How significant is employee engagement to workplace satisfaction? It's crucial to employee retention, consistent, top-notch performance, and increased production. Although most organizations know and understand this, only a few follow through with the activities necessary to create an engaged company culture of satisfied employees. How Significant Is Employee Engagement to Workplace Satisfaction?  It Takes More [...]

Failing to cross train leads to failure. Here's one example. A few years ago my father was in the hospital for an extended stay. It was serious. Although he was cared for by personable and professional staff, there was constant miscommunication. Instructions from the doctor weren’t carried out by the nursing staff, the pharmacist forgot [...]

What does adhocracy in your business mean? I was introduced to the idea of business adhocracy by Alvin Toffler in his 1970 publication Future Shock. After completing their BS degrees Mr. Toffler and his wife Heidi moved to the Midwest, where both invested five years as blue-collar laborers. The futurists used this experience to help them [...]

According to a Harvard Business Review Report, 46% of managers are terrible at holding staff accountable, One out of every two managers is terrible at accountability. I’m surprised. I thought it would be higher. I’ve seldom seen managers good at accountability, including me, for most of my management career. How to Hold Yourself Accountable for [...]

You can't talk shit done now or ever. In the not too distant future, it could be that face-to-face meetings are a thing of the past or a least a rarity. Seminars, conferences, and presentations might all be digital— where people join the conversation by logging into an event, sitting around pseudo-tables or milling about [...]

The pinch theory of conflict management is based on the idea that conflict can be predicted and reduced. Unresolved conflict affects production, lowers performance, and fosters resentment. When expectations between people are not met, this can create a pinch or a breakdown in the existing relationship. Pinches are inevitable, but can be reduced, managed, and [...]

So, will your company's improvement last? A wise man told me there's no such thing as stagnant; you're either on your way up or down. In business, how does one gauge improvement? The most obvious answer is net receipts. Is the company growing, and is it profitable? That may be the most conclusive measurement; without [...]

Does your business know how to respond to a social media complaint? A friend informed me their company had a Facebook complaint from a prospective customer. Company executives wanted to ignore it and delete the complaint. My friend wanted my opinion. I inquired about the complaint. It seems the company had missed an in-home appointment [...]

Do you know how to replace yourself, do your career plans include promotion, or do you plan on being in the same job you've held ever since leaving college? Have you developed, mentored, and trained your replacement? How to Replace Yourself Does Job Security Mean You're Irreplaceable? No. Often, job security is something you control, [...]

Have you ever hit mute and made Mystery Science Theater-like comments during a Zoom meeting? I have. Have you ever sat through an online call that droned on and on? What about a mandatory weekly Zoom that was a total waste of time? Have you been there, done that? If you're responsible for planning a [...]