Timing is Everything
Here’s How to Speed Up Your Hiring

Are The Internet and Social Media Stealing Your Best Employees?
Two Steps to Help Beat Employee Migration

Is “Thank you!” a business strategy?
The impersonal message arrived at her desk by email:
“Come to the break room to pick up your certificate for your Christmas ham.”

Want Awesome Leadership?

What Styles to Look for and When

5 Good Reasons You Need Good Workforce Planning and What You Can Do to Get Started Now

How to Build a Sales Team with Swagger

How Can You Engage and Retain Your Best Employees?
Learn What One Small Company Is Doing

How to Bring a Healthier Work-Life Balance to Your Organization
(Start by Answering These 8 Questions)

Performance Issues? Put Performance Management and Coaching to Work for You

I Won’t Order from that Company Again!
(Why Your Business Should Give Consistent Customer Service and Four Tips to Help You Do It)

Five Best Practices for Effective, Year-round Performance Management

Why Wild Goalie Devan Dubnyk Should Never Play Professional Basketball
[Three Characteristics Great Salespeople Share]

The Nine Box: A Tool You Can Use to Identify and Retain Key Talent

What I Learned About Business from a Shoe Clerk

More than dumb luck! How you can find the leader you need for your organization

Are You Making This Critical Error When Developing Your Strategic Plan?

Is Your Sales Force Meeting Your Needs?
Maybe your sales force is fine the way it is. Maybe not. How can you tell? And if it’s not, what can you do about it?

Want Engaged Employees? 7 Ways to Maximize Your Employee Engagement Survey

When it comes to employment, talented employees always have options. Here are some common sense tips to help you hone your management practices so you can keep your best people.

Want Awesome Leaders? 5 Tips for Getting High-performing Managers

What can a college football coach teach us about building a successful business team or organization?
Some lessons from Minnesota Gopher football coach Jerry Kill.

Six Common Challenges That Can Prevent You From Being an Effective Leader

Leadership is not a one-size-fits-all skill. Rather, it requires a person to mesh all kinds of managerial skills into one. Here are eight CEOs who possess eight different skills or competencies that you can learn from to become a more effective leader and

We’re seeing a shift toward a much more quantitative analysis of the HR role. This shift requires a change in the HR metrics we use and the way we use them. Today’s newsletter explains.

Thank you for your business in 2012.
It has been a pleasure helping you reach your goals,
and I look forward to serving you again in the new year.
Best wishes for a prosperous and wonderful 2013!

The Vikings quarterback of the present and future, Christian Ponder, has struggled mightily this season.
This begs the question: Is he the right man for the job?
More pertinent to you:
Do you have the right people on the job in your organizatio

When the right people are in the right jobs at the right companies…magic can happen.
As an advocate for people finding their ideal job fit, Steve Jobs, Apple Inc. founder, knew this. Do you?
Are you placing the right people in the right jobs in your

Lack of leadership continues to plague our nation, our schools and corporate America. Is it disrupting production, undermining the work environment or dragging down morale in your business, as well? Learning to lead and then putting leadership to work will

With two strokes of a pen, the Wild have gone from irrelevant to relevant in the world of hockey.
They created a team-building culture and an exciting brand,
and rekindled excitement in their fan base.
What can we in business take away from this

If you are a baseball fan, you know managers position their players where they will succeed—for themselves and for the team.
But how many managers in business do the same?
Here are some principles for matching people to jobs.

"Teams and players that are winners respond to adversity," says Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman, talking about changes in his lineups due to injuries.
How about your managers?
How would they cope with the challenge of change?
And how can you he

I know you want to hire the right people for your organization.
But taking the wrong course of action or rushing the process
could prevent you from assembling the solid team you desire.
Today's newsletter will help you address the task
so you

Here are three questions to help you improve the engagement level within your organization.
How you answer these questions will affect your business and your bottom line for the next year and beyond.

How about your organization?
Are you thinking short-term or are you planning for the future?

Not all employees perform as you expect or hope.
Many under perform.
Here's how to give employees road signs for success,
and how to deal quickly with those who don't follow the signs.

Do you need workforce planning?
A better question might be: Can you compete without it?
Here's a look at what workforce planning can do for a football team — and for your business.

Following procedures helps managers do a good job.
Sometimes, however, procedures become routine and managers unconsciously begin to fall off the track.
Here's how you can recognize the symptoms of a struggling manager and nudge him toward success.

Look at statistics and you'll find that winning baseball teams have the best managers. Here's what it takes to have a top-performing company in business.

Look at statistics and you'll find that winning baseball teams have the best managers. Here's what it takes to have a top-performing company in business.

Keep Your Eye on the 'Customer-Service Ball'
Tips: Six Traits That Make Customer-Facing Employees Successful
Your Solution Toolbox: How to Identify People Who Match Your Customer-Service Policies and Attitudes

Bad days happen. We all have them.
But when an employee's "off" day stretches into weeks or months,
it can infect your entire workplace.
Here are some ideas to help your company, managers and underperforming employees get back on track.

Customers expect a pleasant experience when doing business with you. But it's inevitable: Things sometimes go wrong.
If they do, are your frontline staff and managers trained at fixing them?
Are these employees an asset or a liability?
Here's adv

In business, customer satisfaction is important.
It does not guarantee that your customers
will continue to buy from you, however.
For that, you need customer loyalty.
How loyal are your customers?
What can you do to build customer loya

The 2010 football season ended for the Minnesota Vikings
on Sunday, January 2. Mercifully, some say.
But as we look forward to 2011, here are some sports analogies we can take away from the season — and football in general — to learn about ourselv

It’s that time of year again. You’re gearing up for performance reviews.
You expect the process will help you and your people focus
on your primary goal of improving company results.
You also hope to provide an opportunity for your people to gro

Maximize People, Generate Performance,
Achieve Results
Nature can teach us a lot if we only pay attention.
Here are some thoughts about what we, as business owners
and managers, can learn from a mama bird's coaxing and coaching as her

When it comes to sports, teamwork brings success.
Just ask the Minnesota Twins and the Minnesota Vikings.
How can we in the business world learn from the sporting world?
Here are some thoughts.

As productivity continues to rise, many businesses have begun to realize they have greatly strained their workforce.
Have you maximized your employees' abilities?
How long will your employees be able to continue doing what they do now?
And what

What makes some keep coming back to a business week after week, year after year?
And what can you do to encourage that?
Here are some ideas that will help.

Like oil and water, some personalities just don't mix.
As a result, workers sometimes find themselves at odds.
Are you seeing conflicts between coworkers in your business?
What if you could solve or even proactively stop these conflicts?
Her

If you look at the headline "What four-letter word helps reduce stress?" you might think we're advising you to let loose with profanity unsuitable for printing here.
But that's not the kind of word we have in mind. You can use our word in public and rem

In business, building relationships builds sales.
But establishing a loyal customer base requires a conscious focus on customer service.
Are your employees right for this job?
Are they — and you —giving the service needed to guarantee that your

Professional football teams assess their personnel and make adjustments during the off-season.
What about you and your organization?
Have you analyzed your team? Do you know where incompetence lies?
Are you prepared to do something about it?
1/20/2010    What You Can Learn from Professional Football for Your Organization

Professional football teams assess their personnel and make adjustments during the off-season.
What about you and your organization?
Have you analyzed your team? Do you know where incompetence lies?
Are you prepared to do something about it?
12/10/2009    November 2009 Newsletter

Who survives a treacherous economy?
Research shows those organizations with "best people practices" leading to outstanding productivity.

Here's what you can learn from them.

How many people does it take to get the job done right in your organization?

None of us can afford hiring mistakes. Especially when the economy ails.
Turnover is just too costly.

Here are tips to help you hire the best hire possible all the time.

How to Improve Your Hiring Practices

Is the stock market hurting employee productivity?

Spotting the 20 Percent Who Sell the 80 Percent

Who's in charge of performance? Do you know what drives it in your organization?
Tips for building a people performance model in your organization
Your solution toolbox: Measuring and strengthening what matters

How to keep your customers
Nine tips for calming angry customers
Your Solution Toolbox: Spreading customer service acumen to every employee

Who's in charge of performance? Do you know what drives it in your organization?-
Tips for building a people performance model in your organization-
Your solution toolbox: Measuring and strengthening what matters

Seven reasons to focus on recruiting in 2009
Tip of the month: Three things to do to prepare for the hiring recovery
Your Solution Toolbox: The right fit for your specific needs

What New Year's Eve and Performance Reviews Have in Common
Pop Quiz: Testing Your Coaching IQ
Your Solution Toolbox: Check Out This List When Planning Your New Year

Economy Giving You A Bumpy Ride? Here's How to Fly Safely Through Turbulence

Depending what statistics you read, as many as 80 percent of workers feel stress on the job. Add talk of falling housing prices, failing banks, threatened job security and an unsteady Wall Street and it's no wonder more and more of us feel anxious.
9/24/2008    Winning Gold: How to Build Team Spirit

Good coaches know: Team members who compliment each other's strengths and compensate for each other's weaknesses.
Team members who respect, learn from and support one another.
If you wish to build outstanding teams in your organization, here's a han