Business Management

What Makes a Successful Business Partnership?

April 12, 2012

The other day a box arrived at my office. Carefully packed in foam was this lovely award from Inscape Publishing. Although SkillSource has been an award-winning distributor with Inscape for sixteen years, I’d never bothered to select the physical “trophy” (as my son called it); opting instead for other forms of recognition that the company [...]

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First Class Service Shines at Amway Grand Plaza

March 15, 2012

If you’ve ever left something important behind at a hotel, you know that sinking feeling that overcomes you when you discover it’s missing. At 4:30 pm yesterday I arrived home after an excellent two days of learning (and presenting) at the Michigan Nutrition Network CHOICES Conference. At 4:31 pm after removing my prescription sunglasses, I [...]

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7 Things Employees Want to Know In a Department Reshuffle

February 28, 2012

Overheard at a lunchtime conversation in the company cafeteria: Employee: “That sure was a big announcement by the CEO this morning. They’re really moving the boxes on the org chart this time. What’s your reaction? Mid-level manager: (shrugging shoulders, sounding nonchalant) “Meh. I’ve been around this place for a long time. It’s just same monkeys, [...]

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Are You Cut Out for Self-Employment?

February 22, 2012

In 1995 I started the consulting company SkillSource. Early on I made the strategic decision to function as a home-based solopreneur, meaning I am the primary service provider. When projects require it, I sub-contract out training delivery and consulting services.  For the administrative side of my business, I make use of a cadre of skilled [...]

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Why Call Center Employees Should Have Ellipticals Under Their Desk

February 14, 2012

I wrote a much-read blog post called Sitting Kills. What Your HR Department Can Do About It. In that post, I wondered what role HR departments should play when faced with data that says that people who sit for the majority of the day are 54% more likely to die of a heart attack. If [...]

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Stack Your Phones at the Next Company Meeting

January 17, 2012

There’s a new game making the rounds these days called Phone Stack. Have you played it? The basic gist is this—when you dine out with friends, everyone puts their phones in the middle of the table and then embarks on a huge game of chicken— who  can resist the siren call of their phone for [...]

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Influencing Across Organizational Boundaries

January 11, 2012

Earlier this week I presented a session on Influencing Across Organizational Boundaries to the Western Michigan chapter of the Project Management Institute. The session was so well-received that many people asked for copies of the Power Point presentation. Well, you know how that goes—a Power Point without the corresponding speaker commentary is a bit flat. [...]

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The Way We Work: Creating a More Flexible Life

September 6, 2011

Part Three of a Three-Part Series The conclusion of this series on integrating our work and personal lives focuses on the changing nature of work—when we work, how we work, and how others around us deal with it. Part One of the series was What is Work Life Integration? and Part Two was Work Team [...]

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Work Team Leaders- A Key Ingredient for Successful Employee-Friendly Practices

August 30, 2011

Part Two of a Three-Part Series In this second installment of a discussion with Tracy Brower, Director of Performance Environments for Herman Miller, we explore a key factor that determines the probability of success for a company’s work/life integration policies. The first article in this series was in What is Work/Life Integration?.      JM: [...]

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What is Work/Life Integration?

August 23, 2011

Part One of a Three-Part Series   I attended a Workforce Issues panel discussion during which panelist Tracy Brower discussed forces shaping work/life integration. Tracy and I first met when we were colleagues in the Learning Development Group at Herman Miller. Tracy is currently the Director of Performance Environments for Herman Miller. In addition to [...]

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