Greg Baker, on September 9, 2009
It’s been a few years now since I first heard people in companies saying things like, “I was thrown under the bus!”, “She wanted to throw him under the bus.” and “He really threw him under the bus!” When I first heard this expression I was amused as my mind turned it into a cartoon where one character was literally throwing another under a moving bus . . . Thump Thump.
Greg Baker, on February 3, 2008
Influence is constantly at work in our business lives. Personal influence is the power to affect what people think and do. It can determine how things get done, or not done, in a company. What is important to understand is that you can apply two kinds of influence – constructive or destructive – and what we choose to use will make all the difference in the quality of our personal lives, our experience at work, the performance of our companies, and the state of our world.
Greg Baker, on October 5, 2007
Last month we talked about the nature of customer focused leadership and organizations. But how do you know if you have a customer focused organization? How do you build one? This month I want to share a consultant’s secret for understanding and building customer focused organizations.
(more…)
Greg Baker, on January 5, 2007
As we discussed in last month’s article, many companies and organizations are working at developing customer focus in some fashion. Highlighting the individual level, this article discusses strategies and approaches for developing customer focused people.
To successfully implement customer focus, we have found that businesses need to focus on incorporating the customer into four areas. (more…)
Greg Baker, on October 6, 2006
For sixteen years the professionals at Advance Consulting have been teaching our clients what we know. In turn, our clients have been teaching us. Every time we deliver a workshop, coach an executive, or provide a consulting skills development program, we go to school on our clients. We study their circumstances and challenges, as well as their innovation and creativity in transforming and growing their businesses. This constant learning enriches our experience and knowledge. It gives us a unique vantage point to witness extraordinary developments in the business world. From that perspective, this article explains why the need for enhanced consulting skills is so prevalent in business today.