aware of their options it’s important to educate them while trying to sell them.

The flip side is if a person knows exactly what they want, if you try to sell them something else (either what you THINK they want or what you want them to want) you might lose them completely.

Yesterday I met with a salesperson and even though I told him exactly what I wanted he was convinced he could upsell me on something else. The result…I am going to buy exactly what I want…from someone else.

Be willing to educate others so they know their options but if they then know exactly what they want, do what you can to provide that for them. Otherwise, you might end up with nothing.

Have a great day!

Lawrence

Tags: Uncategorized by Lawrence Fine
No Comments »

Good ideas with bad people will fail every time.

Bad ideas with bad people will fail every time.

Bad ideas with good people will usually fail (but occasionally will work.

Good ideas with good people will usually work.

A good idea is nice but make sure you are partnering with good people. It makes all the difference in the world.

Have a great day!

Lawrence

Tags: Uncategorized by Lawrence Fine
No Comments »

If people are talking about a subject you know nothing about, just shut up.

Too often people try to impress by talking about things they know nothing about. All they do is prove they know nothing about the subject (which is fine) and that they aren’t smart enough to acknowledge they know nothing about the subject.

Be informed about the topics you know things about and be willing to admit you know nothing about the other subjects. It’s NOT a sign of weakness!

Have a great day!

Lawrence

Tags: Uncategorized by Lawrence Fine
No Comments »

People don’t always know what they can have

A client wants a website. They think they want a site the equivalent of a brochure but then find out they can have a content management system which would allow them to update their content whenever they want. Then they find out it’s easy to add an online store so they can sell their products. Next they find an inventory management system can be added to their backend to keep track of their products.

They started wanting a simple site but ended up getting much more because they eventually found out what they could have.

It’s not about selling people something they don’t want or need but rather let them know what is available to them and how it can help them.

Asking questions and providing information can be extremely valuable to all concerned. Think about how it can be applied to your industry or business

Have a great day!

Lawrence

Tags: Uncategorized by Lawrence Fine
No Comments »

It’s easy to be content, simply set the bar low.

If your goals are extremely easy to achieve you will be content.

Do you really want to be content?

Raise the bar and challenge yourself.

Just something to think about.

Have a great day!

Lawrence

Tags: Uncategorized by Lawrence Fine
No Comments »

How many times have you seen a mistake made only to have it explained away as “my assistant was in charge of that and she really screwed it up” or something to that affect?

This is frequently the persons attempt at passing the blame in order to make themselves look better. If they can place the blame elsewhere it must not be their fault.

There are a couple of problems with this type of action. First, if you are in charge then you have to take responsibility. Too often, we are willing to take the credit for the work of others (with the logic being they are doing what I taught them) but we aren’t willing to take the blame (again, they are doing what I taught them). Second, how do you expect to build trust from these people if they know you are going to place the blame on them in order to make themselves look good?

Frequently, when I see a leader willing to take responsibility for their own mistakes and for the mistakes of the people underneath them, the other people will work even harder to support the leader whenever possible. When I see a leader placing blame elsewhere, the others typically end up doing the same as well.

Take responsibility whenever possible and others will usually be there to support you. Place blame on others and they will frequently look to do the same to you.

Just something to think about

Have a great day!

Lawrence

Tags: Uncategorized by Lawrence Fine
No Comments »

You meet with a prospective client (or employer) and feel it went very well. You expect them to call or email to follow up…but you hear nothing from them.

Why not call them? Worse case scenario is you find out they aren’t interested in working with you (which means you simply received confirmation of a decision that had already been made). While it might hurt to hear the “no”, your calling didn’t affect anything at all.

Best case scenario is they now realize how interested you are in working with them and agree to hire you on.

Too often we are afraid to make the call and end up waiting to hear from someone who might never call or, who might want to call but have forgotten.

As long as you don’t call too quickly or too often and become a nuisance, you can only help yourself by calling to get a status update etc.

When in doubt, why not call?

Have a great day!

Lawrence

Tags: Uncategorized by Lawrence Fine
No Comments »