Last week I had the privilege of taking a behind the scenes tour of Zappos and speaking with several of their top leaders. Mine was not the popular tour advertised on their website, but rather a real peek behind the curtain to see the wizardry of this renowned workplace culture phenomena and iconic brand. I’ve read…
Long before the iPhone 6 was launched, I was hooked on Apple. My first desktop computer was a MacIntosh SE II with a whopping 1 mb of ram, and I’ve been an Apple fanatic ever since. But as much as I crow about their products, I rave even more about the counter-intuitive culture that is continually on…
This is a guest post by my good friend and colleague, Robert Wendover. Bob is the Director of the Center for Generational Studies and the award-winning author of Figure It Out! Making Smart Decisions in a Dumbed-Down World. I highly recommend this book! Go ahead, I dare you. Ask a random person within your firm or organization, “How does this…
The Seattle Seahawks throttled the Denver Broncos (my home team) in the Super Bowl last year. Yet these two teams were, arguably, the most aggressive in signing free agents to upgrade their teams during the off-season and both are odds-on favorites to repeat as the teams in next year’s big game. That’s because when it comes…
“I can’t believe the way these young associates come to work!” Chris told me after a recent presentation. “Where did they get the idea that ‘business casual’ means cut-off shorts, flip-flops and a tank top?” That certainly wasn’t the first time I had heard the rumblings of a bewildered employer lamenting the haphazard fashion sense and…
Recently my wife commented on how much time I was spending watching the NFL Draft coverage on ESPN. “You’re a Bronco fan. They don’t pick again for an hour, at least. Are you really that fascinated by who Buffalo selects in the 5th round?” she asked. But there I sat along with 45.7 million other…
The Sawmill Jake and Justin, 23-year-old twin brothers, worked for a large sawmill not far from where they grew up. As a friend of the sawmill’s owner, their father was aware that even though both sons had essentially the same job title and duties, Justin was paid significantly more than Jake. Curious as to why, the father…
A disturbing trend I’ve noticed in the 60+ meetings, conferences, and conventions I attend each year is the increasing frequency of how many of these events get thrown off schedule. When attendees are still clustered around the coffee stations 10 minutes after the meeting begins or they refuse to disconnect from their smart phones in…
“If I had me for a boss, would I like coming to work?” Face it, the people who work for you have other options. (If they don’t, you not only have the wrong people on your bus, you’ve got a lousy bus.) Offering a competitive wage and benefit package may be enough to attract talent…
“Do as I say, not as I do.” There was a time when a parent who smoked, drank excessively, cursed, etc. could demand – and often expect – a different standard of behavior from their children simply by telling them ” I want you to have a better life than the one I’m living, so…