What They Do With The Information You Provide Them Much like any other service provider, recruiters depend a great deal on information to provide the best possible result. Hence, it is important to be proactive and provide them with a complete background as well as a "narrative" of what you are trying to accomplish. The […]

You're Putting Out Daily Fires Rapid growth entails change, which tends to create friction. That sort of friction tends to manifest in a wide range of symptoms such as quality control issues, customer dissatisfaction as well as internal conflicts. Those symptoms are just that—symptoms. The underlying causes are virtually always within growth and scaling projects […]

Encourage Cross-Collaboration As someone that has worked 16-plus years remotely, the single most important cultural tool is cross-collaboration. Remote teams that integrate cross-collaboration among team members tend to create deeper and more personal relationships. It ultimately tends to translate into deeper personal bonds that not only help maintain but also evolve the organizational culture. - Kamyar […]

When should I stop? In my experience, one of the least asked questions is, when do we reach the dreaded "diminishing returns?" Many entrepreneurs and senior executives incorrectly assume that all things have to consistently improve, which in turn results in some repetitive non-ROI-yielding activities. It is extremely important for advisors to be mindful and […]

Always Comparing To Others Though product and services comparison may work, it is a short-sighted approach. Comparison in a crowded market may, in some cases, even be harmful by providing additional exposure for competitors. A more sustainable approach, however, is a combination of providing education and creating a customer-centric organization. These organic differentiations are long-term […]

Not Being Honest About Concept And Needs Crowdfunding is no different than any other business relationship: folks trusting you and investing money in you and your business. Hence it is important to be authentic—be honest about your concept and needs, be honest about intentions and, most importantly, maintain consistent channels of communication. All those actions […]

Ask If It's Viable Right Now It is not really hard to create additional revenue in most businesses. The real question is if it is feasible or does it interfere with any other aspect of the existing business model? Is the timing correct? Will it cannibalize existing revenue streams? Once those and similar questions are […]

Be Genuine If the intent is to have a long-term "fix," there is really only one sure way: be genuine. There is a mutual self-interest on both sides of the relationship. Your co-worker is likely to be just as interested in a relationship that will help their career as you are. Start by asking them […]

Take A Long-Term View Talent development is a matter of taking the long-term view with the matching resources and patience. Be it in education or the real-world, cultivating human capital in a dynamic and comprehensive way requires appropriate time and resources. Too often companies either lack the vision or the resources to implement consistent education, […]

Overselling Yourself One of the rather repeated mistakes in self-promotion is "overselling." Self-promotion is one of those propositions that fall in the "under-promise and over-deliver" category. Additionally, it is substantially more desirable for the results to be evaluated and praised by others. Hence leading to less "self" and more "promotion" that can't be doubted or […]

Admit You Don't Know, But Resolve To Find Out Say it with me: "I don't know. I will get back to you on this." This particular phrase is the best friend of any true leader. It is an absurd assumption that someone knows it all. This is also a good way to gauge a new […]

Refine Skills And Practices Stress in a productivity context is a moot point because it is a symptom of other issues, including time and task management skills, prioritization, and perception. Stress in this setting is almost always addressable via refinement of skills and practices that are readily and publicly available. - Kamyar Shah, World Consulting Group By: […]

Treat Your State Of Mind As a Symptom A negative or positive state of mind is a symptom, not the cause, and should be treated as such. The underlying cause is a matter of world view. Do you choose to see failures as learning opportunities as opposed to a negative incident? That view will determine […]

Adapting The concept of an "agile leader" is an unfortunate subcategorization that is both vague and conceptually already covered in servant leadership. Agility, in terms of adaptability in decision making as well as process management, has and will be one of the cornerstones of time tested business practices that have been successfully utilized for decades. […]

Remember What You Can Control The only true difference is the perception of the recipient. One can choose to utilize it or choose to take it personally. We have no control over how someone communicates or their motives. However, we can choose what we get out of the communication. - Kamyar Shah, World Consulting Group By: Business […]

Define Your Wants And Needs Defining your wants and needs is by far the most significant step that should supersede any other. Without a clear outline of the "what, when, and how," every other action taken is either meaningless or destined to fail. This should be followed by leading by example — don't ask your […]

Though there are some similarities between remote engagement and its on-location counterpart, the subtle differences are meaningful and can have a true impact on the outcome.