Insights and stories on leadership, collaboration and workplace culture, from the boardroom to the field.
Companies that respond and adapt to change direct themselves toward success, while those operating on inertia tend to fall short of their goals. When it’s time to shift gears to meet changing demands, to rise above the new competition, to adjust to industry regulations and keep pace with the vicissitudes of technology, how agile is […]
Continue reading »
I’ll never forget my first day training as a Starbucks barista in 2009. Angela, my manager, walked me through the coffee tasting process, presenting me with a row of short cups of coffee, each with a different flavor. As part of the exercise, she asked me to describe the flavors I recognized. “Coffee,” I responded, […]
Continue reading »
Research shows that businesses with high levels of employee engagement achieve stronger results, higher productivity, and more positive workplace cultures than those where employees are simply going through the motions. Employee engagement measures how much energy, interest, and respect people bring to their work — how proactive they are and how well they mesh with […]
Continue reading »
Once promoted, many new managers find that the qualities and skills that earned them the position do not really measure up to the leader they want to be. These managers are often powerhouses of information with the hard skills needed to drive the company’s success. And they are also ideal candidates for leadership training. The […]
Continue reading »
Satya Nadella rose to CEO of Microsoft in 2014. While some critics view Apple and Google as the ultimate winners in tech company competition, Microsoft has no shortage of recent successes. The Xbox, for example, dominates its niche, netting profits in the billions as the company continues to research and develop cutting-edge gaming technologies. After 43 years […]
Continue reading »
Remember the days in math class when your teacher handed out an assignment of word problems? You thought: “Will I ever use this stuff in real life?… And why are we … “ Then the mouthy kid blurts it out for you: “Why are we working with words in math class?” Delighted at the expected […]
Continue reading »
By Jessica Genereaux Have you ever told your staff you’re about to take part in a team building program, only to see a few of them rolling their eyes, convulsing in pain or banging their heads against a wall? If so, chances are their last experience probably didn’t go so well. Or maybe they just […]
Continue reading »
by Jessica Genereaux The last two decades have seen a global shift in corporate ownership and business management. Since 1996, the number of publicly-traded firms in the U.S. has steadily declined to nearly 50 percent, with many of the firms transforming to privately-owned status. The roles of the investor and human resources director have also […]
Continue reading »
by Jessica Genereaux Taking over an established team as a new manager is a challenge, especially if the team is not performing well. It’s a team you didn’t build, with members you didn’t choose, but it’s up to you to make it work when history shows the going has been rocky at best. Your first […]
Continue reading »