Blog
Small Steps Drive Significant Change
Last week I had the pleasure of working with a national retailer whose leadership team has established some bold goals to transform the culture and reinvent the customer experience. It’s a heady vision that, given their size and structure, will likely prove to be ambitious. Yet, given the distance this organization must travel and the […]
Listening 2.0: Making a Splash with Employees
I’ve opened a few recent workshops using electronic polling applications. (If you’re not familiar with the technology, it might be worth a look.) I asked a few questions to establish a base of understanding and interest, and using their cell phones, participants texted their answers. The responses were aggregated and displayed in real time; I […]
An Argument for Conflict
We’ve all experienced it. The meeting goes well. Everyone nods, smiles, and quickly agrees. There are no objections or even questions to answer. You leave feeling confident that your proposal will be unanimously adopted. Then you hear about the meeting after the meeting… and the lingering concerns and worries that ‘everyone’ has… and you know […]
Top 3 Gifts Employees Want Most this Holiday Season (and All Year Long)
Despite the fact that I wrote this a couple of years ago, the suggestions continue to hold up well. Wishing you a happy, healthy holiday season. ‘Tis the season… when leaders everywhere scramble to find the perfect holiday gift for their staffs. This year, will it be: The latest business title? A gift card for […]
The “Engagement Ring”
You’ve seen the research. Read the reports. Talked to leaders and employees alike. You know that despite our quantifiable understanding of the bottom-line impact of employee engagement, it continues to elude most organizations. The reason engagement is such a sought-after commodity is because it’s a powerful contributor to a cycle that every business wants and […]
The Simple Connection Between High School English and Accountability
My daughter is taking an Advanced Placement English Language course this year. That may be why the November 2014 article in The Atlantic Magazine, “Passive Resistance,” captured my attention. The author, Steven Pinker, explores the role and value of the passive tense. (Or, expressed in the passive tense: The role and value of the passive […]
