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By: Kathy Kent Toney, CEO & Founder of Kent Business Solutions  Image by moise theodor on Pixabay In today's fast-paced business landscape, leaders are juggling so many tasks that they often find little time to develop their leadership skills. To help those in this boat, here are ten leadership quotes to provide a quick dose of inspiration on your journey to becoming a better leader. # # # Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others. — Jack Welch A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves. — Lao Tzu Where there is no vision, the people perish. -- Proverbs 29:18 You manage things; you lead people. — Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper A leader is a dealer in hope. — Napoleon Bonaparte Leadership is lifting a person's vision to high sights, the raising of a person's performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations. — Peter Drucker The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it. -- Theodore Roosevelt A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don't necessarily want to go, but ought to be. — Rosalynn Carter He who has never learned to obey cannot be a good commander. -- Aristotle A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way. -- John Maxwell # # # This last quote is powerful. Leaders who know where they are going and take those who follow them on their journey can experience higher levels of success than those who don't. Unfortunately, many leaders don't know how to lead effectively, and their companies suffer because of their inability to adapt, grow, and thrive during challenging times. That's why Michael Cantu and I wrote our best-selling Amazon book, No-Nonsense Digital Transformation—to help business leaders who fall into both categories. And it's about more than just how to digitally transform organizations. In it, we talk extensively about how to shift mindset, change culture, and build great teams. Business leaders who instill these qualities in their organizations have a greater capacity to build stronger foundations, leading to increased productivity and profitability. In a nutshell, we've created a roadmap to effectively manage change in your business. So, the book is for more than just digital transformation fans! To learn more about the book, click the button below!
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By: Kathy Kent Toney, CEO & Founder of Kent Business Solutions  Image by rawpixel on Freepik Many of us have experienced the unfortunate situation where we have let down a client or colleague by not delivering as promised. Ugh, it’s certainly not a great feeling, especially if you lost their trust or their business. There is a better way! You can help prevent similar situations from occurring again by doing two things. I’m sure you’ve heard these “two things” many times before, but I know for me, I like to listen to things repeatedly to remind me of their importance. Here they are: Under-Promise and Over-Deliver There are a couple of ways to go about this: 1. Deliver More than What's Expected Here’s a good example: I worked with a local manufacturer to develop a Voice of the Customer process for product development purposes. We had developed the process and realized that automating it would be optimal. At the time, we hadn’t planned on doing this. The CEO asked me to look for process automation platforms that would work for our application. When we investigated the currently available platforms, there were no cost-effective options. My client wrote off the idea; however, I saw how important this was to them, so I told them I’d try to create a semi-automated one. For a very reasonable price, I created a PDF process map with links that sent them to whatever documents or systems they needed in the process so that they’d have everything they needed right there at their fingertips. The CEO was so thrilled with the result! It wasn’t anything they expected, and that made me very happy as well! 2. Deliver Earlier than What's Expected This idea is self-explanatory, but here’s another example: Whenever I’m buying something on eBay, I’m always thrilled when it’s something I needed yesterday, and I get it much sooner than promised. If you can do this with your clients, they’ll most likely love that as well! 3. Deliver More and Earlier Than What's Expected Who doesn’t like getting something beyond what they expect before they expect it? Providing both aspects with your deliveries, especially regularly, will help drive customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. So, in the end, the philosophy of under-promising and over-delivering your products and services to customers can reap enormous dividends for your company. And who doesn’t want that? # # # One topic that many of us have been hearing a lot about lately is the Metaverse. Are you curious to know how it will impact your business? Well, you are in luck! I interviewed Tony Moroney on this topic for my Elevate Your Profitability podcast. He is with the Digital Transformation Lab at Cork University in Ireland. I'd love for you to check it out! By: Kathy Kent Toney, CEO & Founder of Kent Business Solutions  Image by creativeart on Freepik Don't you love those conversations with friends that help create connections between nebulous thoughts that swirl around in your brain and succinctly summarize their meaning? Well, I had one of those conversations a while back. This friend of mine said one thing that has stuck with me. She put words to my life's mission into one sentence: Kathy, you're all about helping people become the best versions of themselves. Wow, she hit the nail on the head. I really couldn't say it better myself! As a certified life coach, I love to help people step into all the good life has in store. I'm also involved in prison ministry. As a worship leader, I can lead the inmate band at our monthly worship services. The men we work with appreciate what we do for them. Knowing I make a difference in people's lives makes my heart sing! So, why am I sharing this with you? Well, it translates well into my passion for work. I'm all about helping businesses become the best that they can be! The primary way I do that is through business transformation. Streamlining operations or undertaking projects to improve your business can result in a healthier bottom line. And that leads to the tagline for my business: I help organizations become profitable beyond their imagination! I do this through the following approaches:
The one service offering I'm most excited about is project management. I use my project management skills to run all kinds of initiatives: process improvement, IT, product development, and customer experience, to name a few. And I've experienced some great results! Scrum Project:
Voice of the Customer:
Sales Process:
For all these reasons listed above, I'm passionate about what I do—helping businesses become the best that they can be! So, that's enough about me. I'd love to find out more about what you do! Are you facing any challenges in your business? I'd love to hop on a Zoom or phone call to brainstorm some solutions with you—for free! If that sounds good, click the button below to schedule a time for us to talk. By: Kathy Kent Toney, CEO & Founder of Kent Business Solutions  Image by jcomp on Freepik I love the word "savvy." You hear it sparingly; however, it's a must-have quality for all business leaders. And when you hear the the definition, I think you would agree! It means "shrewdness and practical knowledge; the ability to make good judgments." You combine that with "leadership," and that's a winning combo. So, what does it take to increase your leadership savviness? Here are five steps for raising your quotient: 1. Read, Read, Read We've all heard how important it is for business leaders to read regularly. Business icons like Mark Cuban read three hours a day, and Warren Buffet reads 500 pages per day! There are always audiobooks, YouTube, and even online classes you can take for those who don't like to read. The point is this: it keeps important concepts top of mind. Not only that but here are a few other benefits:
And don't we all need less stress in our lives? 2. Listen and Observe Intently Become a student of leaders you admire through critical listening and observation. Doing so can teach you a wealth of information. This approach works well with excellent leaders you admire and with whom you're acquainted. Even informal conversations with them can give you nuggets of wisdom you can use in your everyday work lives. Also, observing how they lead can give you ideas of ways to emulate them. 3. Learn from Your Mistakes Many wannabe leaders hate making mistakes and don't take risks, limiting their ability to step into more responsible roles. On the other hand, great leaders know that making mistakes and learning from them is part of the process. It's a part of their development course, though certainly, not intentionally. I advise you: don't be afraid of making mistakes! Most managers are tolerant and understanding when you do, especially if you let them know you want to grow in taking risks. 4. Work with Mentors Great leaders became that way through mentors passing on their knowledge to them. I say "mentors" because having more than one is better than just one! If you don't have any, start asking leaders you admire to mentor you, even if you think they might be too busy. You may be pleasantly surprised when they say "yes"! 5. Practice What You've Learned Put into action all that you've learned. If you're working with a mentor, develop an action plan and review progress during your follow-on meetings. Continually update your plan based on achieving your goals and new areas you want to grow. And stick to it. Growing into a great leader requires due diligence and intentional effort. These are just a few steps to increase your leadership savviness. The key is to be open to learning from everyday experiences and from leaders you admire. # # # Speaking of leadership, I have a weekly LinkedIn newsletter called Leading Well. It's chock full of leadership tips and even an occasional piece on Digital Transformation. If you still need to become a subscriber, here's your opportunity to do that now! Click the button below to get started. |
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