March 2023

New Course on LinkedIn Learning: Sales Strategies for a Downturn

I first talked with the producers at LinkedIn Learning about this course back in November in response to my Harvard Business Review article on a similar topic. 

The course will feature approaches and strategies for C-Suite executives, sales leaders, and sales professionals to not only survive but also thrive during a recession. We just shot the video for the course a few days ago, and it's on a fast track for production, so it’ll be available in a month or so.

Follow me on LinkedIn to stay up-to-date on the release.

Individual Leadership: Stop Overusing Corporate Speak and Jargon

When you speak using a lot of jargon or corporate speak—employing terms and phrases that obfuscate meaning—the reaction is usually negative. It can range from misunderstanding your meaning, boredom, or distraction, all the way to a breakdown of trust and not believing what you are saying. 

Using specialized language when it’s appropriate and commonly understood by the audience is fine. But an overuse of jargon and corporate speak typically reflects one of two things: the leader lacks depth of understanding, let alone mastery, of the content or subject matter, or the leader is evading or concealing something by being purposefully vague. Either way, it’s not a good look.

Consider where you can trim your use of imprecise language and where you need to be more straightforward in presenting your message. And if you want a humorous take on some of the buzzwords we use that grate on others, this new research shines a light on the most annoying. 

Organizational Leadership: Leadership Problem or Structural Problem?

When working with clients to put a new structure in place, I often have to remind them that there is no ideal organizational model. In every model, you’ll deal with issues around chain of command, functional teams, centralization, and span of control. Some structures may better support your strategy than others, but most of the problems leaders seek to address with a new structure aren’t entirely (or even at all) structural. Often, the issues are leadership problems in disguise.

Address issues that masquerade as structural problems with these leadership approaches:

• Clarity of objectives: No structure works well when divergent or conflicting objectives begin to emerge, but dual or dotted line reporting and shared services are effective when pursuing shared objectives and congruent goals. 
• Accountability: When issues or problems get caught between multiple silos or teams, accountability can bridge the gap. 
• Collaboration: Cooperation, teamwork, and good conflict resolution can address just about any structural issue that arises. 

Perspective: Patience with the Process

During the past couple of months, I have written or re-written 45,000 of the approximately 60,000 words in my forthcoming book, The Growth Leader: Strategies to Drive the Top and Bottom Lines (Fast Company Press). You’ll hear plenty more about the book soon, but I share this detail to illustrate that sometimes it can take quite a while, even years, to be ready to do what you need to do.

I went through three complete re-writes and made a lot of errors in the process. But it took all of that for me to get to where I could write 75% of the content in a couple of months and be content with it. In hindsight, I’d do many things differently, but I’ll file those lessons away for another time. I think we all have experiences like this in our lives. It helps to remind ourselves that in every moment, we have a chance to learn, to adjust, and ultimately to keep moving in the right direction, even if we drift off course for a time. 

Upcoming LinkedIn Live: Motivating Your Sales Organization Through a Downturn

Join me on Tuesday, March 21, at 10 AM Eastern to discuss how to increase employee engagement during a downturn.