I recall vividly a discussion I had with an R&D manager a few
years back.  It was bonus time, and he was disappointed with the amount
of his bonus.  He demanded to know why his bonus was smaller in that
year than it had been in years previous, even though the company had
experienced tremendous growth and increased profits.
We [...]

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I have to start this post (and I’ll probably end it) by saying that
good employees are your most valuable resource.  Whatever is next most
valuable is so far behind good employees you can hardly see it from
here.  You’ll notice I said “good” employees.  Average and below
employees contribute little to moving your business forward, and are
actually more [...]

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I had an interesting experience over the weekend.  I went to a
warehouse to pick up a new washer and dryer where I heard the following
exchange:  “I can’t get the washer down,” the employee said to the
woman who was, apparently, the supervisor.   “Why not?” she asked. 
“The forklift is broken.  Remember?  The washer’s on the second level,”
he [...]

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I just experienced the worst example of customer service I’ve ever
seen (or heard of, for that matter.)  I called the local Dish Network
TV provider to ask what packages they had, and what promotions they
were running.  From, “Hello.  XXXX Satellite, this is Bob.  How may I
help you?” it went downhill in a hurry.
I indicated I would [...]

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It seems to me there are a lot of good ideas out there that don’t /
haven’t worked for whatever reason.  We tend to judge the value of the
idea by whether the project was a success or a failure.  While this is
not a bad place to start, there are many things that influence the
success or failure [...]

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One of the things successful companies do is re-invent themselves
and their products regularly.  I read an article recently in one of the
older business magazines (I can’t remember which one) that talked about
the path of Arm and Hammer baking soda.  They showed the evolution of
the logo, the different ad campaigns, etc.
Now, I don’t know about you, [...]

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I saw an HR poster in a business the other day proclaiming “Attitude
Determines Altitude,” and I immediately began to compare and contrast
that statement against my own experience in business to see if I could
prove or disprove it. Following are my thoughts on the matter:
One of my first jobs in high school was building roof trusses [...]

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The lifeboat drill is a great way to evaluate your managers and
staff from a whole new paradigm.  I especially like it because it not
only evaluates the importance of each employee to the company, it ranks
them by importance relative to every other employee of the company.
Here’s how it works.  A luxury cruise ship with all your [...]

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I remember as a young man sitting in a job interview with several
senior managers.  The company was looking for a consultant to function
for a period of time as production manager.   It was about my third
interview, and I had already talked to most of the people in the room. 
The one person I hadn’t talked to [...]

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According to just about every source you read, we’re either
currently in — or headed into — a recession.  Depending on who you
listen to, that recession might be a slight downward blip in the
economy or a deep, long-lasting recession like we had in the ’80’s.
Now, I’m no economist, but when educated, credible sources speak I
listen.  It’s [...]

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