Articles by Ken Okel Archives - Ken Okel: Recent Episodes
Ken Okel
Why what you’ll know matters more than what you know at work is becoming a real question for professionals trying to stay relevant in a fast-changing environment. The knowledge and experience that once gave you an advantage don’t always carry the same weight they used to. In this episode, we explore how the ability to [...]
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If you care about meeting productivity tips, then you need to know when to not meet. According to a recent LinkedIn poll I posted, the clear winner for the worst time to schedule a meeting was Friday at 4:00 p.m., with a whopping 74% of the vote. That result did not surprise me. By that [...]
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Imagine you’ve earned your dream job, in charge of a team, but you’re missing any first-time leadership skills. Stepping into your first leadership role can feel like being handed the keys to a rocket ship. It’s exciting, powerful, and a little terrifying. Recently, I asked my LinkedIn network a simple but important question: "What’s the most [...]
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Meetings are meant to be productive, yet many are hurt by annoying meeting behaviors. You may know how they can become exercises in frustration. Recently, I asked my LinkedIn followers, “What’s the most annoying thing someone can do during a meeting?” The results highlight some of the biggest threats to your meeting productivity. They are [...]
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Leadership continues to evolve rapidly, and in 2025, certain qualities stand out as essential for success. Recently, when I surveyed my connections on LinkedIn about the most admired leadership traits, an overwhelming 77% ranked the ability to inspire others as the most important. Let’s talk about this appreciated quality and discuss some other ones, which [...]
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For a while, the AI Honeymoon was in full swing—Artificial Intelligence was the shiny new toy everyone wanted to play with. But now, as its capabilities grow, the honeymoon phase may be ending—especially for businesses that have been reluctant, too busy, or scared to learn about it. Why You Can’t Ignore AI Anymore The truth [...]
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Have you ever noticed how some leaders start strong but lose their edge over time? A recent LinkedIn poll I conducted asked: Why do good leaders get worse over time? The results revealed key challenges that even the best leaders can face: Burnout: 40% They stopped learning: 33% They take staff for granted: 19% Poor [...]
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The start of a new year is the perfect for setting new goals in 2025. As we step into the new year, it’s important to approach your goal-setting with purpose and clarity. Here are a few key steps to make this process meaningful and effective: Reflect on Past Accomplishments Before setting new goals in 2025, [...]
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In the world of business, maintaining higher standards is more than a catchphrase—it’s a strategy for growth, engagement, and long-term success. Let’s explore how businesses can energize employees, refocus their teams, and ensure everyone is performing at their best. Energize Employees with New Ideas Even in the most successful businesses, routine can turn into monotony. [...]
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When we think of top performers—athletes, musicians, actors—one thing they all have in common is access to personalized coaching and feedback. They don’t settle for general advice. Instead, they want tailored insights to fine-tune their skills and stay ahead of the game. The same principle applies in business. Whether you’re a leader, a team member, [...]
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You’re not alone if you feel it is harder to maintain your work-life balance in 2024. A rapidly changing marketplace, economic uncertainty, and new job demands may see your work life taking over your personal life. For some, the problem is forcing them to not use all of their PTO (How to Solve the Employee [...]
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If you’re a leader, solving the employee PTO problem is crucial for maintaining a productive and engaged workforce. According to a recent Pew Research Center survey, 46% of U.S. workers do not use all of their paid time off (PTO). The Employee PTO Problem: Why It Matters While the idea of your employees working more [...]
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While many understand its benefits, committing to self-care is apparently a challenge. Simply put, self-care sees you make healthy choices that can empower your mental and physical health. It’s an important component of your work-life balance. Recently, I polled my LinkedIn connections with the question, “Why do people struggle to keep up with self-care?” Let’s [...]
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Complaints from colleagues are not unusual in a fast-changing, challenging world. But what should you do when someone comes to you to vent? And how are things different if you have no involvement with their job? Recently, I asked my LinkedIn connections to imagine a colleague came to them with a complaint that’s unrelated to [...]
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If your company has been bought, then you may be saying, “Now what?” For employees, there’s a lot of uncertainty in the world of mergers and acquisitions. Let’s face it, being gobbled up by a bigger fish should make you nervous, especially since these negotiations usually happen behind closed doors. Recently, I asked my LinkedIn [...]
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While right now many are dealing with the pain of the problem, you can take some good business lessons from CrowdStrike. The company’s software crash left airlines, banks, and many other industries scrambling to operate. This is not an article about the impact of bad computer code. Instead, it’s about how leaders can respond to [...]
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It’s important for professionals to understand how to network at conferences. For some, making new connections is the secret sauce of an event, making your investment worthwhile. What’s the best way to approach this process? Conference networking isn’t something that’s taught in school. You need to figure out what works for you and then execute [...]
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Whether it’s an iPhone or an Android, do you have a policy for smartphone use in meetings? The devices have become as much of workplace culture as a pen or a Stanley tumbler. But do our phones hurt our performance in meetings? After all, that’s where big decisions need to be made or important information [...]
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50 cent problems at work can really harm your productivity and distract you from your big picture goals. While these issues are annoying, you may be giving them way too much attention. You don’t have an unlimited amount of time to get things done. The faster you can identify these problems, the more time you’ll [...]
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Finding your purpose at work can play a big role in your work-life balance. It’s that thing that gets you out of bed, on a Monday morning, ready to reengage with your job. Recently, I saw a survey about how a sense of purpose at work was very important to Generation Z. That made me [...]
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These Monday morning productivity tips can help you start your week off strong. Otherwise, you may immediately feel like you’re falling behind on things or are underachieving compared to others. I’m a big fan of routines and I want to introduce you to four good habits for making the most of the start of your [...]
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Responding to a tough challenge is an important skill for leaders. It’s likely not one you’ll use every day but when you need it, it will feel priceless. Workplace challenges will always happen and often at the worst possible time. Your ability to pivot to a next step, quickly, is very important. This is not [...]
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Have you ever wondered about the biggest boss complaint? What is the area where leaders fall short? I believe most bosses have good intentions and are hard-working. But stress and other challenges can sometimes bring out less desirable behavior. And some leaders are just bad at what they do and perhaps they’ve been promoted into [...]
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While attending a conference, should a leader party with employees? Often these events have a scheduled open night, when people can explore nearby attractions. Let’s say employees are eager to let off some steam and invite you to join them. Recently, I asked my LinkedIn connections about how you should approach after-hours, off-site celebrations. Here’s [...]
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Let’s get some good business takeaways from an analysis of a motivational keynote speaker demo video. These are the top marketing tools that professional speakers use to find paid opportunities. As a speaker, I update my demo video at least once a year to best match marketplace conditions. While the frequency may surprise you, every [...]
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In business, your decision-making process will become stronger if you understand why you change your mind. Often you’ve uncovered a key piece of information that makes you see a situation differently. Suddenly, a change becomes obvious. But how does that happen and can you make it happen on a regular basis? If you don’t have [...]
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For some, 2024 is the year for finding your work-life balance. But how do you get to an improved situation? Often, finding your work-life balance is about starting with a specific step. You purposely create a habit that enriches you. Recently, I polled my LinkedIn connections and followers about some best practices for finding your [...]
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These remote work tips for first-timers are designed to help those who never dreamed of having their kitchen table or spare room become their office. For more and more people, new jobs don’t include a place of work. How do you make sure you’re performing well and not falling into common traps like burnout? Recently, [...]
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My new business book, Get Better! will soon be released. A book represents a relationship between the author and the reader. To strengthen those ties, I thought it would be good to share the introduction and give you a better idea of what the book is about. As with my previous book, Stuck On Yellow, [...]
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Business leaders who are having a hard time filling positions should consider these reasons why you should hire an overqualified employee. In the past, finding someone, who was too good too be true, was a red flag. In today’s world, bringing them on board could improve productivity and your work culture. Let’s go over some [...]
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In a world where success is celebrated, it’s equally good to think about how you handle a work setback. While some may be shocked to learn things don’t always turn out perfectly on the job, being able to refocus after bad news is an important skill. Recently, on LinkedIn, I surveyed my followers about how [...]
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Here are three business questions for 2024 that are designed to help your strengthen your organization. While they don't come with easy answers, they are worth asking. They may uncover some opportunities or truths that need to be faced. Why only three questions? I've found that if you have too many, you become overwhelmed or [...]
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No matter how good your are at your job, you need to watch out for productivity killers at work. These are things that distract you from your job. They may end up hurting your work-life balance, as you find yourself having to do things, like stay late or work on weekends, just to keep up. [...]
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There are warning signs for your work culture and smart leaders will notice and act on them. Otherwise, your business is likely headed for trouble. Think of it like the gas gauge on your car. Once the needle hits empty, you need to fill up or wait to hear your engine shut down. The outcome [...]
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For some, learning how to maintain customer loyalty during price hikes has become an uncomfortable challenge. But with inflation, raising the cost of your services may be unavoidable. What’s the best way to do this, without turning off your customers? Recently, on LinkedIn, I conducted a poll, where I asked my connections about about the [...]
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In a rapidly changing world, it’s important for your business to have a workplace happiness plan. While the emotional state of employees may be hard to judge, it plays a big role in things like retention. So caring about it might not be a bad idea. Beyond building a strong employee culture, surveys have found [...]
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If you want to reward top performers at work, then you should consider some of these employee recognition ideas. Taking a moment to honor these people can become an important and appreciated part of your workplace culture. Recently, I held a poll on this topic on LinkedIn. Here are the choice and the voting results: [...]
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Rainy day activities can have a valuable impact on your business. Otherwise, you and your team may miss out on a great opportunity to update some processes or things that you'll need to use later on. Think back to when you were a kid and it was raining outside. You couldn’t play outdoors. Often a [...]
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While leaders may acknowledge employee engagement problems, very often there’s not much consideration about solving frustration at work. If left unaddressed, little issues will grow like weeds and have a damaging impact on your work culture. Recently, on LinkedIn, I conducted a poll, where I asked people about the biggest source of frustration during their [...]
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Poor leadership communication is usually a root cause of a struggling business. Without this critical element, you’ll likely see decreased efficiency and limited progress. Boosting teamwork will never be more than a talked about goal. Let’s explore four common communication challenges that business professionals face, which can result in poor communication and have a significant [...]
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In business it’s important to understand what’s your competition. Competition allows us the chance to gauge our progress and success. From there, we’re able to make adjustments or keep doing more of the same thing. However, a lot of leaders focus on the wrong things or too narrow a vision when it comes to your [...]
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Even the most successful people need to consider if you can lead under pressure. It takes a different set of skills to get through stressful days and unexpected challenges. Maybe you thought your position would be all smooth sailing. How do you navigate troubled waters? Find out some actionable strategies designed to strengthen your leadership [...]
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As texting becomes a more popular method of business communication, you hear complaints about the work text message offender. These people, on both sides of the phone, may have picked up some bad communication habits that lead to confusion and frustration. Recently, on LinkedIn, I conducted a poll on annoying business text message habits. Below [...]
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Things don’t stay the same very long, and embracing change in business is crucial for growth and success. However, many professionals find themselves making excuses to avoid change or challenging situations. Let’s explore ten common excuses used by business professionals and talk about how to overcome them. It’s about leaving a culture of fear and [...]
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Leaders may think that motivating your employees will produce better results but the opposite may happen. Because if used incorrectly, motivation can become a retention killer. Let’s say you have an employee who works hard every day, sacrifices for the job, and always takes on the hardest assignments. That person’s philosophy is to give 110% [...]
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When you need to get creative, it’s good to understand some ways to get mentally unstuck. Whether it’s fear, a deadline, or the need for some new ideas, researchers have found there can be many reasons why the brilliance you seek, feels out of reach. What can you do to get unstuck and get your [...]
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Effective work instructions could be the missing piece in your organization. As a business leader, providing clear and concise directions to your employees will likely create a productive work environment and help you reach your goals. Without them, otherwise successful businesses may slide into mediocrity, as confusion, mistakes, and a falling workplace culture become commonplace. [...]
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Smart leaders understand the importance of preparing your business for employee vacations. Whether it’s a summer getaway or a winter break, you want to make sure productivity stays high when people are out of the office. Often, this is neglected or people think it will just work itself out on its own. What happens next [...]
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In today's fast-paced and rapidly changing business world, the power of adaptability has emerged as a key soft skill. This trait empowers business professionals aiming to thrive in their careers and actively contribute to the success of their organizations. What can you do to embrace this skill? Let’s explore why adaptability is so crucial in [...]
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It’s important for business professionals to stop making assumptions at work. Otherwise, you may open the door to mistakes, costly misunderstandings, or imaginary personal conflicts. It's easy to assume that our colleagues or clients share the same priorities, have the same skills, or communicate the same way we do. However, these assumptions can lead to [...]
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While I have not been asked to deliver it, my 2023 commencement address is designed to help today’s graduates, as well as those who graduated in the past. Commencement addresses need to be a mix of congratulations, inspiration, and honest truths. The concepts should be easy to remember and apply. It’s funny that in a [...]
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Knowing how to prepare for opportunities at work is an important business skill. As a professional, you know it’s possible you may have chance to lead a new project or earn a promotion to a higher position. Whether it is, being prepared is crucial. So, how can you make sure that you're ready to seize [...]
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Understanding how to prioritize your workload is an essential skill, whether you're a seasoned professional or just starting out in your career. In today’s world, with so many tasks to manage, it's easy to feel overwhelmed and unsure where to start. There’s not necessarily one way to do it. Often it is a matter of [...]
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In a world that is increasingly work from home, you may need ideas how to maintain work-life balance remotely. You want to make sure that you’re effective at your job but don’t let it become an unwelcome guest in your home. A survey from AT&T found the hybrid work from home model, is expected to [...]
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Customer complaints are often quickly dismissed, when they may provide a gold mine of information. That said, there are those, who are chronic complainers and will never be happy with anything. But mixed in with their thoughts may be some legitimate problems that should be addressed. Keeping an open mind, may unlock future growth, as [...]
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While it can be a stressful and challenging experience, you can prepare for a layoff. The upside is that if the worst case scenario happens, you’ll have a game plan for next steps. Layoffs are being more and more common. According to layoffs.fyi, which follows the tech sector, more than 166,000 people have been laid [...]
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It’s easy to fall into the trap of leadership overcorrection. This happens, in business, when something has gone wrong or not as well as it should. The leader then decides bold action needs to be taken. While this is preferable to doing nothing, the action doesn’t entirely solve the problem and may create new issues. [...]
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Sometimes future success comes when you learn from failure. Often successful people don’t get it right all the time. Yet we may believe one failure defines you forever. What if failure was more like the starting line for future success? Like many, I enjoy watching the highlights from the NCCA Basketball Tournament. It’s fun to [...]
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Otherwise good leaders can undermine their talents with some bad leadership habits. These can develop over time and can hurt employee engagement and performance. Think of your leadership path as sometimes needing little course corrections. If you don’t make any changes, then while you’re doing your job, you’re not performing it as well as you [...]
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During challenging moments at work, you need to ask yourself if you are a good times leader. This is someone who performs well during successful periods. They don’t shake things up and employees like working for them. The business grows at a predictable rate. But if unexpected challenges show up, they may not know what [...]
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It’s important for business leaders to understand why employees leave their jobs. This gives you the ability to adjust to marketplace conditions or make some internal changes. If you can uncover the trends, then you can make adjustments. Recently, on LinkedIn, I conducted a poll on the topic of people leaving their jobs: What was [...]
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When an employee asks you a question, are you prepared to answer? Because the employee is not just looking for information. They are also likely watching to see how you answer. At a time when retention concerns continue, you want to make sure your behavior is not a turnoff. Consider these tips to help you [...]
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If your business interacts with customers, then it’s important to have a commitment to serve. While this may sound obvious, retention challenges and turnover have made some organizations forget this important pledge. We’ve all been in that situation where we encounter someone, who works in customer service, but does not seem interested in helping customers. [...]
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While the keys to professional success may seem elusive, you can take steps today to improve your tomorrow. Usually, your career doesn’t magically transform overnight. But if you can focus on the right things, you can make progress. Recently, I held a LinkedIn poll on the topic of professional success. Here’s how it turned out: [...]
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Watch out for mixed messages at work. Because they can easily undermine your business. Think of it as a form of self-sabotage. These mixed messages, when you’re doing one thing but perhaps saying another, can take many forms. Let’s focus on those that involve employee culture and customer service: Alignment Issues Recently, I visited a [...]
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To improve employee retention and engagement, start to look for heroes at work. Often, you may find they are people who may appear to be Clark Kent, when their impact on your organization is more like Superman. Don’t ignore those who contribute to the success of your business. It’s possible to have two employees, who [...]
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If you don’t recognize a lot of the faces in your workplace, then you may have too much employee turnover. While it’s natural for people to move on to other opportunities, turnover rates have gone up over the past couple of years. Recently, on LinkedIn, I conducted a poll on what is a sign of [...]
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If your business is facing challenging times, then you should look for signs of trouble with your employees. Right now, you may be having to make choices that are unpopular but necessary. This could involve perks going away or other cutbacks. Often, people don’t immediately share their dissatisfaction with supervisors. Instead, they start to act [...]
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As you look to make improvements in business, you need to make sure you don’t worry about the wrong things. Your focus is valuable and it is not unlimited. Some make the mistake of putting their attention where it really doesn’t matter. When I worked in TV news, the big thing was making sure your [...]
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To get yourself out of professional rut, you may need the gentle push to change. This is something that inspires you to start doing things differently. Without the push, you may be tempted to delay making changes and ultimately find yourself stuck in your status quo. In today’s business world, your ability to respond to [...]
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If you’re self-employed, this may be the year to consider holding a solopreneur holiday office party. For those of us, who are your own boss, you realize that you’re missing out on these fun celebrations. This year, you may have noticed more signs of holiday office parties, on social media. Business and executive coaching firm [...]
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Look to your neighborhood supermarket for a great lesson in how to get people to follow your instructions. This is important if you need to introduce employees to a new process, customer service procedure, or some special branding. While you can explain how you want things done, you can’t constantly look over people’s shoulders to [...]
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Whether it’s employee holiday gifts or employee appreciation gifts, it’s good to use generosity to recognize achievements and loyalty, as well as serve as a source of motivation. At a time when retention may be a concern and budgets may be tight, you want to make the right choice. A lot has changed in the [...]
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As an author, I’m often asked for tips for how to write your book. My approach may provide some guidance for future authors. I think of how to write your book, much like I do any workplace performance challenge. I break things down into actionable steps, as a way to make sure your words make [...]
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If you feel like you're not reaching your career potential, you may want to be more selfish at work. Understand while I'm not suggesting you become a character from the 1980s nighttime soap opera Dallas, you may want to slightly shift your focus from your colleagues to yourself. While it's good to work in an [...]
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With retention and hiring challenges, some leaders may want to take a different approach to feedback. While it's important to make sure things are done the right way, you want to make sure your directions are not turning off employees. It can be uncomfortable to redirect an employee who otherwise thinks they are doing a [...]
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During busy times, it’s not unusual for otherwise successful leaders to self-sabotage with overpacked workdays. They take pride in planning out their schedules in meticulous detail, even down to the quarter hour. Their focus is on maximizing productivity at all costs. Maybe you know this world. Your day is packed. It’s not unusual for you [...]
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If you ever need some small talk, ask, “What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?” to someone. You’ll likely hear a heartfelt or interesting response. No matter the situation, we’ve learned something or confirmed something, we believe to be true, by listening to the information. We love hearing how advice changes or improves someone’s life. [...]
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Your well-intentioned employees may sabotage your meetings. Whether in-person or virtual, you need these sessions to lead to successful decisions and outcomes. Instead, are they becoming a bottomless pit of wasted time? The problem isn’t the fact there’s a meeting but rather the behavior or habits of the people who are in the session. They [...]
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You may be surprised to learn two big causes of distractions at work. These are the distractions that force leaders to stop what they’re doing and answer a question or provide guidance. On their own, no one distraction is a productivity killer. And the employees who are behind them are not bad people. But when [...]
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It may sound strange but your parking lot may hurt your business. For some, this area can say a lot about an employer and the employee culture. A year ago, I met Joey at a trade show. He’s spent more than 30 years with the same company. How did he get there? It’s an interesting [...]
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When a business wants to become extraordinary, there has to an understanding that higher standards take more time. You can’t expect to become great overnight. Often higher standards are about little actions that become unconscious habits. Here are some things to keep in mind as you look at build your business culture around higher standards: [...]
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In a fast-changing business climate, leaders must understand that advancement is not innovation. Simply doing things, just a little better than you’ve done them before, could put you on the road to diminishing returns. For instance, the latest version of the Apple Watch represents an advancement of a product. While it sounds like the watch [...]
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If you find yourself dealing with ongoing challenges, then you may have fallen into some common problem solving traps. You may allow issues to dominate more your team’s time than is necessary or find excuses to delay solutions. Understand not all problem are the same. Some are like a shot glass, while others are more [...]
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Don’t delay change at work because your status quo may be worse than you think. However, we often hold off on doing something new and enriching because it may involve some pain or uncertainty. That’s where many get caught in indecision and end up not making any changes. There is a price for staying where [...]
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When important work needs to be done, make sure you don’t undermine your deadlines. It’s a form of organizational self-sabotage that can impact the bottom line. While deadlines can represent a great way of making sure things get done, in a timely fashion, you may use them incorrectly. Have you made it impossible for your [...]
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Preventing mistakes at work requires an ongoing commitment, rather than some kind of wave of a magic wand. It takes a strategic approach to problems, rather than punitive. How do you react when things go wrong at work? Often what happens is that the person associated with the mistake is either shamed or immediately forgiven. [...]
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To unlock employee motivation, you may need to change how you communicate special requests. These are things like important changes to operating processes or customer service procedures. You need people to embrace a different way of doing things. It has to be done right and it needs to be executed right away. But you notice [...]
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To improve your performance at work, make sure you are spending your time the right way. It’s possible to be busy all day and accomplish very little. Your time is a resource and you have to watch out for activities that may seem like a good idea but could lead to problems. For example, when [...]
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If you want to get an edge in business, then you need to anticipate the unexpected at work. Yes, there will be things out of your control that happen. But with some careful thought, you can lessen their negative impact. This is a different type of strategic planning and one that is focused on making [...]
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ha11ok/ 911 images During busy times, it’s easy to fall victim to some forgotten good habits at work. These are things you liked doing but no longer perform. Recently, I reconnected over Zoom with my friend and colleague, Pat Heydlauff. We talked about an upcoming video project that will highlight her expertise with [...]
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