Just about every company I’ve worked with over the past twenty years has a list of core values that is proudly displayed on a handsome plaque in their corporate headquarters and visible to all on their company website. But if you were to ask the custodian, a delivery driver, or the receptionist that works for…
The global health pandemic has completely upended the world of work. With social distancing restrictions and other health measures in place, many companies have either shifted to hybrid workplaces or completely transitioned to remote working models. Covid has forever changed the workplace culture, pushed digital skills to the forefront, and paved a clear path for…
The irony of the subtitle of my new book FULLY STAFFED: The Definitive Guide to Finding and Keeping Great Employees in the Worst Labor Market Ever (releasing Monday, April 20th) is obvious. After all, if the COVID-19 pandemic has force millions to file for unemployment, could this STILL be considered ‘the worst labor market ever?’ The answer is a…
Using a low price loss leader item and training front line employees to upsell customers to a higher margin product is a practice that’s been around since Moses played goalie for the Egyptian soccer team. It’s also one of many such tactics that millennial and Gen Z-aged employees despise. Unless they’re being closely monitored by…
Immediately following the Columbine tragedy that rocked the world twenty years ago (4-20-1999), Frank DeAngelis vowed that he would remain the school’s principal until the class of first grade students in the elementary schools that fed into the high school had graduated. His goal was to prevent a mass exodus of faculty and staff and…
Last week, 5-time NBA All-Star, Kevin Love, signed a contract to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers. His new deal will pay him $120M over 4 years, approximately $30M per year. These days, it’s not uncommon to see professional athletes sign enormous contracts punctuated with a staggering number of zeros. What is uncommon about this particular story…
When I hear the word family, beyond the mental images of my own, I can’t help but think of the Cleavers, the Bradys, the Cunninghams, and the Huxtables. Growing up, I probably spent as much time hanging out with those families as I did my own. Television families of the 60’s, 70’s and early 80’s…
When the Grinch stole Christmas from all the Whos down in Whoville, he went about it with passion and fury. The scrawny-limbed hermit with a nasty attitude and a foul grimace felt like an outsider who was unappreciated by his peers, so he decided to turn the tables and ruin Christmas for the entire village.…
Walking through Denver International Airport on my way to Nashville last week, it wasn’t difficult to pick out the Southwest gates from those of all the other airlines. They were the only ones that looked like …well, like it’s late October. That’s because Southwest Airlines takes fun very seriously. They know if they promote a…
Not long ago I worked with a mid-sized manufacturing plant in St. Louis that had a remarkable record of attracting and keeping in-demand workers. Although the company offered competitive wages, their formula for employee retention did not include offering above-market compensation, perks, and benefits. When I asked Darrel, the plant manager, his secret for hanging on to his skilled machinists…