Whenever you get that “feeling” that something is off in the company, you’re right. The key is finding and identifying the issue quickly before the business culture changes in a direction you did not intend. Facebook is a good example of an organization that is … Read more
Last month there was a good piece in Forbes about what makes a toxic workplace. You might be thinking, as I was, why would you need a list? It’s pretty easy to spot? But in fact, the author makes a good point. It’s the thing … Read more
Last month I wrote about, “Breaking up Is Hard to Do,” and why it can be necessary. Sometimes it’s because of a skill set mismatch, but more often than not it’s about a values disconnect. It’s when you say, “I can’t quite put my finger … Read more
One of the value words that shows up with almost every organization I work with is “integrity” or “honesty.” The difficulty with these words, or values, is that if you don’t declare it, does it mean that your organization doesn’t have honesty or integrity? Of … Read more
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
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
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
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
There is a lot of talk recently about culture in an organization, both good and bad. I think what everyone finally agrees on is that business culture matters and those identified as “good” cultures usually produce results far exceeding their peers. So what makes a … Read more