Hank McGuinty is the owner of an HVAC service and installation business in Beeville, Texas (pop. 13,500). His uncanny ability to attract and hire technicians is the envy of all the other owners in this large national chain, and it’s helping him crush his competition. With the ever-diminishing number of skilled workers in every trade – especially in smaller rural communities…
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…
My new high-end coffee brewer drives me absolutely insane. It brews the absolute perfect cup of java – hot nectar of the gods – about every third day. The other two result in either an average tasting cup of convenience store coffee or an evil black muck that you wouldn’t throw down your kitchen drain for…
In this follow-up to my previous “Don’t Judge Me” blog, we explained why millennials (and for that matter, people of any age) really do want to be judged… as long as they are being judged favorably. (No one is offended when they’re told how good they look, right?) This post will take this topic deeper…
Messages about individuality have hit today’s youth nonstop from all directions. They’re constantly reminded that they are perfect just the way they are, that they have to be their own brand, and to never surrender their personal identity. No wonder your young workers arrive in the workplace thinking, “This is how I choose to look…
$1.5 Billion is a whole lot of loot. An almost unfathomable amount. It is, by far, the largest jackpot in the history of any Powerball or any type of lottery anywhere on the planet. While it’s hard to imagine being the winner, try to imagine that the winner turns out to be the top performer on your…
In this new economy, time is the commodity that is the most prized. Seldom do you run into a colleague or associate who is looking for a way to fill some empty or idle time in their day. Forced to do more with less, time-crunched leaders push their people to find the fast-n-easy solution when…
My appointment was scheduled for 9:50am and I had arrived 5 minutes early. At 10:20 I was still seated in the waiting area growing more frustrated by the minute. (Full disclosure: I’m what you might call a “Type A++”). At 10:16, I was ushered back to the dental chair and was welcomed by the dental assistant…
Just about every company in existence was started by someone (or several people) who saw an opportunity to make money in the marketplace. Ain’t nothin’ wrong with that. But one company – a high tech software firm based in Minneapolis – was started by three guys (who each self-identify as ‘nerds’) with the singular goal…
It was midnight at the Omni Hotel in Amelia Island about 45 minutes from Jacksonville, Florida. I had just been dropped off by an Uber driver after a 4-hour flight from Denver and I was dog-tired. I was scheduled to speak for a large conference of 600 C-level executives the next day at this high-end…