Business should move at lightning speed, right? We have all these tools and technologies at our disposal. So many things are automated. Nobody uses carbon paper, typewriters or mimeograph machines anymore (those born after 1980, you’ll need to Google those things). Much of business actually does move at lightning [...]
Many people talk about organizational culture. Far fewer understand it. Ask a few people to define culture. You’ll get a different answer from each person. As a leader, understanding organizational culture is pretty important. Actually, it’s vitally important. Culture is the “horizontal gravity” that holds an organization together. [...]
We are all busy people. Often our days are a juggling act of meetings, appointments and trying to get some work done in between. I’m kind of a punctuality geek. I pride myself on being early to meetings and when I have a call scheduled, I call on time [...]
I was at a college basketball game recently with some friends. We arrived early, and as we enjoyed the pre-game warmup, two young boys came up the steps and took their seats right in front of us. They were probably seven or eight years old. Both were wearing jerseys [...]
I reach out to people professionally multiple times a day. Most of us do. We need the cooperation of others to do our jobs. In the old days, when you called someone, they answered the phone. Why? There was no voicemail and there was no caller ID. The caller [...]
Relationships are hard. I find this very interesting. We live in a world where (most of us) are surrounded by people. We grow up surrounded by family and friends. We are surrounded by other students for (at least) twelve years of school. We then enter the workforce, and we [...]
I’ve been in the recruiting industry since 1999. About ten years in, I would occasionally think that I’d seen and heard it all. For example, I once had a candidate who, feeling ill during an interview, pulled a thermometer from his bag…and took his temperature while answering questions. I [...]
I talk to people for a living. Although much of my conversation is over the phone, even more is electronic. And yes, I consider email as conversation. Texting also. They are all mediums to conduct dialogue. In some cases, electronic communication is the only way some people will engage. [...]
There are no tricks involved in breaking a board. Or a brick. “What you have here is one of the most efficient human movements ever conceived,” say MIT physicist Michael Feld. The secret lies in the speed and focus of the strike. Feld, fellow student Stephen Wilk and his [...]
I’ve been a business owner for a long time now. It’s been the greatest experience of my professional life. The reason for me is simple. I love it because my answers are in the mirror. Every morning when I wake up, I go to the bathroom and brush my [...]