There was an interesting section in the Wall Street Journal this weekend about the Top Employers in the US. The section was paid advertising, so I don’t give the rankings much credence as it’s one of those pay to play “awards.” However, there was a … Read more
Look no further than your daily paper to be reminded of leadership missteps, especially in the form of an offhand comment or email. Recently in The Seattle Times Boeing CEO James McNerney said he won’t retire because “the heart will still be beating, the employees will … Read more
Yes, it’s that time of year when you drag out and dust off those pesky goals, the strategic plan and assess how it’s going. The companies that review every 90 days are much more likely to achieve their goals than those that don’t. Why do … Read more
This week I led a webinar for HR That Works called “How to Create an Intentional Culture,” (based on Chapter 2 of Putting Together the Entrepreneurial Puzzle). We did polling questions throughout the webinar with some interesting results. According to this group of HR professionals: … Read more
I thought about all the stories I have of leaders, including myself, who at one point or another behaved in a manner that was exhibiting very low EQ, (or emotional intelligence), and quickly realized that I had a lot of examples. Of course this speaks … Read more
Last week, the Wall Street Journal had a section devoted to HR with several good articles, but one in particular caught my attention – “The Inner Workings of the Executive Brain.” The author explained that much of what we believe about how good managers “think” … Read more
Hiring can be the most difficult aspect of running a business for most entrepreneurs. The hiring process is not clear, the onboarding non-existent, expectations rarely made clear, and the firing after it all goes wrong is the worst part of all. As with most anything, … Read more
When an employee does not work out, it’s always a disappointment for the company and the employee. No one likes it, we don’t want to talk about it, and we feel like we failed. And it’s expensive! The figures I’ve heard put it at three … Read more
My work often takes me into organizations that need to make some fundamental change, but have been unsuccessful doing so in the past. I have thought a lot about how companies get themselves into this predicament and more importantly, how they get out of it. … Read more
Debrief, post-mortem or oil change – no matter what you call it, it needs to be done. It is the final step to any project, initiative, strategy or action that more than one person was involved in. The purpose of the debrief is to understand … Read more