In 1991, my family and I moved to a new neighborhood. On moving day, the professionals moved the furniture while my wife, daughter and I made several trips in separate cars, transferring the smaller items. As I completed the last trip for the evening, frazzled and ready for bed, I noticed my gas gauge showed […]
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TURKEYS, SPARROWS AND EAGLES:
Time management for those with problem employees Having eaten my share of turkey during the recent holiday season, I’m reminded of an exercise I use in my management seminars that you might want to try, especially if you have a poor-performing employee. First, divide all the employees who report to you into three categories:
TGIM Thank Goodness It’s Monday
Positively Outrageous Service At Southwest Airlines Comes From Creating TGIM Employees by Larry Johnson I recently delivered a speech for a meeting of Southwest Airline Sales Agents. Now I’ve always liked Southwest. Their customer service is great; their fares are the lowest anywhere; and their humorous approach to the routine aspects of flying are legendary. […]
MAINTAINING THE MAGIC AT DISNEY
by Larry Johnson While I was working with Disneyland Resort Hotels this summer, I learned about Eric, a maintenance specialist who demonstrated whyDisney has such a great reputation for creating magical moments for its guests. Eric was installing a generator into the ground in front of the hotel when a family approached him and asked […]
SO YOU THINK YOU HAVE STAFF TURNOVER PROBLEMS – TRY 250% PER YEAR: How Mary Love Reduced Employee Turnover and Saved Her Nursing Home
by Larry Johnson Regardless of the industry in which you work, I’m sure you will agree that attracting and keeping good employees is essential to your success. But imagine yourself running a nursing home where the industry average for staff turnover is an incredible 100% per year. And little wonder. Most of the work is […]
REDUCING EMPLOYEE TURN-OVER: WHAT EVERY MANAGER AND SUPERVISOR SHOULD KNOW
“If you want to keep your eagles, make sure they’re well supplied with wings.” A couple of years ago my wife, CJ, was seriously injured in a biking accident and was confined to a nursing home. Consequently, I’ve spent a lot of time there with her and have had the opportunity to observe her care […]
A Culture Of Patient Safety Requires A Culture Of Staff Security
“All the procedural and systemic improvements in the world will not work if people are afraid to report what they see and contribute to changing what’s wrong.” CJ, my wife of 37 years, was involved in a serious bicycle accident that left her paralyzed on one side of her body and unable to speak. She […]
Listening To Your Customers: Key To Your Club’s Success
While vacationing at a resort in Hawaii three years ago, my family and I discovered the joys of low-impact aerobics. When we returned home to Phoenix, we began searching for an aerobic studio that would give us a good, low-impact experience on a regular basis. The first place we tried, Linda Helms Body Beat Aerobics, […]
LEADERSHIP IS A PEOPLE BUSINESS
According to a study by Fred Luthans at the University of Nebraska, managers tend to engage in four categories of behaviors. He described the four categories as follows: Communication: exchanging information, paper work and meetings. Traditional management duties: planning, decision making and controlling. Human resource management: motivating, disciplining, managing conflict, staffing and training and developing. […]
Front-Line Managers: Guardians of Virtue
by Larry Johnson The scandal Jayson Blair brought on the New York Times last year by faking in-person interviews and plagiarizing the work of other journalists reminds me that no institution is exempt from the misdeeds of rogue employees. At the time, some reports described Mr. Blair as a victim of an uncaring system that […]