January 14, 2020

Why Giving Advice Doesn’t Work (And What To Do Instead)

“Rush out there with a ton of energy and tell a hilarious joke.” A young, introverted manager asked my advice for his presentation in front of 200 people at an...

January 6, 2020

Using Recency Bias To Improve Your Annual Pay Raise

“Clack, clack, clack.” In boxing, the sound of two pieces of wood smacking together signals ten seconds remaining in the round. To Muhammad Ali, the warning was his cue to...

December 16, 2019

Your Conference Call Sucks (And What You Can Do About It)

“Was that a dog barking? Can you please put him outside for the rest of this conference call?” The barking did not come from a dog. It came from me. This is a story of...

August 26, 2019

How The Pittsburgh Steelers Chose Team Culture Over Antonio Brown’s Elite Talent

Few can argue that Antonio Brown is immensely talented. Brown’s best five-year run will hold up against any wide receiver in NFL history. From 2014 to 2018, Antonio...

August 7, 2019

Effective Managers Focus On Outcomes More Than Process

Early in my career, I took a call from the top executive in my business. This was an unusual phone call, as he was several rungs up in the corporate hierarchy. After some...

July 31, 2019

Business Lessons From Michelangelo’s David

Pictures don’t do it justice. A vein is running along the young hero’s neck. The strap of the sling is hidden along David’s back, out of view of the warrior...

July 23, 2019

Are You A Manager People Want To Work For?

I nearly accepted an executive role with a big company in Chicago several years ago. I passed through the first round of interviews and enjoyed the time I spent with everyone,...

by Ian Mathews

Leadership

Management

July 16, 2019

A Step-By-Step Guide To Firing Someone With Dignity

We never forget our first. Of course, I’m talking about the first person that we have to fire as a manager. My first experience was an incredibly nice sales rep who was...

July 3, 2019

Hey Managers, Preach Less And Lead More

I’m listening to my team and growing increasingly irritated. One by one, they list off the reasons we can’t do better. I was still new to my sales manager role, only six...

March 11, 2019

How To Manage Your Former Peers

Like most new managers, my peers found out about my promotion from an email announcement. I was 25 years old and had no idea what I was doing. Once that email was sent, twelve...

by Ian Mathews