The Hardest Thing for A Leader to Change
Posted On September 3, 2019 BY Dean Brenner
Clients of The Latimer Group have heard me say, many times, that the hardest thing for any organizational leader to do is to change the way his or her people actually behave. If you want to reinvent your organization, you can add or subtract business units, product lines, services, locations, etc, etc, etc. You can make yourself […]
Please Don’t Stereotype… Anyone
Posted On August 28, 2019 BY Dean Brenner
Stereotyping… I thought we weren’t doing this anymore? I thought that as a society we had realized that making broad generalizations about a person based on their race, gender, sexual orientation, or demographic was no longer acceptable. Well, I guess Good Morning America host Lara Spencer didn’t get the memo. Or at least, the version […]
Speaking Tips: The Powerful Open
Posted On August 26, 2019 BY Dean Brenner
How often do you sit in a meeting, or on a conference call, or listen to a presentation, and feel disengaged within the first five minutes? Yep… me too. It usually takes people forever to simply get to the point, and find ways to engage the audience. And by the time they do, it usually […]
Does Your Message Create a Void of Understanding?
Posted On August 21, 2019 BY Dean Brenner
We work with our clients all the time on message development. We think that figuring out what you want or need to say is critical to great communication in today’s world. Otherwise, your unorganized, unplanned message will just drift in the background noise of an incredibly loud and busy world. But there is another way to […]
Persuasion Tips: Be Ready to Argue the Other Side
Posted On August 19, 2019 BY Dean Brenner
We think and talk about persuasion a lot over here at The Latimer Group. We believe that the ability to use your words to create good outcomes is a critical skill in our world today… this has probably always been true, but perhaps never MORE true than it is today. In a world where communication and information […]
An Invitation to Contribute Your Verse
Posted On August 14, 2019 BY Dean Brenner
This blog post was inevitable. I was always going to write it. I just needed a moment of inspiration. Because when your favorite poem is quoted by your favorite actor/comedian, in your favorite scene from your favorite movie, the stars are about as aligned as they could possibly be. So, late the other night I was flipping around […]
How a Good Listening Plan Makes Your Message Stronger
Posted On August 12, 2019 BY Dean Brenner
My colleagues and I write and talk all the time about having a message plan. And furthermore, we write and talk all the time about how strong listening skills can make your message planning stronger and easier. But what do we listen for? Listening is great and important, and most people don’t do it very well. But is it enough […]
Persuade Your Way To A New Job
Posted On August 7, 2019 BY Dean Brenner
Originally published with the Forbes Coaches Council, July 2019. We all face many moments of persuasion in our careers: convincing an executive to back a new initiative, selling a product or service to a new client, bringing our teams on board to change strategies. But perhaps the most important and nerve-racking persuasion opportunity is much more personal: […]
Speaking Tips: Lead with the Summary
Posted On August 5, 2019 BY Dean Brenner
Have you ever led a meeting, handed out the slide deck, began discussing the topic and while still on slide 1 or 2, most of your audience has already flipped to the last slide? I’m sure you’ve seen this before… Perhaps you’ve been the one flipping to the summary, or perhaps you were the frustrated presenter. It […]
A Simple Philosophy for Effective Communication
Posted On July 29, 2019 BY Dean Brenner
Great communication does not just happen. It requires thought, preparation, practice… and it requires a philosophy. There are many philosophies out there in the 21st century business world. But here is what works for us (and our clients tell us it works for them as well): Great communication requires a few key ingredients, which are the basis […]