David Marshall
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That Time a Customer Tried to Screw Me and How I Resolved the Problem
- February 26, 2025
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Business
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Years ago, when I still worked in the lighting industry, I helped to consolidate one company into another, giving me total access to all of our books and sales reports. One of the things I saw was that one company was terribly delinquent in its payments to us to the tune of $56,000. This was
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The Happiest I’ve Ever Made a Customer
- February 19, 2025
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Business, Innovation
I’ve been answering questions this month about the angriest a customer has ever been at us or the biggest career mistake I’ve ever made. So now let’s talk about how happy I’ve made a customer. Years ago, Texas utility companies were offering big credits and rebates to their customers for switching out their old industrial
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The Biggest Professional Mistake I Ever Made
- February 12, 2025
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Business, Management
We’ve all made big mistakes during our careers. Not just the little “oops” moments like a late report or missed deadline, but the big mistake that you’re sure is going to derail your career and see you switch to becoming an insurance claims adjuster. While I never switched my career, I did end up switching
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The Angriest a Customer Has Ever Been at Me
- February 5, 2025
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Business, Management, Manufacturing
You can’t go through your business life without a customer getting angry at you. The thing that defines you is how you deal with that problem. Do you fix it, ignore it, or twist it around so it’s the customer’s fault and you can wash your hands of the entire problem? I remember an incident
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How to Recognize and Avoid Leadership Blind Spots
- December 26, 2024
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Innovation, Leadership, Management
Your leadership journey can certainly be derailed by unseen obstacles and leadership blind spots. These are the areas where your perceptions or behaviors don’t align with reality. We all have them, and if you think you don’t have them, well, there’s one right there. It’s like the scene from Catch-22 where Yossarian tells Appleby, “‘You’ve
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How to Cultivate a Growth Mindset Across Your Team
- December 18, 2024
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Business, Innovation, Management
“Growth mindset” is not just a trendy leadership buzzword. I mean, it is a trendy leadership buzzword, but it’s also a new leadership philosophy that works for most companies, regardless of industry, function, or size. It means that you see your team not as a collection of cogs in a machine but as a group
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Managing Workplace Conflict Effectively Without Damaging Relationships
- December 11, 2024
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Leadership, Management
I’ve seen my fair share of workplace conflicts, from an argument in the executive suite to disagreements among team members to fights on the factory floor, including one that nearly became a knife fight. But conflict doesn’t have to be a four-letter word, and it doesn’t have to end up with blood spraying the walls.
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How Emotional Intelligence Can Improve Leadership Effectiveness
- December 4, 2024
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Leadership, Management
Emotional intelligence (EI) can make or break your effectiveness as a leader. Technical skills alone won’t cut it. In fact, according to the Peter Principle — that’s where you’re promoted to your level of incompetence — there is a very good chance you won’t be effective as a leader. That’s because most corporations don’t train
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How to Lead Through Uncertainty and Ambiguity
- November 25, 2024
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Leadership, Management
In business, it’s a rare stretch of days or weeks where everything is running perfectly according to plan. There are so many variables and other details happening because you have people working for you, people supplying your raw materials, people buying from you. And let’s not forget the push and pull of political and economic
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How Leaders Can Foster Innovation in a Stagnant Organization
- November 18, 2024
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Leadership, Management
Being a leader can be rather frustrating. You want a building full of motivated all-stars who are driven by personal pride and the pursuit of success. People who are bold and won’t keep their mouths shut because they’re so full of good ideas. If you’re worried that you are dealing with a stagnant organization that