13. Tell the Truth Quickly

Question: How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Answer: Four; calling a tail a leg doesn’t make it a leg.

—Abraham Lincoln

Great leaders always share a common habit: They tell the truth more quickly than other managers do.

Steve recalls his work with helping managers motivate salespeople. But it doesn’t just apply to salespeople. It applies to all people.

I always found that people would tell me about their limitations, and I would patiently listen and try to talk them out of their limitations, and they would try to talk me back into what their limitations really were. That seemed to be their obsession.

One day, I was working with a salesperson in a difficult one-on-one coaching session, and finally ...

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