February already? It feels like the year just started!

If you are traveling and pass by an airport bookstore, you may see The Growth Leader on display. It's featured as a bestseller from LAX to LGA to ORD and everywhere in between. You travelers will understand the codes above. If you happen to see it, please take a picture and post it on LinkedIn and "tag" me in the photo.

Individual Leadership: Email Won’t Inspire People

Communicating powerfully is a vital skill for leaders. Unfortunately, too much communication is done via email. Make a conscious effort to spend less time on email if you want to inspire and motivate your team. Few people have been inspired by an email, although a note of recognition may be the exception. But when you’re offering praise for a job well done, wouldn’t a quick phone call or in-person comment mean so much more? Email is efficient for coordination, file sharing, a quick idea. But it’s terrible for any kind of discussion, strategic decisions, improving performance, or creative efforts. When composing an email, ask yourself: is this the right medium for this message? Make a concerted effort to use it less!

Organization Leadership: Living Organizational Values

Are your corporate values merely art that hangs on the walls? Or does your team use your values to consistently guide their behaviors? Values can be a great tool for leaders to instill decisions, actions, and conduct in an organization. They establish “how we do things around here.” Be proactive about defining the behaviors that reflect acting in accord with those values. Most organizational values stop short of this. Get prescriptive about your values. Ask these questions in a small group:

-      What behaviors or actions of employees demonstrate this value?

-      How can you tell? What does it look like? Where is it most important?

Write down the answers. Discuss this with members of your team. Beliefs shape behaviors. This is how you shape your culture.

Perspective: Simplicity Versus Complexity

Complexity causes of a lot of failures in business. You see it when systems are overengineered to the point that they lose practical utility, or when processes have so many activities that the workflow creates logjams that hinder effectiveness. Problem solving can incorporate too many approaches and initiatives which dilute, rather than amplify the effort. Complexity increases costs, decreases efficiency and reduces productivity.

Complexity is easy. It happens naturally as we examine all the possibilities and pursue every option. Simplicity is hard. You must be willing to, as the saying goes, “kill your darlings.” In writing, this means deleting scenes, characters, or side plots that aren’t serving the story. In business, it requires strategic thinking and the self-control to eliminate unnecessary complexity. As a leader, one of the most valuable things you can do for your teams is to simplify what seems complex and create clarity where there is complication.

FREE ACCESS for Edinger's Insight's Subscribers: Sales Strategies for and Economic Downturn

Just over a year ago, there was a nearly 100% consensus amongst leading economists that we would see a recession in 2023. Thankfully, they were wrong. As an aside, are economists ever penalized for being wrong? Or are they like meteorologists in this way?

Anyway, in December of 2022, I worked with LinkedIn Learning to produce a course to prepare business leaders for tough times – Sales Strategies for an Economic Downturn. We even fast tracked the production so it could be released in April of 2023. Just in time for the economy to be holding steady. But the strategies in this course are just as useful during average economic conditions as they are during challenging times. The title may not be as attractive, but the strategies as good as ever.

So, as a special opportunity for subscriber's, I've unlocked the course so you can take it for free. Use this link to access the course. Once you access it, you'll have 24 hours to complete the 12 videos - a total of 30 minutes.

Analysts, investment firms, and economists are all over the map in their predictions for 2024.So, whatever this year holds, be ready. If you are looking for a quick set of ideas to boost profitable revenue, look no further.

LinkedIn Live

Please join me for my next LinkedIn. The topic will be Creating a High-Performance Culture. I'll be sharing an approach to building a culture that is results focussed and supports your growth objectives.I hope you can join me! Contact me here to let me know what questions you have in advance.