Employee’s crave recognition. Think of how our reliable dog friends become when they are praised for a certain behavior that we like. In addition, a two-handed ear or neck rubbing has them excited to do it all over again, just for that delightful payback! Employees repeat praised behavior. Managers need to do it more. Consider, […]

A manager that can recruit and hire better people has a good opportunity to be a great manager. A friend of mine is looking for a job in retail in the Denver area. He’s been going on line filling out applications. He’s semi-retired and wants something to do to add value and keep busy. He […]

Most employees dread a performance appraisal. Why? Quite frankly managers are poor at it. So, most end up doing more damage than good. Nearly all bigger companies have gone to online systems to manage the process. This adds some accountability and quality control. Yet, managers still lack the skills to be effective. In addition, online […]

A genuine leader​ is rare, precious to work with, and desperately in demand.  She stormed into the office and interrupted the team meeting. Instantly, she declared that things will change. Similarly, she talked loudly while rapping her bracelets on the table for emphasis. For thirty minutes everyone was frozen in time as the abuse continued. […]

“The most important skills I had to learn to be successful were people skills.”  Declared flamboyant businessman Richard Branson. Dr. Daniel Goleman calls these skills our Emotional Intelligence. This involves personal and social competence. Unfortunately, it seems people skills are guilty of desertion when you consider the high levels of management failure, employee discontent and poor […]

Sadly, the great customer experience scam is on. First of all, nearly everybody says they are in favor of good customer service. It’s as desirable as apple pie, family, and free expression, all rolled into one. After all, it’s the right thing to do, isn’t it? Could you imagine a company saying, “We don’t believe […]

E pluribus unum is a Latin phrase meaning “out of many, one.”  Most noteworthy, it implies people of honor working together for the common good.  It is what the founding fathers hoped for.  Congress adopted it as the motto of the United States with an act in 1782. However, the leadership of the US government is increasingly polarized. Gridlock […]