Google, Mattel, Disney are all successful companies which started in someone’s garage. But, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BOL), within 10 years, 2/3 of all Startups are out of business[1]. If you also add in the…
Caring for the Employee
In this continuing series, it is time to examine how managers directly treat their subordinates. Item 5: “My supervisor, or someone at work, seems to care about me as a person.” 1. It’s Nice to be Nice to the Nice Frank…
Great Work Groups #4: In Praise of Praise
In this continuing series, Gallup’s insight #4 is that employees crave positive feedback. Whole industries are built on the back of employees receiving adulation. What professional athlete or actor is immune to the heady responses of an adoring crowd? Unfortunately,…
Great Work Groups Q#3: Do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day?
Last time, I reviewed the second of Gallup’s 12 key factors in retaining good employees. In this blog, I address factor #3: Self Fulfillment: Do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day? William “The…
Great Work Groups: Q#2 “I have the proper tools.”
In my last blog, I reviewed the first of Gallup’s 12 key factors in retaining good employees. In this blog, I address the 2nd factor: Materials and Equipment. But first, a remainder of Gallup’s key discovery: There are no great…
Great Work Groups: Q#1 “I know what is expected of me at work”
In last week’s blog, I introduced Gallup’s excellent survey, First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently (1999), which posed twelve key factors which differentiate great work groups from the dross. Over the next 12 blogs,…
Keep What You Hire – 12 Core Questions
In my last post, I outlined how to improve your hiring practices. Over the next few weeks, I will lean extensively on Gallup’s excellent research as presented in First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently…
How to Hire, When to Fire
In an earlier blog, I mentioned that it’s critical to right people on the bus and in the right seat. But actually doing so can be difficult if not impossible. This blog shares tips and suggestions about how to…
Numbers Don’t Lie, But They Can Mislead
In last week’s blog, one of the key elements for success was titled “Numbers, Numbers, Numbers”. As Deming is reported as saying, “In God we trust, all others must bring data.” But, all data is not created equal. There is…
Six Key Elements for Success
In my last blog (here), I listed Common Reasons for Small Business Failure and What to Avoid. Today, I am addressing the opposite – Six Key Elements for Success, whether in your small business, your career or, for that…