Ellipsis Advisor

Questions I have been asked

Do you believe emotional intelligence is a skill that can be developed? I do believe that it is a skill that can be developed, and should be developed ongoing. There is a lot of stuff being written about empathy in leadership and often it sounds like it’s a quick skill development. I believe we are

Wise Words from a Cigar Entrepreneur

I was speaking with the owner of the Cigar and Wine shop I frequent for my regular cigar meetings. Gary Teitelbaum is an entrepreneur and owner of Aficionado’s cigar store. I asked Gary what words of wisdom he lives by: Just cause your paranoid doesn’t mean someone’s not after you – in other words, competition

Life’s Lessons

Byron Wien Life’s Lessons, February 2013 Here are some of the lessons I have learned in my first 80 years. I hope to continue to practice them in the next 80. 1. Concentrate on finding a big idea that will make an impact on the people you want to influence. The Ten Surprises, which I

Life has to be meaningful

My friend Vera Cordeiro said to me the other day: “Hans, not everything needs a result. If I don’t value all the relationships and interactions I have, I am losing. Life has to be meaningful and productive…and meaningful first.” Totally

Making an effort to reach out

One of my clients told me about a person in their company that they work with. “When the phone rings and I see their name on my phone, I cringe. I know it won’t be a pleasant conversation!” I spend a lot of time coaching about the importance of investing in and nurturing your network.

Engagement – you own it

I recently worked with an amazing manager who had, in a very short time, created a strong team dynamic with her team. The team understood its priorities, worked well together, and was more productive than ever. But there was one area that the manager felt she was not able to impact. Her team was a

Be selfish with your time

We are constantly managing the barrages on our time. Constantly struggling with the fact that the day gets away from us and there is just not enough time to get everything done. One of the things I hear a lot from my clients is that while they feel they can take ownership of the actions

Unreasonable?

When I was working for American President Lines in Atlanta, Georgia in the late 80’s I worked with a good friend of mine, Bob Sappio. Bob was district sales manager, and I was district Operations manager. Bob was trying to close a very big retail account, looking to take the business from our biggest competitor.

You must have a great corner

Many years ago, Jack Moore was a salesman for Lance. He had a truck and sold and delivered crackers and peanuts and snacks to stores. One day, Jack was visiting his fiancee, waiting for her outside the hospital where she worked. A man walked up to Jack, who was leaning against his car, waiting. “That’s

Business at the Waffle House

Going that extra mile for your customers has many different faces. At the end of the day, we have to realize that there is always a choice that our customers have; there is a lot of competition – the products and services we sell have to be good; they have to be reliable. But we