Michael Friesen

CMBA

Free

Accomplished Professional Expert

Michael Friesen Quick Facts

Main Areas: Leadership, excellence, and effective communication
Best Sellers: Expected End
Career Focus: Author, coach, speaker, business owner

Mike Friesen is a leadership and personal development coach with Leading Strategies, www.LeadingStrategies.net. Mike is a retired military officer, fighter pilot, former CFO, and holds a M.B.A. He is also the author of "Expected End: What Culture Is, Why It Matters, and How to Improve It." Mike offers 3 FREE gifts for personal development at www.LSdevelop.com and you are welcome to follow Leading Strategies on Twitter at @LSTeams.

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Michael Friesen Books

"Expected End: What Culture Is, Why It Matters and How to Improve It"

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Articles by this expert

SelfGrowth articles and saved writing connected to this expert.

9 total

Article

Reach Higher

What does it mean to "reach higher"? The phrase suggests going beyond the ordinary or doing much better than mediocre. Excellence certainly fits too. Any discussion of reaching higher would be incomplete without at least one example. Several years ago, I was in charge of a team in a large military exercise. Over the three days or so, we ran through our paces both literally and figuratively as we worked to meet operational challenges in a simulated war-time environment. During this period, my respect grew for one team member in particular as he seemed to do better the harder the scenario.

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Customer Service: Department vs. Attitude

What is customer service? This is really about caring for the customer much broader than simply another transaction. It is about looking beyond the moment of the sale. It is about cultivating loyalty among customers and employees.

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How to Benefit From Your Natural Creativity

You are creative! It is not a question of “if;” it is a question of “how much!” Each person is blessed with creativity from birth and so it is a matter of learning how to express this gift. Think about how a group of young children just ooze with creativity and energy. Problems are not nearly so daunting to the youngsters as they might be to us adults. What can we learn?

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Focused Creativity

Last week, we looked at creativity in general and how each person naturally possesses a certain amount of this trait. This week, let’s consider how to use creativity as a business tool.

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The Importance of Trust

With your indulgence, here is an excerpt on trust from a book I wrote two years ago. “The root of all effective human relationships is trust. All relationships have trust in some form or another or else the bond will not last. Trust is so pivotal to all human interaction and is a business imperative. Those who scoff at building and maintaining trust in a business or other setting do so at their own peril. Productivity and creativity are higher when trust is valued. If trust is not important, productivity and creativity will become sluggish and eventually disappear.

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Excellence

I am reading Tom Peters’ latest book titled “The Little Big Things” and am energized by Tom’s writing on Excellence.* (Peters, 2010) You may recall Tom wrote the best selling “In Search of Excellence” several years ago and has been an important voice ever since on the idea of reaching higher. (Peters and Waterman, 1982) Here are questions to consider: What is Excellence? Why should I pursue Excellence? How do I pursue Excellence? While there could be many long answers to these questions, here is one writer’s attempt to answer. What is Excellence?r

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What is Your Word Worth?

Here is a way to stand out in any crowd: keep your word. Seriously. Do not make the smallest, implied commitment without intentionally remembering and following through. Write it down … on your forehead if necessary. (OK, I’m kidding about your forehead.) Why does keeping a commitment matter? It creates above-average trust. Do not say, “I will see you tomorrow” if you have no intention of keeping the appointment. Do not say, “Keep in touch” if you do not mean it. Creating high performance organizations begins with high performance people who are trustworthy at their cores.

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How to Create Your Ideal? (Part 1 of 2)

Here is a way to create something better. In my coaching, I call it “going out and coming back.” Not very original or creative but it works. The idea is to move into the future, define as much as possible out there and then come back to reality and decide on ways to get to the desired future state. Here is a practical exercise.

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Resolving Conflict

The value of conflict is a controversial topic in many circles. Some organizations thrive on conflict for its own sake while others avoid conflict at any cost. Either extreme is dysfunctional as conflict can play a vital role in a healthy organization. The challenge is to focus, use and defuse conflict. Focus Focus requires commitment by the team to the larger purpose or goal. The first question a leader must ask in this situation is, “Can the purpose or goal be easily stated and understood?” If not, work until it is so.

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