Here are a handful of ways to get off to a good start next month so 2020 is your best year ever…

My experience is the biggest difference between people who are thriving in life, versus those who are unhappy, is gratitude.  Below are 25 contrasts to gratitude.  Where are your strengths?

Our memories are subjective. They impact our lives so much, including what food we eat, the friends we hang out with, and the businesses we work with.

There’s a short quiz that’s incorrectly attributed to Charles Schulz, the American cartoonist best known for his Peanuts cartoons with Snoopy and Charlie Brown. It looks like this…

…You have a meeting with two managers of another team, Natasha and Vito, to discuss a problem that occurred between your team and their team. You’re shocked by their response….

One of your team members promised they would do something for a client.  They got distracted with other work, and it was not done on time.  The very upset client contacts you.

You meet with the employee.You remind them of the commitment they made to do the work excellently on time.You explain the client just called and unloaded on you…

Instinctively, leaders can be too quick to blame employees for poor behavior, lack of skills, and not meeting their expectations.

The leader’s expectations are high, yet the employee made a mistake by not meeting them. The mistake is like an onion. It has a strong smell and you want to get away from it as quickly as possible.

Should your company use social media? Should you personally use social media? We have been wrestling with these questions for years.

As a small business, one of our biggest challenges is connecting with potential clients outside our network. We attend events, ask for referrals, and share advice through our email list. We also produce content on our podcast, our blog, and by writing books. Those efforts produce quality relationships that we greatly value. But they can be difficult to scale, to grab the attention of people outside our network.

That’s where social media is alluring.

You expected “X,” but the other person or team did “Y.”  This “pulls your trigger” or “pushes your button” and you emotionally flood. 

Your emotions instinctively, instantaneously initiate survival thoughts and actions…

Soft skills. It’s a term you’ve probably heard before. From executives and consultants, to Seth Godin and Inc Magazine, people are talking about the importance of soft skills so much it feels like a new diet craze.

However, when you take some time to investigate, it becomes clear that “soft skills” just means “likeable”, “conscientious”, or “admirable”. It’s a broad term used to describe almost all non-technical skills.

A consistent training regimen is important for you and your team. Effective training provides new hires and existing employees with the skills and knowledge they need to not only do their job but improve their performance. However, like many companies, you may not be sure how to train your employees, when to train them, and when to retrain them on previous skills.

One of the famous sayings of American author Edwin Louis Cole is, “You don't drown by falling in the water; you drown by staying there.”

Where are you underwater?

Some of the definitions for “treadmill” on Dictionary.com is:  “an exercise machine…. (or) any monotonous, wearisome routine...”

Do you have time each day, or an entire daily routine, that feels like you’re on a treadmill?

Just when you thought employee engagement could not get worse…  it has.

Previously it was believed the average number of employees who are fully engaged was 18-20%.  That left 80-82% less engaged or totally disengaged.

It is simple.  The best people are not looking for work.  They are fully employed and succeeding elsewhere.

However, these passive candidates are often the best people to hire.  How do you reach them?

Most organizations do not regularly recognize employees for their contributions.  Others do minimum recognition.  However, one rapidly growing IT managed services provider does minion recognition.

More on that in a moment…

Lincoln’s presidential nomination at the Republican party convention in 1860 took many by surprise, including his three primary rivals at that convention: William H. Seward, Edward Bates, and Salmon P. Chase.

The country lawyer and failed senate candidate did not have the pedigree of other candidates. However, he also didn’t have their political baggage.

Psychology Today reports that more than 80% of lies go undetected. 

Lie to Me was a TV show that ran from 2009-2011.It was based on the work of Paul Ekman, an expert in lie detection.According to the producers of the television show…

I was driving the other day and was struck by a number of toxic behaviors our Clients are experiencing in leaders and staff.  This inspired me to write again about narcissism and similar behaviors. When you catch someone behaving disrespectfully or unethically, realize it is much worse than that one instance. You have to take action…

The last time you made a mistake, did you blame someone else?

There have been a few times when one of my Clients’ employees have not liked something that their boss did, and then just did not show-up at work the next day.  They called-in “sick” and blamed their boss rather than own the fact their behavior is wrong…

Let’s cut to the chase: It is completely legal to use a personality assessment in your hiring process as long as it is not the sole basis for evaluating the candidate.

Satisfied? Get back to work! For the rest of you, read on.