I read this article last week, another in a long list that talks about declining employee tenure. The article reminded me of dozens of articles I’ve read that peg the millennial generation (people born in […]
Tag: Strategy
Of Personal Strategies, Deliberate and Emergent
How did I get to where I am now? To what extent can I plan the future of my career, or my life? These are some questions I asked myself this week after reading this […]
The Perfect Job
Enjoy your stupid barbecue America. I hope it rains on your pool party. Working Memorial Day weekend is one part of my retail management job I will never get used to. In fact, I don’t care […]
Results (Money) Are The Only Thing That Matters
When I was twenty-one I landed my first real management job as a restaurant manager at a Marriott. And when I first started this job, our food and beverage department was performing dreadfully on our […]
When The Monster Stops Growing, It Dies
I am lucky to work for a growth company. We also happen to be the industry leader, by a huge margin, but this doesn’t stop us from aggressively pursuing more growth. In fact, I once […]
My TV and the Future of Retail
Tragically, my television broke just days before the Super Bowl. Since we would not survive without a TV, we were forced into shopping for a fast replacement. Before we ventured out to old-fashioned retail stores, […]
Cash Rules Everything Around Me
One of our vendors went out of business a short while ago, and our office was abuzz with speculation about why this seemingly good company went under. “What did them in?” one of my peers […]
My Leadership Style
My wife Kelly was preparing for a job interview, and turned some of the prep questions around on me. She asked me to describe my leadership style. She stumped me. At first, I blamed the […]
2012 Resolutions
I’ll remember 2011 as the year Kelly and I had our first baby, Jack. Starting our family has helped me grow as a person and as a leader. Being a dad made me more patient […]
Management Skills: Firing Yourself
Have you ever seen a new guy come into your organization and quickly rise above everyone else’s performance? Not all new guys are shooting stars, but every now and then a new golden boy, a […]
The Failure Of Our Government
I was angry and embarrassed to hear about the failure of the finance super committee. The group of six democrats and six republicans was tasked with reaching an agreement that would improve our federal budget […]
Management Skills: Be Strategic
In three weeks I’ll be finished with my last MBA class, the strategy capstone. I never thought of strategy as something limited upper management. Sure, big decisions are made in the big offices, but I […]
Submissive, Assertive, and Aggressive Management
An employee shows up to work slightly out of dress code. He is wearing a midnight blue shirt when the policy clearly states only light-colored shirts are acceptable. I find that if the manager says […]
Adversity and Resolve
Last Sunday, an early snow storm slammed Connecticut and its still leafy trees causing a record 800,000 homes to lose power. Most residents’ electricity (and heat) was out for at least three days, and some, […]
The Uprising
I am one of the two million people who watched this YouTube video called “Joey Quits” this week. The three-minute video shows a young hotel employee, Joey, storming into his workplace where he is treated […]