Conference calls can be a minefield of false starts, disruptive back ground noises, awkward silences and wasted time. Or, conference calls can be a convenient and cost-effective way for people to discuss important business. Based on personal hours spent on conference calls, I humbly submit the following “must do’s, “please do’s” and “taboos” for leading …
The Happiness Advantage
What if you could improve your productivity by 30% without sacrificing happiness? We’ve been told that if you have a good work ethic and work really hard, you can be successful and then you will be happy. New discoveries in psychology say this formula is backwards. If you reverse the order of the formula, you …
Family Business Longevity
Family Business Longevity William O’Hara, a pre-eminent expert on family business, has created two amazing lists for Family Business magazine of the 100 oldest family-owned businesses in the U.S. and the world. All of the listed companies are at least 225 years old; four have lasted in the same family for more than a millennium. …
Court Your Customers
Roses are red. Violets are blue. If you don’t court customers . . . they’ll find someone new. Attracting, Delighting, and Retaining Customers Is Like Courtship Make a Good First Impression Like speed dating, there’s plenty of competition for the customers’ attention. You only have a short time to make a good first impression …
Appreciation
“The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.” – William James People need to feel appreciation. Especially now, when all of us are “doing more [and even more] with less;” the yearning to feel appreciated is intense in every workplace. Pre-recession research from the U.S. Department of Labor revealed that …