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Negative Emotions Impede Organizational Productivity
In your workplace you probably know a Debbie Downer or someone who is always able point out what is wrong and how the glass is really half empty. Such a constant negative perspective can have a...
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Motivate Employees through Continual Progress
Actively engaged workers dramatically improve productivity and, according to a new book on the subject, the most effective way to engage employees is to help them make steady progress toward their...
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Organizational Behavior: Monkey See, Monkey Do
All too often I find organizations do things a certain way not because it’s the most effective or efficient way to do them, but because they’ve always been done that way. This is not a recipe for...
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Workplace & Leadership: This I Believe
In my work with organizations both as an employee and external consultant, I have learned (and continue to learn) many things over the years. Many of these have evolved or been entirely reversed, which...
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Failing all the way to Success
“Your attitude towards failure determines your altitude after failure.” – John C. Maxwell When he was just seven-years-old his family was forced to move out of their home and off their farm. Like other...
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Employees (Engaged or Disengaged) Make or Break Your Business
When companies focus first on their employees, customers are likely to be satisfied. This results in profitability, which then makes shareholders happy. Things can go very wrong if employee focus is...
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Embracing Conflict with an Assertive and Cooperative Attitude
Invariably, when I tell people what I do as a consultant, the area that gets the most interest is in my work helping people navigate conflict at work. It seems everyone is struggling with conflict...
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Getting Along to Get Things Done
The election is over and it is time for our elected officials to get to work. The American people have spoken so our leaders can stop campaigning and start governing. And governing means doing what we...
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Group Accountability for Effective Teamwork
Effective teamwork depends on many things. At a minimum, it requires capable people working together cooperatively to achieve a common goal. According to author Patrick Lencioni, author of The Five...
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Rethinking the Role of Manager
Does your boss often get in the way of helping you be more productive? This is not entirely his or her fault as many organizational structures are based on an outdated incentive mentality that can...
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What will you do for an Encore?
“I won’t retire, but I might retread.” – Neil Young Just as the baby boom generation is entering retirement age, Americans are living much longer lives. For many, the idea of no longer working and...
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Making Your Pitch to an Internal Audience
Successfully navigating workplace relationships often depends on how well we communicate with others. And doing this effectively with an important person on the spur of the moment can be the most...
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Listening Into Others to Gain Influence
No matter what line of work you are in, you are likely seeking ways to be more productive and successful. And, regardless of the profession, how effective you interact with and influence other people...
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The Humble Leader
Is it possible to be a strong leader, yet remain humble? I contend that strong leadership, in fact, requires humility. When you think of humility your first inclination may be about being meek or...
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What Business Can Learn from Finland’s Education Reform
Finland’s success in school reform provides valuable lessons that can be applied to the way we conduct business in the United States. Business reform is a lot easier than education reform, yet requires...
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Telecommuting: When Does it Make Sense?
Yahoo’s chief executive Marissa Mayer recently declared that her company’s employees may no longer work from home and this has created quite a stir—both inside and outside of the company. Telecommuting...
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Retaining Your Top Talent
Now that the U.S. economy is beginning to show signs of life and companies are looking to hire again, it’s important to remember that this also opens the door for existing employees to explore their...
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Grown-up Responsibility in the Workplace
DISCLAIMER: This blog post is intended to inform, entertain and hopefully inspire you to take action towards improving your own or your group’s behavior in the workplace. While the information is based...
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Will Data Help You Hire Better Employees?
The cost of hiring and retaining workers can approach 60 percent of a corporation’s variable costs, so it makes sense to manage this extremely well. Can big data and software help do this? Nearly...
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Fostering Innovation in the Workplace
Today there is a great deal of talk about the need for more employee collaboration. This is because collaboration can lead to creative solutions and is directly tied to innovation. Though we often...
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