I, Pencil
Reading Time: < 1 minute Those who are concerned that China’s economy will surpass ours should consider the following “required reading.” China just announced to great fanfare that after years of effort and millions in investment, it has managed to produce… a ballpoint pen! (This was accomplished in the US about 80 years ago). Before
Do the Exit Interview FIRST
Reading Time: < 1 minute Most CEOs know that job tenure is far less today than the “lifetime employment” of generations past; but if so, why not find out what the prospect intends to do AFTER they leave your employment. That’s what LinkedIn’s head of recruiting was challenged to do by his CEO. Maybe you should
The Parenting is Just Beginning
Reading Time: < 1 minute Here’s a 15-minute video that anyone who raised a Millennial, or now has to supervise one, ought to watch right now (like drop everything and watch it RIGHT NOW). Simon Sinek rocketed to fame on the wings of his book “Start with Why” and related talks. In a recent interview,
Linking Business Performance to KPIs – Professionally and Personally
Reading Time: 2 minutes Every business leader needs to organize a set of KPIs. These KPIs have two purposes: 1) track the progress of business, and 2) motivate the organization to s t r e t c h, and achieve its maximum performance. Where Do You Start? Begin with a few KPIs; five is
The Core of Leadership – Trust
Reading Time: < 1 minute Trust is the glue that holds our leadership together. In a world of science and big data, we’d like to be able to reduce “trust” to an equation; but according to master marketer Seth Godin, that level of objectivity is not to be expected. Godin suggests that “trust” comes from some
Salary Equalization: Is It The Correct Decision?
Reading Time: < 1 minute It’s often said that the “road to Hell is paved with good intentions.” This past week, a young CEO, Dan Price, who founded Gravity Payments, a credit card payments processing firm, cut his pay from $1,000,000 to $70,000 and raised the pay of ALL employees making less than $70,000 to
The Most Difficult Sentence When We Fail To Deliver
Reading Time: < 1 minute Effective customer service is not just about getting it right but knowing what to do when we fail to deliver. This is especially important for front line customer service employees who may fear losing their jobs when customers are unhappy. Marketing Guru Seth Godin suggests a simple statement every customer
Do You Have an Open Office Trap?
Reading Time: < 1 minute Nearly 70% of all offices feature an “open floor” plan without private offices. Earlier this year, a New Yorker magazine article asserted that the open office may be a contributor to a sense of shared mission, but recent studies show that there may be a real cost in terms of health (both
Speaking of Leadership® – If It Works at Google, Is It Right for Others?
Reading Time: < 1 minute The management practices of successful companies are often touted as ground breaking. Some like Zappos claim to have abandoned traditional management structures altogether in favor of “holacracy”. Yahoo at one time allowed large numbers of employees to work from home (although the latest CEO Marissa Mayer quickly put an end
Speaking of Leadership® – Billy Beane in Your HR Department
Reading Time: < 1 minute In his best-selling book “Moneyball :The Art of Winning an Unfair Game”, author Michael Lewis profiles Billy Beane, who was named manager of the Oakland A’s and given a mandate to cut team payroll. Using a form of analytics known as sabermetrics he was able to find and field a competitive roster that
