Email, text messaging, and social media messaging are some of the greatest technological innovations of our time. But there is a dark side to these communication tools. One that destroys time and creates trouble for the unscrupulous […]
Busy Work
Peter Drucker, one the most celebrated management minds of the twentieth century, applies the 80/20 rule to time management. Drucker says that managers spend 80% of their time on busy work, and only 20% of […]
Staying Power
Some ideas come and go while others have real staying power. One of my favorite business writers, Gary Hamel, compares the odds of developing a lasting innovation to the survival rates we see in nature. […]
Internal Customer Service
When you are a customer, how do you judge customer service? Quality. Value. Speed. Help with resolving your problems. I like to think of associates as customers of the management team. How would your direct […]
My Favorite Interview Questions
To me, hiring and developing an effective team is the most important part of a manager’s job. Here are my five all time favorite interview questions: 1. If you could land a dream job, what […]
The Costs of Turnover
High turnover is like having a tapeworm. No matter how many new people the organization hires, they never grow. Here are a few of the less obvious costs: Training costs Think about the amount of […]
Five Free Ways to Boost Associate Morale
You cannot have happy customers without happy associates.The real value in a company is created at the interface between the associate and the customer. Here are some best practices for creating and keeping happy associates. […]