Growing up, I saw a lot of ads on TV and in magazines for products that were compared to Brand X. Of course, there was no such thing as Brand X, so advertisers had the freedom to disparage it as if it were the competitor’s product, and then point out how theirs was clearly superior. Mature adults…
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…
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…
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…
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…
In Western cultures, the transition from school-to-work-to-career generally happens between the ages of 16-to-24. This is a period of explosive personal growth when an individual crosses over from a dependent child to an independent adult who no longer relies on their parents to provide food, clothing, shelter, laundry services, and gas money. (This transition is not happening as early…
To get back to Kansas, Dorothy never had to jump through all the death-defying hoops the Wizard put her through. She had everything she needed (ruby shoes) from the very beginning. All she lacked was the understanding of how to unlock their magical powers. Since they began making their way into the workforce in the late 90’s, business leaders, owners, and…
Every manager has been told that it’s important to acknowledge, recognize, and reward their top performing employees. Unfortunately, most haven’t been coached on how to do this effectively. And if one of the goals is to get the performer to continue performing at a high level, the why has to be linked to the what. “You’ve done a good job…