August: Write the ”bones” of your business plan. While it is warm and the days are still long, spend some time in thought.  You are more likely to find a day or two now to plan than you are once school begins.  Sit outside and breathe some fresh air and think about what changes and improvements you are [...]

Customer Experience When Messages are Mixed 
 
I always wonder: Does senior leadership know what their customer is experiencing, or are they out of touch?  Do they get to hear the truth from consumers of their product or service, or do unhappy customers just say nothing and never return?
 
My husband and I recently took all three (young [...]

The most powerful learning experience in my past was during intensive outpatient recovery for my alcoholism.  At the age of 43, I was in the late, chronic stages of alcoholism, slipping quickly into a time when my only option would have been institutionalization.  There are many excuses I can make for why I ended up [...]

Busy and successful people find themselves getting ”hit up” for all sorts of fundraisers, and to be on boards of directors on a regular basis.  If you are reading this post, you are probably thinking to yourself ”No kidding, it happened to me three times last week.”
Here are some principles I’ve learned since I began spending 1/2 my time volunteering [...]

A Primer on Loss and Grief for Leaders
If you are running a company of any size, you hear about some relative or friend of your workforce dying almost every day. In even the smallest company, there is loss all around your employees. Loss you don’t see, and I am about to make you aware of. [...]

If a job could talk, what would it say about itself?
What would it say are the behaviors, key motivators, and personal skills necessary for superior performance?
 
Job Benchmarking is a process that tells you that very thing, about any position in your organization. 
 
80% of turnover is caused by bad hiring decisions, and a job analysis is the most [...]

Recently at a continuing education class on Co-Dependency, I was given a handout I found hilarious.  It is most funny if you are familiar with the twelve steps of any recovery program, which are, by the way, not just good recovery steps, but excellent steps to follow in daily life in your business and personal [...]

 The discussions of employee re-engagement we’ve been having this month have been filled with great information and lots of interaction.
 If you would like to register for the a complimentary webinar entitled Re-engaging the Workforce , which includes three industry experts discussing how to re-engage employees while uncertainty still exists, scheduled for Thursday, February 18th, you can use the following link:   www.ttidisc.com  [...]

“OMG, Here she goes again with the EQ stuff!  I’m focused on the bottom line and don’t have time do deal with all this ’soft stuff’…”
I know, but here’s the deal. It’s all soft stuff.  Yes, that’s what I said.  It’s all soft stuff.  Just imagine, you show up at your office, and find out all [...]

In my last post I talked about disengagement.  Let’s continue the discussion, first, by giving you a “state of the people” address.  Then let’s look at some actions you can take to proactively position yourself for the next battle:
Some things you should know:  

According to a recent study by the Washington-based Corporate Executive Board, the [...]