UIC announces a special event from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The program will clarify the differences among types of intellectual property and explain how inventors, writers, artists, and businesses can use the resources of the USPTO to protect their ideas. The program is free, however advanced registration is required. Please call (312) 747-4400 to […]
John Fairclough, Resicom CEO Resicom Founder and CEO John Fairclough has been inducted into the Chicago Area Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame! Joining the ranks of entrepreneurs twice his age, Fairclough was honored with the induction on Thursday, February 24th at the Chicago Hilton. The Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies (IES) of the University of Illinois at […]
Sometimes are dreams get put on hold. The things that give us great joy get put on the side to take care of other things. The problem is, we can lose sight of our dreams and our happiness can become elusive. This exercise helps you examine what you’d do if suddenly you had an opportunity […]
John Fairclough will be judging the Coleman Center’s annual DePaul University New Venture Challenge held February 4th to the 14th. The judges, selected amongst Chicago entrepreneurs, will determine which DePaul student has best met the challenge of an introducing an innovating new venture interest. The New Venture Challenge is open to all DePaul students, regardless […]
True value comes in the questions that are asked, not the answers that are given. More insights can be gleaned by asking questions for deeper understanding. Below are examples of how you can use questions to gain deeper insights. In what situations do I leave my team feeling that I don’t understand them? When I’m […]
Throughput Success Six Sigma is an approach to improving the quality of products and services that are made using a process. Almost every business can benefit from systematizing their approach (the company’s “way of doing things”) into a process. And, Six Sigma is a way to reveal improvement opportunities within that process. Yield The term […]
Tension Tolerance Tension Tolerance refers to a leader’s ability to absorb tension. The source of the tension may be related to conflict amongst team members, project deadlines, or workflow processes. In each of these situations, a leader has the choice to grow stronger from the conflict or grow weaker because of it. A leader must […]
A Rose by Any Other Name… Failure – It’s a commonly accepted truism – We learn more from our failures than from our successes. But how do we benefit from these lessons learned? How can we tell that we learned anything at all? And why are failures viewed as being bad??? We have a way […]
So you Think you can Lead… No, this is not a press release for a new reality TV series. There are, however, three tests to see if your team considers you a leader or just a manager. The first test is if your team believes that you know what you are doing. Your team will […]
High Authority and Low Influence = Mediocrity Gap The difference between high authority and low influence creates what we call the “Mediocrity Gap.” Followers disconnect from their leader when they feel obligated rather than motivated to do something. Duty vs Responsibility The obligation comes from performing out of a sense of duty to an authority. […]
The Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies (IES) Advisory Council at the University of Illinois Chicago is committed to sharing wisdom, credibility, networks, and resources to the members of their network. Resicom CEO, John Fairclough, was recently asked to join the IES Advisory Council. Fairclough’s three-year term includes attending formal meetings of the council, serving as an […]
How can I make everyone my life touches happier? It should be normal for me to help others have better lives and make a positive impact or impression on them. Sometimes it is a simple as giving feedback and encouragement. Other ways include acknowledging how someone feels, teaching them. My favorite way is by listening […]
In the pursuit of understanding what the people you lead go through, it could be normal for a leader to live in the shoes of his direct reports periodically. This insight can help lead to innovate solutions and process improvements. It also can raise the opinion your direct reports have of you. There is a […]
Boredom at work is just as bad as being overworked. Productivity, quality of work, and mindset all suffer when challenges are too minuscule or are unattainable. It could be normal for work to be challenging with goals that can be accomplished. How can you help others stay engaged by giving them challenging goals that are […]
All human beings want to achieve things. They want and need to feel like they have accomplished something. It could be normal to define what success looks like, then set out to accomplish it. This brings self worth and dignity. How can we help others clarify and achieve their goals?
It could be normal to strengthen the relationships that are most important in your life. Living every minute as if it counted can change perspectives and priorities. Who do you want to spend more time with? Get that time by lessening the time on things that do not matter. There is an abundance of time […]
It should be normal for people to end their workday knowing how they performed. It gives them the consistent feedback that reinforces the right activity, while giving the supervisor the ability to have objective performance discussions. I am in pursuit of having every position in our company be able to have this daily feedback. We […]
Why should a significant block of time be scheduled for quarterly strategic meetings when busy executives have so many other pressing responsibilities? Few phrases elicit as many groans in a company as the dreaded “Let’s schedule our quarterly meeting”. The most effective quarterly strategics should take place over the course of 1 to 2 […]
