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30 August 2018
Is there such a thing as a ‘good’ organisation in today’s marketplace? And what does it mean to be one? It depends of course on the criteria we use to judge whether an organisation is ‘good’ or ‘bad’. Profitability is perhaps the most obvious criteria – an organisation is not going to last very long
15 June 2018
When Bill Gates gives a book review, you know that the book is probably worth a read. Well, the second wealthiest man alive recently posted a review of venture capitalist John Doerr’s new book on his Gates Notes blog. Titled Measure What Matters Doerr’s book is about an approach to setting goals and achieving operating
4 May 2018
When communicating with others, whether colleagues or clients, on the job, in meetings, or on the phone, we all tend to stick to our habits. But often those habits are unhelpful. Perhaps we rarely take the opportunity to speak up and give voice to our views and opinions – finding it difficult for example to
20 March 2018
The recent March-April 2018 issue of the Harvard Business Review provides a guide for the way the concept of ‘agile’ is changing how organisations hire, develop, and manage their people. A concept taken from the tech world, ‘agile’ refers to a set of innovation methodologies which have been revolutionizing the IT and tech world over the
22 February 2018
At LDL we are always on the lookout for exceptional individuals to join our consultancy team. With his last major corporate role as a Director at Goldman Sachs, Jonathan Forrest is one such individual, and we are delighted to announce that he has recently joined LDL as a leadership and personal development consultant. To introduce
5 January 2018
Welcome to January! We hope that 2018 is going to be a prosperous year for you and your business, and that you are excited about the year ahead. But whatever your goals for the new year we can still hold on to the memory of the festive season – including its more memorable cinematic experiences. For the
23 October 2017
On a previous blog post, our neuroscience for leadership specialist Dr Maryam Bigdeli spoke about the need for organisations to move beyond the carrot and the stick principle in their approach to performance management. Maryam explained that the problem with such systems is that the fear of the ‘stick’ can easily override the rewarding pleasure
15 September 2017
Three decades of management and sales training have convinced us that there is one skill any high potential must master – become an effective presenter and speaker. Nothing, but nothing, will build your confidence more effectively.
2 August 2017
One of the most effective tactics available to buyers is the price challenge. It is very simple to use, and can be very effective. Perhaps you have heard one of these before: “I like your proposal, but this is all I’ve got.” “What? You want to charge how much? That’s much more than we had
7 July 2017
“Don’t promise what you can’t deliver”. This might be the most important principle of effective customer service. Because there is quite simply nothing more frustrating than finding out that something does not live up to your expectations. Take the recent Hollywood blockbuster La La Land for example. Now you were probably aware of all the
31 May 2017
Building on the discussion of closing in our previous blog post, in this post we are going to share with you three simple ways to close the sale. Remember: closing is not old hat! With the introduction of all the ‘new ways of selling’ some of the basic building blocks are being overlooked – leaving salespeople
24 April 2017
Some people say that in the era of consultative-partner selling, closing is no longer necessary. An article recently published in a management journal quoted a trainer who wrote, ‘Forget about those closing techniques.’
24 March 2017
As a training consultancy we know that one of the most important things an organisation can do to engage and develop its people is to embed regular practices of feedback and coaching. The question for managers and leaders is: are you or your organisation missing out on the gains? According to a recent article in
3 March 2017
Spring has arrived, and with the appraisal meetings and performance ratings which often occur at this time of the year, it is a great moment to reflect on your organisation’s approach to performance management. In particular, what can neuroscience teach us about this vital aspect of leadership? We asked LDL consultant and PhD neuroscientist Dr.
6 January 2017
Perhaps over the course of the festive season you had time to indulge yourself in a few trips to the cinema. If so, then you might have seen Disney’s latest addition to the Star Wars saga, Star Wars: Rogue One. The new film is designed as an immediate prequel to the original classic, A New
2 December 2016
No one ever sets out to fail or to do a bad job, and yet inevitably factors can conspire to turn even the best-laid plans awry. How do you and your organisation handle failures when they occur? The answer is more important than you might think. In his recent book, Black Box Thinking, Matthew Syed
8 November 2016
In today’s high-tech age, many entrepreneurs and start-ups do not think sales skills are particularly important. The idea is that a product or service should be good enough to sell itself, and if it isn’t – if you need to invest in ‘sales skills’ – then you should probably go back to the drawing board or
12 October 2016
At the National Sales Conference last week, Will Greenwood spoke about the England Rugby World Cup winning team of 2003. As you may already know, England’s team at the 2003 Rugby World Cup was one of the best sporting teams that the country has ever produced. Martin Johnson, Lawrence Dallaglio, Jonny Wilkinson – it was
8 October 2016
You have a lead. How do you get through to the decision maker or key influencer and make the appointment? No matter how you sourced the lead, it pays to plan the call, not just to have a stab at it.
2 October 2016
You may or may not be a social media aficionado but to be an effective salesperson or modern manager you must know how to write a good LinkedIn profile. 238 million professionals are members and it was only founded in 2003!
6 September 2016
Social media is hard to ignore – it’s everywhere. People use it to communicate, to share, to speak with their friends, to build their networks, to seek recommendations, to follow and make decisions around brands. It doesn’t look set to go anywhere soon – the number of reported social media users was up 10% last year.
19 August 2016
According to many of the world’s most pre-eminent cognitive scientists, an appetite for storytelling is hard-wired into the human brain. From ancient legends and heroic folk tales to modern-day TV boxsets, we humans have been telling each other stories for thousands of years. And as new research has shown, we don’t do it simply
19 June 2016
Perhaps the greatest sporting icon of the twentieth century, Muhammad Ali deserves to be remembered around the world for his flying fists and indomitable persona. “Muhammad Ali was the greatest” wrote Barack Obama in one of the more significant tributes to the late superstar athlete: “He shook up the world, and the world is better
20 May 2016
With previous claims to fame relating largely to an association with Walkers Crisps and to the unexpected discovery of the remains of King Richard III, Leicester City – an East Midlands city which lies on the River Soar – has suddenly been inundated by top journalists from all over the world.
6 February 2016
David Bowie has appeared all over the press in recent weeks. Every newspaper and media outlet in the country seems to have been celebrating the life of the late singer-songwriter who inspired so many millions of people over the course of his career.
18 December 2015
When Disney paid $4 billion for Lucasfilm three years ago, it was surely only a matter of time before Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill would be donning leathers and lightsabres again, due to return to a long time ago in a galaxy far far away…
12 November 2015
Starring Robert de Niro and Anne Hathaway, comedy drama The Intern was released in cinemas across the UK in October. ‘The intern’ of the film, Ben Whittaker (de Niro) is a 70-year-old widower growing restless in retirement who decides to apply as a senior intern at an online fashion site founded and run by thirty-something entrepreneur Jules Osten (Hathaway).
3 October 2015
Since it was first published, millions of people worldwide have read The Energy Bus. Overall, it is a good read: well-written and light-hearted, The Energy Bus introduces the importance of positivity to anyone wishing to get more out of their life and work.
1 October 2015
We each have two voices in our head – one says you’re great, you’re having a good day. The other says you’re going through a weak patch, you’re not at your best. Which is the stronger? The one you feed.
15 September 2015
Your ability to get going rubs off on other people and boosts their performance. No question. The more energised, joyful and alive you feel, the more energised, joyful and alive those around you will feel – just as a result of working with you.
