Do you struggle to get your ideas approved? Follow the structured thought process to create better presentations.

When you have a recommendation you’re trying to get approved within your organization, there are going to be a lot of stakeholders you have to get your idea in front of. You’ll have to put it in front of your manager, maybe their boss, a director, and some vice presidents. Some of your ideas may even go all the way up to the C-suite.

Read the rest of this post at thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World.

The way you react to bad news can influence how forthcoming your team will be in the future.

Today’s post is by Linny Kresch Jones, LPC, coauthor of the forthcoming book, Please Do Disturb: How True Leaders Show Up When It Matters Most.

My business partner Harte Logan and I were consulting for Abode, the luxury vacation-rental company Rachel co-founded with her husband Rob, and we were in the office that afternoon to see what happened next.

Read the rest of this post at thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World.

Learn what a commit goal is and what you should consider when creating one.

When you set goals, I encourage you to set two kinds of goals. The first is a commit goal and the second is a stretch goal.

A commit goal is something you’re committing to do for the organization. If you miss it, you can get fired. There should be extreme consequences for missing a commit goal.

Read the rest of this post at thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World.

Avoid these three behaviors to improve your next brainstorming session.

Today’s post is by Samuel Sanders, author of Your Next Big Idea.

We’ve all heard of brainstorming, but what exactly is it? In a business sense, brainstorming is the process of coming up with creative ideas and solutions to problems using rapid freethinking. Brainstorming is critical in problem solving, creativity, ideation, and innovation. While in business, many imagine brainstorming as a group activity; it can be done alone or in a group.

Read the rest of this post at thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World.

Our reader poll today asks: What do you see as the biggest risks to your business over the next 12-18 months?

• Geopolitical instability – 16%
• Domestic political upheaval – 21%
• Financial crises – 31%
• Emerging technologies (e.g., AI) – 10%
• Workforce issues – 18%
• Something else – 4%

All kinds of upheaval.

Read the rest of this post at thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World.

Once you’ve established your commit goals, you should also set stretch goals. Learn how to use the one-third, two-third method to set a stretch goal. 

In addition to setting a commit goal, you should also set a stretch. A stretch goal is what’s going to push people to achieve more. It still needs to be achievable when you go back and look at SMART goals, but it won’t have a guarantee of success. 

Read the rest of this post at thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World.