May, 2011

Terry Starbucker

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10 Principles for The Selfless Leader (From An American Hero)

Terry Starbucker

(From www.majordickwinters.com). “I know plenty of heroes, but I am certainly not one&# – Major Dick Winters , commander, Easy Company, 101st Airborne division, World War II. These words are from a man who led his “Band of Brothers&# from the D-Day landings to the German Surrender, bravely and selflessly. He was often out-manned in the battlefield, but still prevailed with his deft strategies and coolness under fire (in fact, his successful assault on German guns on Utah beach,

Teamwork 419
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A Leader’s Biggest Credibility Killer (And Hardest Lesson)

Terry Starbucker

You’ve worked hard to build the right team. You’ve put in a lot of hours process-building, training, goal-setting, and motivating. But the wheels still aren’t turning. Productivity is lagging. Something’s wrong. There’s an undercurrent of dissatisfaction that is palpable. So you try pushing harder – and it only gets worse.

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7 Keys To Unlocking Your Team’s Potential

Terry Starbucker

Building a great team around you is one of those leadership skills that can make or break you. It’s one thing to get all the “right people on the bus&# (to steal a Jim Collins phrase), but it’s quite another to get the team to create an unstoppable collective force that can achieve greatness. Unfortunately, sometimes it’s just a bus going to nowhere.

Collins 327
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Six Words That Will Save You Time, Effort, and Money – and Preserve Your Sanity

Terry Starbucker

There’s nothing more gut wrenching for a leader than screwing up, but there’s something far worse out there – the consequences of screwing up, if it isn’t handled it the right way. What do I mean by that? A situation where we just can’t bring ourselves to concede that a mistake was made in the first place, which leads to attempts to work around it, ignore it, or plow right ahead.

Loyalty 325
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Why Leaders Can’t Ignore The Pride Principle

Terry Starbucker

It’s there. Unless you destroy it. By how you lead. In virtually every workplace, among those who serve the customers, or make the widgets, or support those who do either of these things, is a strong desire to do their jobs to the best of their abilities. I call it the “Pride Principle&#. Humans have a propensity to take satisfaction from doing something well.

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How a Dictionary Tells Us Everything We Need To Know About Leadership

Terry Starbucker

I had my leadership epiphany reading a dictionary. Yep, a good old Webster’s Dictionary. I used to have a bound version at my side at all times – back before the Internet and Google. I loved to look up words I didn’t know. Back when I was struggling to find my ultimate path and purpose, I tried to read various books about management and leadership for inspiration, but nothing really stuck.

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How I Discovered Customer Service Gold (By Asking The Ultimate Question)

Terry Starbucker

When doing business, is there value in a positive human interaction, no matter the purpose of that interaction? And does it make a measurable difference in a customer’s loyalty to a good or service? For the first 18 years of my career in the cable TV business, I believed the answer to both of those questions was “Yes&# , and said so whenever given the opportunity in front of my staff and teammates.

Loyalty 280