BLArticle®
The personal touch of a blog; the informative touch of an article.
Ten Listening Habits To Avoid
I’d like to start this week’s BLArticle™ with a small confession. I’m about to try and teach you a thing or two about being a better listener. If I told you that I was a wonderful listener, my wife Ronni’s eyes would be rolling and my nose would be growing. Franklin...
A Two-Word Response To Pressure
I was on the phone with a loyal BLArticle™ reader from Atlanta, and we started talking about that word I don’t like hearing very often; “nervousness.” I’ve already been over my views of eradicating that word from the Dictionary altogether and replacing it with the...
Sticking Your Neck Out
I’d like to debut a new feature to our weekly BLArticle™ conversations. From time to time, I would like to introduce you to others who are remarkable. I would like to tell you their story, and not mine. Meet Brian Jolles. Yes, I am related to Brian Jolles; He is one...
Be Careful What You Don’t Wish For!
If I had a nickel for every time someone spouted out the phrase, “we all sell,” I’d have enough nickels to pay for Redskin parking. Trust me, that’s a lot of nickels! Yes, it’s true that we all sell, and for people who sell for a living, I might be preaching to the...
Finding Your Niche
This past week I went hunting for a flip-flop sandal, and a BlArticle™ appeared out of thin air. Don’t think for a second you are entering into a “fluff piece.” Through this harmless search, I ended up finding a critical business lesson. Let me bring you up to speed...
Can You Really Hear A Smile?
I’ll bet you’ve heard that phrase before, but is it true? Can you really hear a smile? As a guy who preaches to be “in the moment” when communicating with others, I sure hope so. However, I have an idea; let’s prove it. All you need to participate in this experiment...
A Timely Reminder
Warning: Having a lunch with Rob can be hazardous or perhaps to be more accurate, it can make you a living transition to a weekly BlArticle™; and so our story begins… The other day I met a friend for lunch at a designated time and place. I had planned a very busy day,...
The Words AND the Tune
I was working with a client this week in Denver, and I was reminded of a very important lesson. You see, I’m a guy who understands the importance of words. I teach people how to create trust by using the correct words. I teach people how to create urgency by using the...
The Greatest Management Lesson Never Taught
I was talking to a friend this week, and he was telling me about a struggle he was having with his manager. From the stories I was hearing, it seemed that this manager was a nice enough person. Unfortunately, it also sounded like this individual just wasn’t cut out to...
Turning to the Positive
Last week’s BlArticle™ about worry received more comments than any other I’ve ever written, so let’s stay on this topic for one more week. There were a lot of takes on how different people deal with worry, but there is one comment that really stuck in my mind:...
Me Worry? Never!
This week I received an unusually high number of calls from clients who, for the lack of a better word, are worried. They are worried about the market. They are worried about the economy. They are worried about their budgets. They are worried about the companies they...
Maui and Toledo: Similar Places?
Last week I had a keynote in a beautiful hotel, in an unusual location. The hotel was the Four Seasons, and the location was Maui. Before you say; “Oh… how lucky for Rob,” pause for a moment. When you are putting almost 24 hours in the air, pushing...
Fear The BlArticle™!
Have you ever had a good idea that you couldn’t get out of your head? Of course you have. Here comes the big question: What did you do about it? If you are like most people, you procrastinated. You told yourself it wouldn’t work, and conveniently forgot about...
Lessons in Alliances
I’ve never been a fan of reality shows, or as I call them, “bad actors acting badly,” but oddly enough, I’ve always been a fan of the first one ever produced. Although some seasons are better than others, my allegiance has never waivered. I’m talking about the social...
The Only Thing We Have To Fear Is… The Fear of Change
For over twenty-five years I have asked audiences a simple question, “What is your biggest fear?” The question is asked not to depress my audiences, or to place a dark cloud over the session I am about to conduct, but rather to expose these fears, and ultimately...
Part of it, and Proud of it
I had the pleasure of working with two salespeople this week, and I respect them both immensely. At one point, our conversation moved to why salespeople are so nervous about being called salespeople. That concept has always been puzzling to me: My father was an...
Want to Motivate Others? It Comes Down to Consequence or Value
How many times have you thought to yourself, “If I could just reach in and motivate that person things would be a lot easier.” This is your lucky week because in this short blog, I think I can provide you with some awfully useful information that will start you...
The Corporate Family… and other Myths
Over 25 years ears ago, when I worked at Xerox, I remember being a part of something that was very special. People who worked for Xerox seemed to work there for a long time and had no plans of leaving, nor did the corporation have any plans of asking them to leave. ...
One Foot in Front of the Other
Each week I try to share with you an idea or thought that I think might be of value to you. That’s part of my job. Just like you, some days on the job are better than others. Some days are so beautiful that we can’t help but smile, and think to ourselves how lucky...
Wanting it too Badly
This week I completed a seminar that was pretty damn good. My client was happy, and I should have been too, but I wasn’t. I wanted more. For some rather personal reasons, I wanted to put on one of the greatest seminars I had ever conducted. I...
“Rob is an expert not only in the art of influence,
but also in human nature.”
~Ken Blanchard,
coauthor of The One Minute Manager® and Trust Works!