Decisions

Best Decisions – When To Trust Instinct?

Call it instinct, intuition or just a hunch — all smart business professionals know what it’s like when somethining simply feels right (or wrong). Making a decision based on this sixth sense may not seem wise at the time, but as any successful entrepreneur can tell you, the best business decisions aren’t always based on logical analysis. Paying attention to …

Career Stuck ? – Digging Out

A successful career is one of those life goals that is right in line with marriage, a mortgage, kids, and two bright and shiny new cars in the driveway. Unfortunately, this is rarely the case. More often than any time in history, well-educated people are stuck in jobs that they’re overqualified for and feel blocked for promotions. So, why not …

Business Communication - Python Stlyle

Business Communication – Python Style

 We were setting up the classic “jumping bridal party” photo and I said, “When I count to three, everyone jump. “Wait,” someone said. “Do we actually jump on three, or is it one-two-three and then we jump, like on four?” “Jump on three,” I decided. As they moved into position I offhandedly said, “Three shall be the number thou shall count…” and almost …

Emails that don't get ignored

Emails that don’t get ignored

Your clients and colleagues don’t have time to engage fully with every email they get. Some of them receive hundreds of messages per day. That’s why they start with the ones they can deal with quickly. They may never get around to answering — or even reading — the rest. So how does your email earn their attention? Try these …

Empolyee Engagement

Employee Engagement – DaVita Style

Nobody washes a rental car. People will go the extra mile only if they feel they have ownership. It’s much the same in the workplace. Employees who take ownership of their work — and who feel that what they are doing matters — are far more likely than others to feel engaged on the job. You can have great talent that is appropriately teamed. …

Company Culture

Company Culture Red Flags

Aside from the unpleasantness, bad company culture is also bad for your career. Successful people tend to work for winners, and a good company culture has been shown to drive long term financial performance. Work for a happy place, and you’ll likely do better in life. However, that brings up a question. How can you know anything about a company’s culture when …

Relaxed office conversation

Active Executive Listening on the Front-Line

The higher up you go in an organization, the harder it is to stay in touch with what’s really happening on the front lines.  And the bad news—if you hear it at all—is presented only in the best possible light.  How do you get the real truth about what’s happening out in the field?  How do you stay connected to …

Good Morning Monday on paper and Brown wood plank background

Successful Steps to Fearless Mondays!

Those first few hours after a Colorado weekend are critical. Start your week off right. Monday mornings are the most critical time of the workweek, as they set the stage for the day and week ahead. “Because you’ve stepped away for a couple days, these back-to-work mornings are the most memorable for the rest of the week,” says Lynn Taylor, …

BadDay

Friday tips – for starting Monday right

Instead of just waiting for the work week to end, use those last few hours and these tips to make next week start out fantastic. Most people get excited that Friday is here, especially if the week has been hectic and packed. But often Fridays can seem like a waste (especially before holidays). Your brain, in anticipation of the time off, …

afraidtoask

What are your employees afraid to ask?

When you are busy running a business, providing a culture of communication is often not as easy as you would think. Working long hours day to day with the same people can breed complacency, which takes away from an environment of great performance. In a fast-growing, fast-moving company, providing ongoing feedback to your employees can fall by the wayside, but …

interviewquest

Negotiating beyond the paycheck

By now, you probably know that a salary is negotiable. But that’s just one of the workplace policies and perks up for discussion. Whether it’s explicitly said or not, things like flexible working arrangements, maternity leave and even the projects you get to work on may not be set in stone. Of course, this doesn’t mean you should start making …

extra-mile

Leadership qualities that inspire that ‘extra mile’

I like to call a certain typical leadership style “shock and awe.” You know, people who deploy yelling, profanity and anger to ‘motivate’ employees. Unsurprisingly, these techniques are not exactly effective in creating a devoted and engaged corps willing to go the extra mile for a growing business. That said, I understand that it can be hard to figure out …

Re-Energizing Others

The longer employees stay with your company, the less engaged they become. Engagement levels also drop the lower you go on a company’s hierarchy, according to a recent survey by Bain & Company, which analyzed responses from 200,000 employees across 40 companies in 60 countries. Even more striking, the lowest levels are found among sales and service staff–the employees who have …

On Hiring “Outliers”

A few months ago, software giant SAP announced plans to hire 650 new employees with autism. Yes, autism—even though people on what’s known as the “autism spectrum” are often seen as unemployable. They typically have trouble interacting with others and tend to engage in repetitive behaviors. Only 15% have full-time jobs. But this is no charitable gesture on SAP’s part. The company …