Mary Marshall You hear a lot these days about the wild company cultures and perks of some of the tech start-ups – some true and some not so true. The trend has been to create work environments that felt more like home so people would stay longer … Read more
Workplace negativity can bring down an entire team. It erodes morale and productivity. The culture quickly follows the downward spiral and becomes “unintentionally negative.” In today’s competitive hiring arena, this becomes a real Achilles’ heal for an employer. The problem is not only the few … Read more
Several of the companies I’ve been working with recently are struggling with underperforming employees. This has reminded me that dealing with this is one of the most difficult areas for leaders, especially when it’s a tough hiring market with low unemployment. Let’s address a couple … Read more
Every successful leader I have worked with is a learner. They know there is a lot they don’t know and are curious. The challenge is that running a company is a lot of work and there is usually no time for reading or attending classes … Read more
One of the requirements of the current, younger workforce (Millennial’s, Gen X, Gen Y) is personal education. In other words, what they are saying to employers is “what’s in it for me to stay here?” And what they are looking for is a way to … Read more
There was a great piece in the Harvard Business Review this month about innovation. What was interesting about it was their recommended approach was a bit different, or as they described it, “horizontal.” When faced with a complicated problem, or one that had eluded solution, … Read more
As I was binge-watching House of Cards this weekend I was reminded of a link someone had sent me from Fortune that lists 7 great documentaries every entrepreneur should see that are available on Netflix. I thought I should probably take a look at a … Read more
Last week I wrote about the traits of individual team members and how sometimes superstars do not make good teammates and can negatively impact performance. Shortly after that, there was a detailed piece in The New York Times about a research project that Google did … Read more
Working with companies on strategy is fun and exciting. At the end of the day, however, it comes down to execution and the people that have to make it happen. I would say that more than half of my conversations with business owners revolve around … Read more
When we think about successful businesses we look at their products, services, and people and know that somehow there was alignment, a plan was executed well, and perhaps a little magic happened too. But at the heart of any business is usually something more – … Read more