Subtleties of working with people … Take a short quiz.

I hope as an entrepreneur, manager, supervisor, or someone who aspires to take on any of those roles, you will ask yourself “Would you work for you?”

To be truly effective as a leader, you must consider the effects of your decisions, systems and processes, and their impacts on your people. My challenge today is to take a few minutes and consider the questions in this post. It is possible to be a manager but not a leader, considering this quiz may help you to become better at both.

Not as impossible as it might seem …

Have you ever wanted to complain about your boss but felt you had no mechanism that you could access, or do you feel that if you did, you would be the one punished not your boss? Some complaints are minor, others can be quite severe. Many of us feel frustrated and powerless to influence this situation.

Maybe there is a path you could try. Have you considered ways that you might be able to “manage your boss?”

21 Questions/Lessons Learned

Small and medium-sized organizations, retailers, service companies, and even charitable organizations struggle even in good times. When inflation is high, the labour market is tight, and competitive pressures cause many sleepless nights it is an even greater struggle.

Success, the ability to adapt and overcome is achievable, a good place to start is to consider the lessons learned in “beware the rabbit hole.”

Don’t cry, learn from spilled milk …

People are the “everything” for any organization. What if I told you, your organization could be much more successful without seeing any more clients or customers than you are right now? Every organization has “spillage,” clients or customers who leave your organization unsatisfied.

Starting today, especially after reading this short introduction, you and your people, regardless of your place in our communities, can do better. Providing an “Exceptional Customer Service Experience” is the starting point. This is true whether your organization is dedicated to sales or an established charitable organization. Take 5 minutes and see what you think.

A short guide to spending time …

How often do you wish for just a little more time …

Time to finish, time so you don’t have to stay late or work from home. Time to better prepare, to do a better job, to feel less behind? No one is born with the ability to master time, we cannot save it, we can only spend it.

What follows is a short (very) guide to some “Tools Everyone One Can Use,” to begin to spend their “time” better. Each of the tools works, I use them daily. I have learned them, with difficulty (lol), from my mentors, from experience; and like all of my other posts I would like to share them.

ps. This post is dedicated to HM.

Leading by example … one mentor’s difference

I write “Tools Everyone Can Use,” for small and medium-sized organizations, community issues we should all know about, and personal stories that might help people professionally, academically, and/or personally.

Today I am writing about a singularly unique person; what makes him remarkable isn’t what he has done, it’s about his willingness to share what he has learned and how that knowledge ripples outward from him.

This post reflects his generational ripples and it is my hope that anyone who reads this will be able to use his lessons to make a difference for themselves.

Don’t be too quick to say “NO”

I regularly speak about topics such as job searching and keeping a job from an employers perspective to high school students and other adults. Recently, several people suggested writing about employee retention from the employee’s perspective.

A Primer for Small and Medium-sized Organizations

Organizational toxicity is a major problem for some small and medium-sized organizations. Failing to acknowledge and effectively remove the toxic elements could result in poor morale, low staff retention, and left unchecked the elimination of the organization itself.

Today’s post is a primer, a short guide to creating a plan to change the dynamics of your organization for leaders, managers, and everyone else in the affected organization.

Tools Everyone Can Use

Perhaps the most important of the posts for small and medium sized organizations of all stripes I have written so far. Looking after your people effectively will make the difference between success and becoming a “train wreck.”