Working with an underperforming employee can be challenging. I recently came across an article in the Harvard Business Review by Sabina Nawaz titled “How to Talk to an Employee Who Isn’t Meeting Their Goals,”. She suggested an approach I really like which is to ask the employee to evaluate himself first before you make any… Read More >>

I was disappointed and disgusted at the Varsity Blues scandal that broke two weeks ago. Rich folks, like Full House star Lori Loughlin and Desperate Housewives star Felicity Huffman were able to pay bribes to get their kids into elite colleges like Stanford, USC, Yale and Harvard. It broke my heart. Varsity Blues Says Fairness… Read More >>

Onboarding is the process of welcoming new employees into your organization. I’m currently reading Shaping the Future by Bill Belgard and Steven Rayner. Steve and I are really good friends, but that’s not why I’m plugging this  book. It’s because they have some really good stuff in it, especially about onboarding. In particular, I enjoyed… Read More >>

Most of us don’t like disagreement. We’ve been taught by our parents to keep the peace, go along to get along and to not cause waves. So, the very act of disagreeing often puts us out of our comfort zone. Without disagreeing, however, we don’t really make a lot of progress in terms of creativity… Read More >>

I was having breakfast this morning with some friends and their 11-year-old son. He asked me what I did for a living and I said, “Well, I’m a speaker.” He said, “What? Like stereo speakers or something?” I said, “No. I speak to groups and organizations.” And he said, “Oh, kind of like when we… Read More >>

Leading Change can be tricky. The president of a small college complained to me that he was having trouble getting his management team moving toward action on some much needed changes. Priding himself on being a true believer in participative management, he asked the team to identify the specific changes needed, prioritize their value, and… Read More >>

Employee motivation, from where does it come? A recent article by Alfie Kohn in the New York Times titled “Science Confirms It – People Are Not Pets” tells us that a number of scientific studies have shown that when we are rewarded for doing something, we tend to lose interest in whatever we had to do… Read More >>

Work environment can have a huge impact on employee motivation and morale, but can it replace the human touch? Recently, my daughter, Generation Expert Meagan Johnson and I had our brains picked by Timothy Boone of the Advocate Magazine @theadvocate.com about what kinds of perks and benefits most motivate employees. You can check out his… Read More >>

Managing friends is a challenge faced by many new managers. If you were promoted from within, you are probably managing people with whom you previously worked. It’s likely that you are friends with one or more of them. I’m not saying it’s impossible to manage a friend. I’ve done it several times. In fact, there… Read More >>