Jan 11 2012
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The Gen X Myth I was listening to a webinar about how to work with Generation X and was surprised and appalled by the Xer hosts diatribe about other generations. She said she absolutely hated Baby Boomers and wouldn’t work with them. She also felt Millennials were inept. She talked about her own …
Dec 28 2011
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New Year’s Resolutions or Goals Every year I advise people to forgo the usual New Year’s resolution process. Few people ever actually stick to their resolutions even though I often hear something like “I’m really going to do it this year.” I heard that last year though, and the year before. Here’s a …
Dec 14 2011
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Speak and be Heard! Are public speaking skills essential to being a good leader? It’s a question I read recently and at first, it was one of those things that make you say, “Well, obviously.” But as I read a little more of the question, I began to understand the person was really …
Dec 07 2011
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What Books Should Leaders Read? This is a question I hear a lot. It’s a good question; leaders should be avid readers on a variety of subjects. But, as one who has read a lot of leadership books, and even written a couple, I warn you they can be dangerous! What! Dangerous? How …
Nov 30 2011
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Those Slackers One of the biggest problems for team leaders is dealing with team members who don’t want to do their share. These slackers are always a problem for leaders, but I’ve found there are some basics of leadership that will significantly reduce that problem. Since much of my leadership experience comes from …
Nov 23 2011
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Who’s in the Planning Process – and When? Should we involve our team in the planning or should they only be involved in planning the implementation rather than the plan itself? Some years ago it was popular to include worker level people in executive level planning. The thought was to “get their buy-in.” …
Nov 16 2011
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Push Buttons, Email, and Videos I’m late with this blog because of technology. You see, I’m from a generation that was impressed when push button phones appeared. Those phones had two extra buttons; a pound sign and an asterisk. We were told that those didn’t do anything, but someday they would provide wonderful …
Nov 09 2011
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The Christmas Tree Tax The government has decided to charge consumers a 15 cent per live Christmas tree tax this year. This Christmas tree tax is to help fund an effort by the Department of Agriculture to improve the image and marketing of Christmas trees. They say this is not a tax, but …
Nov 01 2011
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Customer Service, Attitude, and Leadership If you had been hovering over the store that day, you would have thought you were watching some sort of live video game. My wife and I were in a large store looking for a particular item. We had walked around a while with no luck so we …
Oct 24 2011
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Mixed Messages Are your workers clear about who they report to and what they’re supposed to do? Especially in new companies, it’s common to have a less than clear chain of command in the interest of an “open” office. One company even has everyone take turns being in charge. I wonder who will …
