I am not a frequent flyer. I don’t get to hang out in the USAirways club, board first, or drink champagne in the front of the plane. I do, however, travel enough by plane to have invested recently in a pair of Bose noise-canceling headphones (QuietComfort 15), and I’m shocked to be writing that they […]
If you’re in a leadership position, you’ve probably had the following happen to you: You’re teaching someone how to do something, and they keep nodding and saying they understand what you want them to do. Then you let them do it on their own, and what they produce isn’t remotely close to what you were […]
Joe worked for years at the same company, but ownership changed and he saw the handwriting on the wall: They wanted to bring in some new faces. Joe updates his resume and applies to your company when you list an opening for a sales director. You hired Joe because of his longtime experience and you […]
If you want to learn about outstanding customer service from some guys who could write a book about it, visit The American Family Super Market in Narberth, PA. I’ve been going there for years. I thought what I was getting was excellent meats, cheeses, fish, chicken, and homemade chicken sausage that’s so good I swear […]
Regardless of why someone is separating from your company or team, departing employees are a gold mine of information: * They can provide perspectives you might not learn from current employees. * They can clue you in to problem supervisors. * Their comments can reveal a gap between what is promised in your recruitment material […]
One of the more challenging tasks of leadership in a rocky economy is making sure that your best people stick around. There are all kinds of reasons why valued staff members decide to move on. And those reasons may have nothing to do with their level of satisfaction with their job, or your company or […]
One of the keys to keeping turnover low is creating and maintaining an environment where your employees love (or at least like) to come to work every day. And the best way to find out how much they like working for you is to ask them. But many leaders are afraid to solicit feedback more […]
One of the most challenging problems employers face is trying to “cure” chronic lateness. They often come to me seeking a magic solution to this seemingly intractable problem. The reason it’s so difficult to solve is that people who are chronically late to work tend to be late to everything else in their lives as […]
As the economy turns around (yes, that’s the noise you’re hearing), companies who are hiring are experiencing something they’ve never had to contend with before: HUGE numbers of applicants for open positions. One reason for the large numbers of applicants is simply the sheer number of people looking for work right now. But another reason […]
I love eBay. It has connected me with many types of businesses. And it’s a well-managed marketplace. I typically only buy from sellers who have a positive feedback rating of 99% or higher. So I was surprised the other day when I had a truly bad experience with a seller who had tens of thousands […]
