There’s a vast difference between being a leader and a boss. A leader influences, collaborates, guides, mentors and supports others to encourage movement in a desired direction. Conversely, a boss lords over others, controlling, domineering and relying on fear and intimidation to get ever more out of the individuals he or she oversees. If you’re […]
Every company has team members who hold positions critical to daily operations. While these individuals might fill important roles, they also could contribute to a negative work environment. They might not fully support company philosophies, objectives and goals. In fact, they actually could hinder the progress of the organization with their bad attitudes, gossip and […]
Internal barriers or blockages to business success come in many forms: ineffective hiring practices, poor on-boarding and training, bad teamwork, low morale and team members whose lack of desire and negative attitudes prevent them from performing at consistently high levels. That’s not to mention less than effective systems and procedures, inferior customer service, inconsistent quality […]
Personality conflicts hurt businesses by contributing to declines in communication, collaboration and teamwork. In turn, efficiency, productivity, retention, team member satisfaction and ultimately business growth and profits suffer. The degree to which team members don’t collaborate presents one of the greatest obstacles to business success. The effective, efficient and smooth flow of information is critical […]
Businesses experience turnover for a variety of reasons, and the expenses associated with finding, hiring, training and developing new team members are very real. Studies have estimated the cost of turnover to range from several thousand dollars to upwards of 150 percent to 200 percent of a team member’s annual salary. The costs are high […]
Over the course of my career as a coach and consultant, I’ve met with many business owners who’ve lost their way in the face of “competition” with other companies. This occurred because of their choice to take on a negative attitude toward these businesses and their owners, especially when that business was outperforming theirs or […]
The easiest and most effective way to build a competent, motivated and engaged team is to hire intelligently. Unfortunately, the typical path to hiring people is obstructed with biased or incorrect information and involves quite a bit of guesswork and assumptions. How can any business successfully assemble a team of skilled, solution-oriented and motivated people […]
Whether you’re aware of it or not, you’re leading at work, at home and in your community. You lead by your example in all the areas of your life. Your team members are watching. Your spouse, children, extended family and people you don’t even know also are looking to you for guidance on how to […]
Business owners who want to create sound ventures that survive in challenging times and thrive in easy times should consistently endeavor to create raving fans out of their customers. If your customers like — or better yet, love — your business, they’re going to give you their patronage and also happily share their glowing recommendations […]
Business owners and managers focused on moving their companies to ever higher levels of efficiency, effectiveness, profitability and success are always on the lookout for ways to improve their business model. To achieve this objective requires a discerning awareness regarding what is — and isn’t — working in daily operations. Beware of a potential trap, […]