Clik here to view.
Inside vs. Outside Sales Strategies
For most small businesses, the owners handle sales since they are the most invested, most knowledgeable about the product, and most willing to work long hours. But at some point, the number of sales...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Employee engagement in a tight labor market
This is the third installment of our Tight Labor Market series, where we’re going to tackle employee engagement and making sure your employees are happy and therefore productive. This is always...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How Gen Y and Gen X use technology (or don’t) to communicate
Gen X and Gen Y communicate differently — and I’ve got the awkward situation to prove it. Let me explain: I (Gen Y) work out of two offices – first half of the week at an office downtown (Chicago), and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Problem to solve — or tension to manage?
Business owners and other leaders like to solve problems. We’re doers so we don’t like lingering issues hanging around. But not all issues can be “solved”; sometimes “solving” an issue creates other...
View ArticleClik here to view.
5 Employee engagement tips (from an employee’s perspective)
One of the biggest keys to building a strong team and getting the most out of your team is through employee engagement. Engaged employees are happier, work harder and help build a healthy culture at...
View ArticleClik here to view.
3 types of meetings you can’t miss
Meetings can be such a waste of time. When they drag on with reports, updates, people talking about things everyone knows … blech! But let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Not all meetings...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The creative process: Motivating ‘real artists’ to ‘ship’
When the team who was creating the first Mac was months late in delivering it, Steve Jobs famously told them: “Real artists ship.” Those three words motivated the team to work non-stop on the new...
View ArticleClik here to view.
What your employees really think about their managers — or YOU
I attended the Chicago Vistage All-City recently, where hundreds of Vistage business owners got together for an all-day conference of workshops and networking. Dave Hibbard was one of the keynote...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The real cost of bad bosses
Are your employees sluggish? Productivity down? Maybe the problem is your managers, or maybe… YOU. We’ve all had bad bosses and know how it makes us feel as employees. But if your employees are...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Best books I read in 2012
Reading is one of my favorite pastimes, but it’s also the way I stay sharpened as a business owner. Even non-business books offer valuable information about leading my business. Here is a top ten list...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The value of a clear and compelling vision
Big hairy audacious goals, 50-100 year visions, mission statements, starting with why – there are as many ways to talk about vision and purpose as there are consultants. But still, with so many folks...
View ArticleClik here to view.
No one goes it alone
” a dwarf standing on the shoulders of a giant may see farther than a giant himself.” ~ Robert Burton, in The Anatomy of Melancholy (1621) Today, we (finally) launched our membership area at EnMast....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Bring in the firing squad?
You’re excited about the promise of a new year and what it will hold for you and your business. But then you get back to reality and realize … “It’s hard to soar like an eagle when you are surrounded...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Small Business Staffing Plan Tool
Every business needs the right people performing the necessary tasks and a system of accountability that rewards employees for their hard work. But most small businesses don’t take the right approach...
View ArticleClik here to view.
‘Is this your best work?’
I recently read a story about an editor who worked on a book manuscript. She finished editing it and turned it in to the publisher, who paid her the agreed-upon fee. Later she found out that the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Business is optimistic about hiring, but worried about employee retention...
2013 is looking pretty good-and-dandy for business. 15% more businesses plan to hire this year compared to 2012. That’s good. 70% expect performance to grow this year. That’s also good. And small...
View ArticleClik here to view.
What to do when… Your employee is threatening to quit
Terence has been a solid team member the last 4 years, and in the last 18 months has really become an essential part of the team. When you hired him right out of school you got a real steal — the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Job Growth Worksheet
You have expectations of the people who work for you — and they have expectations of you too. They want to grow professionally and thrive at your business. But how do you make sure that happens when...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Swearing in the workplace: Why the F#@% did you say that?
I work with a number of different businesses in any given week so I see different office cultures. In some offices there is a lot of jargon — knowing the “code words” means you are an insider. In other...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Why letting employees moonlight is good for business
I have some colleagues whose companies either do not tolerate or frown upon their employees moonlighting, doing freelance work outside of their job, or being involved in other programs or projects that...
View Article
