Leadership
There are people who become successful. There are people who become famous. And then there are those rare individuals who become something much greater. Dolly Parton became an icon. Her story didn’t begin with wealth, connections or opportunity. She grew up as one of 12 children in a one-room cabin in the mountains of Tennessee.…
Vince Lombardi famously said: “Leaders aren’t born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work.” I agree. Leadership requires effort. It requires discipline, repetition, resilience and a willingness to keep improving. But there’s another piece we cannot afford to overlook: Hard work only creates meaningful progress when it is…
When I say most people aren’t going after the right outcome, I usually get the same response: “That doesn’t apply to me. I know what I want.” But in 90% of the turnarounds I’ve led as a top sales leadership consultant and keynote speaker, the first breakthrough didn’t come from doing more. It came from…
In 1995, my wife and I decided to go back to Hawaii for our fifth wedding anniversary, staying at the Maui Marriott. One morning, we went down for breakfast. As we’re sitting at our table, the waiter comes up, looks at me, and says, “You’re Ron Karr®.” I reply, “Yes, I am.” He goes, “No,…
As a sales leadership keynote speaker, I’m often asked about the best way to throw a Hail Mary pass when trying to save an elusive prospect. I tell them that even if you’re looking for a miracle, you still need a strategy. Take the recent game between Chicago Bears and Washington Commanders as an example.…
Recently, I had dinner with an executive in the baseball industry. He described baseball as a high-failure sport. I love that phrase. Why? Because I’ve always used it in my speeches. Not that phrase exactly, but the idea. Think about it: a hitter getting three hits out of every 10 at-bats is a .300 hitter.…
For the past 12 years, I’ve been on retainer, coaching senior executives at a company. In the first two years, I spotted a major issue: they were sending out far too many proposals. How did I know? Their close rate was a dismal 10%. That’s what happens when you’re wasting time on unqualified leads. So…
A study published in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry revealed that a new pill developed in Denmark “mimics the effects and benefits of strenuous exercise without moving a muscle.” Imagine just taking a pill and having all of the same health benefits as if you had run – and I quote – “a…
What do applicants get wrong in the process of applying to a top-tier college like an Ivy League school? Today they believe that perfect SAT scores are enough to differentiate them. According to Christopher Rim, founder of Command Education, perfect test scores no longer differentiate students. They are simply the cost of entry. What differentiates…
When was the last time you truly listened to a captain’s welcome announcement on a plane? Last week, flying from New York to Florida, Captain Ian Wallace of @United Airlines came out of the cockpit before the doors closed. He grabbed the intercom and filled the aisle with his hulking presence. Looking directly at us,…
There are people who become successful. There are people who become famous. And then there are those rare individuals who become something much greater. Dolly Parton became an icon. Her story didn’t begin with wealth, connections or opportunity. She grew up as one of 12 children in a one-room cabin in the mountains of Tennessee.…
Vince Lombardi famously said: “Leaders aren’t born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work.” I agree. Leadership requires effort. It requires discipline, repetition, resilience and a willingness to keep improving. But there’s another piece we cannot afford to overlook: Hard work only creates meaningful progress when it is…
When I say most people aren’t going after the right outcome, I usually get the same response: “That doesn’t apply to me. I know what I want.” But in 90% of the turnarounds I’ve led as a top sales leadership consultant and keynote speaker, the first breakthrough didn’t come from doing more. It came from…
In 1995, my wife and I decided to go back to Hawaii for our fifth wedding anniversary, staying at the Maui Marriott. One morning, we went down for breakfast. As we’re sitting at our table, the waiter comes up, looks at me, and says, “You’re Ron Karr®.” I reply, “Yes, I am.” He goes, “No,…
As a sales leadership keynote speaker, I’m often asked about the best way to throw a Hail Mary pass when trying to save an elusive prospect. I tell them that even if you’re looking for a miracle, you still need a strategy. Take the recent game between Chicago Bears and Washington Commanders as an example.…
Recently, I had dinner with an executive in the baseball industry. He described baseball as a high-failure sport. I love that phrase. Why? Because I’ve always used it in my speeches. Not that phrase exactly, but the idea. Think about it: a hitter getting three hits out of every 10 at-bats is a .300 hitter.…
For the past 12 years, I’ve been on retainer, coaching senior executives at a company. In the first two years, I spotted a major issue: they were sending out far too many proposals. How did I know? Their close rate was a dismal 10%. That’s what happens when you’re wasting time on unqualified leads. So…
A study published in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry revealed that a new pill developed in Denmark “mimics the effects and benefits of strenuous exercise without moving a muscle.” Imagine just taking a pill and having all of the same health benefits as if you had run – and I quote – “a…
What do applicants get wrong in the process of applying to a top-tier college like an Ivy League school? Today they believe that perfect SAT scores are enough to differentiate them. According to Christopher Rim, founder of Command Education, perfect test scores no longer differentiate students. They are simply the cost of entry. What differentiates…
When was the last time you truly listened to a captain’s welcome announcement on a plane? Last week, flying from New York to Florida, Captain Ian Wallace of @United Airlines came out of the cockpit before the doors closed. He grabbed the intercom and filled the aisle with his hulking presence. Looking directly at us,…