Facts of life for business: 1: No business has an unlimited supply of employees and customers. 2: Recruitment and retention of both employees and customers are necessary for business survival. 3: Cultivating good employees is as important as cultivating good customers. However, when good employees are subject to rude and demanding customers, it’s time to
With the exception of surgical doctors and nurses who are used to communicating while wearing masks, many of us are challenged to communicate effectively when half of our faces are covered. Until the pandemic, I took for granted how much our facial expressions greatly enhance verbal communications and personal interactions. Yet skilled service providers can
Like most people, I’m looking forward to putting 2020 behind us. Reflecting on the year, I noticed many words starting with “r” used to describe the pandemic’s immediate, near- and long-term impacts. Here are the r-words that most resonated with me and why. Response and recovery How healthcare professionals, scientists, leaders, and communities acted to
“Find lightness and humor in each day. There is a lot to be worried about, and with good reason. Counterbalance this heaviness with something funny each day …” Margie Donlon, psychologist This is why I’m sharing this post from Vu Le, a respected nonprofit professional, writer, speaker, and founder of Nonprofit AF. I love his
Incredulous but true. Here are several examples of the absurd-in-action from the executive suite. A colleague who works in sales shared that her employer is undergoing massive changes and consolidation. Besides reducing staff and increasing the remaining employees’ workload, management also lowered sales commissions while raising sales goals. At a staff meeting the head of
Connecting and engaging people in the workplace with LEGO® … just one of many fascinating topics shared in my video discussion with Smart Women Conversations’ host Yvonne DiVita, respected blogger, serial entrepreneur, and my former publisher who remains a dear friend. Yvonne launched Smart Women Conversations to “inform, educate, create laughter and share stories of
Here’s what Audrey Hepburn’s character Regina Lampert says when she meets Cary Grant’s character for the first time in the 1963 classic film, Charade. Grant: “Do we know each other?” Hepburn: “Why? Do you think we’re going to?” Grant: “I don’t know. How would I know?” Hepburn: “Because I already know an awful lot of people,
I started working on employee engagement long before the “e” word came into vogue, and I’m tired of it. Here’s why. Overused as a business buzzword, the term “employee engagement” has become meaningless. It gets talked about in executive suites and management meetings, yet few companies actually do anything about it because too much effort
Because it’s good for your health. That’s the key message in Read ‘Em & Reap: 6 Science-Backed Ways Reading Puts You on the Road to Achieving More and Living Longer by Tom Collins. [Disclaimer: I was fortunate to review an early draft of the book.] Collins draws on research from neurology, psychology, cognition, education, and
After hearing from clients and colleagues undergoing organizational restructuring, I’m totally confounded by their descriptions of what’s happening. Managers are brought in from “corporate” or outside the organization and placed in positions to make changes without gathering any input from current managers who are running successful business units. Yes, I get that company execs can