Communication

The Z Factor

September 2, 2010

KNOWING WHEN TO ZIP YOUR LIP IS KEY TO SUCCESS Given that my company’s tag line is “master the people equation”, I’m always on the look-out for clever “equations” that tie to human dynamics. Of course, people are far too complex to be reduced to one “correct” answer like a math equation. Still, it’s fun [...]

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Avoiding Verbal Spam

May 24, 2010

Sometimes a tweet just sums it up perfectly.  Ben Eubanks tweeted:   “Verbal Spam”.  Creates quite the mental picture, doesn’t it? How often are you subjected to verbal “spam” in the workplace?  Probably more often than you’d like.  My first reaction to Ben’s tweet was to imagine people who blather on, saying nothing of value.  [...]

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We’re Renovating!

May 12, 2010

Please pardon our “look” as the blog gets a facelift. We’re working hard to bring you a site with more content, tools and tips to help you “master the people equation.”

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Coaching the Reluctant Retail Associate

April 7, 2010

I was out early this morning snapping up some bargains at one of my favorite mass-merchandise retailers. In what appears to be a developing theme with me, I overheard another conversation with Human Resources implications. (See my other HR eavesdropping observation here.)  Overheard:  Employee: “Do I really need to take two breaks and a lunch [...]

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The Ambiguity Factor

December 3, 2009

When was the last time you heard an employee say “Wow, the implementation of that new program (system/process/idea) was smooth!” My guess is you’ve rarely (perhaps never?) heard that.  There are oodles of reasons why the launch of a new system goes awry— competing values, unclear objectives, unrealistic deadlines, budget constraints and so on.  Here’s [...]

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What’s Your Networking Style?

October 22, 2009

I recently gave a presentation on Networking Styles to members of the GRAPE organization (Grand Rapids Area Professionals for Excellence.)  Several of my colleagues indicated interest in attending, but could not, so here’s a summary, divided into three parts. Part I, “What Savvy Networkers Know”  outlines my “nuggets” gleaned from years of building a strong [...]

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What Savvy Networkers Know

October 22, 2009

I recently gave a presentation on networking to members of the GRAPE organization (Grand Rapids Area Professionals for Excellence.)  Several of my colleagues indicated interest in attending, but could not, so here’s a summary, divided into three parts. This post is Part I, “What Savvy Networkers Know”. It  outlines my “nuggets” gleaned from years of building a [...]

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Networking Resources

October 22, 2009

During a recent presentation to the GRAPE organization, I outlined several networking strategies to increase the “health” of your personal network. (See summaries, Part I and Part II.) During the research for the presentation, I realized that there was way more content than the one hour could contain. So, here are additional resources, organized by [...]

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The Anatomy of a Comment

October 2, 2009

Yesterday I posted my reaction to the various “comments” that a local art competition is receiving in our community.  These comments are appearing in several places: the art competition’s website, the online version of the local newspaper and various other local blogs. Reading these comments caused me to reflect on the nature of discourse on [...]

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Hope Blooms

September 29, 2009

Update: The Family Hope Foundation completed its first fiscal year this month. In their first year of operation they distributed grants to twenty-two children and hosted a community event that drew over 300 people. They now have a website: http://www.thefamilyhopefoundation.org/ For my consistent readers, you know that this blog focuses primarily on work-related topics—leadership, communication, [...]

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