Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
by Dan Oswald Knowing what your customers want and need and delivering it are key concepts for any business. But how do you really know what your customers want? The first person I worked for after graduating from college knew exactly what his customers wanted and needed. He had that knowledge because he once held […]
by Dan Oswald I read something the other day that asked, “Are you playing to win or not to lose?” It’s an interesting question. You may be wondering what the difference between the two exactly is. You may think that if both strategies are successful, the result is the same. But is it? Winning is […]
Jathan Janove is an employment lawyer whose book, Managing to Stay out of Court (Berrett-Koehler/Society for Human Resource Management), includes the following proactive management tips that you can teach your managers and supervisors. ‘That Was Then, This Is Now’ is a good way to effect change in an organization. Grant amnesty for all past mistakes […]
Koehler/Society for Human Resource Management), explains the concept of skiing with your weight forward. In his introduction, Janove evokes the image of a beginning skier. Frightened of going too fast, he or she likely obeys the instinct to lean back on the skis. The truth is, however, that keeping the weight forward steadies the skier […]
McBean, author of The Facts of Business Life: What Every Successful Business Owner Knows That You Don’t (Wiley, October 2012,), encourages employers not to wait until fall to review and adjust company directions. Especially if changes will involve employee training and/or hiring and training new employees. Most business owners probably look at the summer as […]
McBean, author of The Facts of Business Life: What Every Successful Business Owner Knows That You Don’t (Wiley, October 2012,) says the reality is that the season is actually a great time to do a half-year review and make some smart moves for your business, rather than indulge in the summertime lull. Take summer’s opportunity […]
by Dan Oswald Have you ever faced a problem at work that seemed so overwhelming, so insurmountable that you struggled to even know how to begin to resolve it? And the more you studied the problem, the more convinced you became that the solution must be equally as complex. Your exercise in problem solving became […]
by Dan Oswald Webster’s defines cooperate as “to act or work with another or others . . . to associate with another or others for mutual benefit.” It sounds simple enough, but in practice it’s not. Nothing is more important in an organization than interdepartmental cooperation, yet it’s so difficult to achieve. Why is that? […]
by Dan Oswald Years ago, I heard a story about a couple of salespeople that left a lasting impression on me. The story went like this: A British shoe manufacturer sent two salespeople to Africa to investigate and report back on market potential. The first salesperson reported back, “There is no potential here—nobody wears shoes.” […]
To recap: Without even realizing it, most leaders do and say things that send employees into their “Critter State” where every decision they make is driven by fear, says Christine Comaford, author of the new book Smart Tribes: How Teams Become Brilliant Together (Portfolio/Penguin, June 2013). And the consequences are more dire than you might […]